Hilary Duff on childhood nostalgia: 'A badge of honour'
Synopsis
More than two decades after Lizzie McGuire made her a global name, Hilary Duff is performing 'What Dreams Are Made of' live for the very first time — and the reaction from fans suggests the nostalgia is anything but faded. Her return to touring is a reminder of just how durably her early work shaped a generation.
Key Takeaways
Hilary Duff describes being part of fans' childhoods as a 'badge of honour' , reflecting on her acting and music legacy.
Her breakthrough role came in 2001 with Disney Channel's Lizzie McGuire , following her screen debut in 1998's Casper Meets Wendy .
Metamorphosis (2003) topped the Billboard 200 and earned a 4× Platinum RIAA certification — her biggest commercial album.
Duff launched her Small Rooms, Big Nerves tour in January — her first live run in over a decade — followed by The Lucky Me tour.
For the first time ever, she performed 'What Dreams Are Made of' from The Lizzie McGuire Movie live as part of her set list.
Actress-singer Hilary Duff says being a cherished part of so many people's childhoods is something she wears with immense pride — describing it as a 'badge of honour'. Speaking to People, Duff reflected on how her early acting and music work continues to resonate with fans decades later, even as she embarks on a fresh chapter of live performances.
From Lizzie McGuire to Global Recognition
Duff's screen journey began with 1998's Casper Meets Wendy. Her breakthrough, however, came in 2001 when she landed the titular role in Disney Channel's Lizzie McGuire, a part that turned her into a household name worldwide. She followed that with a string of popular films — Cadet Kelly, Agent Cody Banks, A Cinderella Story, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, and both instalments of Cheaper by the Dozen.
A Music Career That Charted Its Own Course
Duff stepped into the music industry in 2002 with the Christmas-themed debut album Santa Claus Lane. Her second album, Metamorphosis (2003), proved to be a commercial landmark — it topped the Billboard 200 chart and earned a 4× Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Subsequent releases — Hilary Duff (2004), Dignity (2007), and the 2005 compilation Most Wanted — all earned platinum or gold certifications. Her later albums include Breathe In. Breathe Out and Luck... or Something.
The Nostalgia Tour Bringing Hits Back to Life
Duff has recently leaned fully into the nostalgia her early career carries. She launched her Small Rooms, Big Nerves music outing in January, her first touring stint in more than a decade, before kicking off The Lucky Me tour. Both outings have featured fan-favourite hits including 'Wake Up', 'So Yesterday', 'With Love', 'Why Not', and 'Come Clean'.
Notably, for the first time in her career, Duff has added 'What Dreams Are Made of' — the beloved fan classic from The Lizzie McGuire Movie — to her live set list. The response has underscored just how deeply her early work is embedded in popular culture.
What the Live Shows Have Revealed
'What's been so fun about the live shows is realising how much the old songs mean to people,' Duff said. The sentiment captures a broader cultural moment: Gen Z and millennial audiences are actively seeking out the pop-culture touchstones of their youth, and Duff — straddling both acting and music with a catalogue that spans more than two decades — is well positioned to meet that demand. Her touring return is less a comeback and more a homecoming.
Point of View
It is the main act. What is striking is that her catalogue, built largely before she turned 20, has held its emotional weight well enough to fill rooms and prompt first-ever live performances of songs that are now old enough to vote. The more interesting question is whether this wave of affection translates into a sustained second act or remains a well-received but finite victory lap. The addition of 'What Dreams Are Made of' to her set list — conspicuously absent for over two decades — suggests Duff herself is only now fully making peace with the Lizzie McGuire chapter of her identity, and that reckoning may be the most compelling part of this story.
NationPress
13 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Hilary Duff call being part of people's childhoods a 'badge of honour'?
Duff uses the phrase to express genuine pride in the lasting emotional impact her early work — particularly Lizzie McGuire and her early albums — has had on fans who grew up with her. She told People that hearing from audiences about how formative her work was is something she embraces wholeheartedly.
What is Hilary Duff's most successful album?
Metamorphosis , released in 2003, is Duff's most commercially successful album. It topped the Billboard 200 chart and earned a 4× Platinum certification from the RIAA, making it one of the defining pop records of the early 2000s.
What tours has Hilary Duff recently embarked on?
Duff launched the Small Rooms, Big Nerves music outing in January 2025, her first tour in over a decade, followed by The Lucky Me tour. Both shows feature her biggest hits from the early 2000s.
Has Hilary Duff ever performed 'What Dreams Are Made of' live before?
No — Duff performed 'What Dreams Are Made of', the fan-favourite from The Lizzie McGuire Movie, live for the very first time as part of her recent tour set list. The song had never previously featured in any of her live shows.
What films is Hilary Duff known for beyond Lizzie McGuire?
Beyond Lizzie McGuire, Duff appeared in Cadet Kelly, Agent Cody Banks, A Cinderella Story, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, and both Cheaper by the Dozen films, building a substantial filmography throughout the early 2000s.
