She was America’s teen idol. Why Hilary Duff says she escaped the major pitfalls of Hollywood.
She was America’s teen idol. Why Hilary Duff says she escaped the major pitfalls of Hollywood.
Rachel Hale, USA TODAY Fri, February 27, 2026 at 7:37 PM UTC
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Hilary Duff is setting the record straight on growing up in the spotlight.
“People look at me and think like, ‘Oh, she's had it easy, maybe,” Duff said on a Feb. 25 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast. “I definitely have not had it easy, but I feel okay.”
“I did not go crazy,” Duff added.
Now, the 38-year-old is having a career resurgence. Her first album in more than a decade, “Luck … or Something,” was released Feb. 20. The 2000s pop-star is coming off a Las Vegas residency, and will kick off a tour of her new album this summer – her first world outing in nearly 20 years – before heading on an international leg that stretches into 2027.
1 / 0See every era of Hilary Duff’s generation-defining career
Hilary Duff first captured audiences as Lizzie McGuire, the earnest middle‑schooler who defined Disney Channel for a generation of viewers. From early stardom to a lasting Hollywood career, see Duff's journey through showbiz, starting here at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on Oct. 18, 2025.
Her musical comeback is certainly turning heads. But so is the way she’s getting candid about her upbringing, and the perspective she’s gained after time away from the childhood spotlight.
“It's not until you take some space away from it that you can zoom in and be like, ‘Oh, that was a weird thing that happened,’" Duff explained to Call Her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper. “It's taken getting to this age… to actually take some credit for how I navigated it.”
More: Hilary Duff hits the stage with joyful throwbacks, new songs as her comeback amps up
The unique struggles child stars face
There's no denying child stars face a unique set of challenges when it coming of age in the public eye.
Fame at a young age can have a profound impact on one's mental health, Donna Rockwell, a clinical psychologist specializing in celebrity mental health and CEO of wellness community "Already Famous,” previously told USA TODAY.
“It's very difficult to grow into a grounded, mature adult when you haven’t had the chance to experience an actual childhood," Rockwell said, adding that "child stars often miss these important steps. This can lead to mental health challenges like anxiety, depression or a constant state of longing, focusing on external validation rather than internal self-worth."
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Duff catapulted to fame at 13 years old as the star of Disney's “Lizzie McGuire,” which aired from 2001 to 2004, and continued a notable acting career with star turns in “Younger” and “How I Met Your Father.” Her 2003 album "Metamorphosis" also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, skyrocketing her to multi-platform stardom.
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Duff on “Call Her Daddy” reflected on those early moments when she realized she was famous, recalling getting “mobbed by kids” while at a fashion mall with her friends and being ushered to a supply closet by staff.
“I'm in the broom closet of the mall. Like, can you come get me?” she recalled telling her mom on the phone with a laugh.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - DECEMBER 04: (L-R) Hilary Duff and Matthew Koma stop by Apple Music Studios in LA for a live holiday Apple Music radio takeover on December 04, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Apple Music)
Duff’s rise to fame coincided with the peak of early-2000s tabloid culture that hounded stars like Britney Spears. In the episode, Cooper points out that Duff has a reputation as “one of the few child stars who escaped the major pitfalls of Hollywood.” Her peers Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes struggled with mental health in a much more public way.
That constant coverage can worsen a celebrity's own mental health, but it also perpetuates the stigma for others: that those with mental health issues are dangerous, weak-minded, lazy or attention-seeking – and as a result, deserve to be laughed at.
Hilary Duff hugs her mother at the post-premiere party for The Lizzie McGuire Movie on April 26, 2003, in Hollywood, California.
"People become emboldened to make fun of celebrities because they feel so far removed from their life and they almost see them as not human; a fictional character," Kali Hobson, a board-certified psychiatrist, previously told USA TODAY. "But … if people see celebrities being ridiculed and demonized in the media, why would anyone else feel that it was safe to be open and seek help?"
The Disney alum shared in the episode that getting through that period of her life was “tricky,” and credited her upbringing with keeping her grounded. It’s something she’s unpacked more in therapy.
To millennial fans, Duff will always be synonymous with the awkwardly endearing, big-hearted Lizzie McGuire. But in her upcoming tour, they’ll get a chance to see Duff do stardom on her own terms.
“I’m enjoying it a lot and I couldn’t have asked for a better welcome,” Duff said. “Everything has felt so celebratory.”
Contributing: Hannah Yasharoff
Rachel Hale’s role covering Youth Mental Health at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input. Reach her at rhale@usatoday.com and @rachelleighhale on X.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hilary Duff talks Lizzie McGuire, child stardom, new album
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
