★Who Hilary Was
“Ever since I was 5, my sister and I used to watch TV and then we'd turn it off3 and act out4 the scene together,” says Hilary. “Haylie would say, ‘Since you have short hair and I have long, pretty hair, you have to be the boy.’ She was evil5.”
Both sisters started taking acting classes soon after; when Hilary was eight, her family met a woman who offered to represent them out in L.A.6 So the girls moved there with their mom, while their dad stayed in Houston to run his chain of gas stations7. “We were so naive8,” says Hilary. “We gave the woman the money, came to California, and had no appointments9—she wouldn't even return our calls. My mom read books on the business and called a million places to get us an agent10.”
Hilary finally got some commercial spots11 and guest appearances and did some made-for-TV12 and straight-to-video13 movies. Then in 2000, Disney called about Lizzie McGuire. Hilary beat out14 250 other girls for the lead15. “I'm not sure why I got it, but I'm glad I did!” says Hilary. “I love the character. No matter how mean16 kids are to her at school, she's never mean back. She's a good role model17. Plus18, it's fun to play her because we are a lot alike.” The series19 won the hearts of teen TV viewers in the U.S. and abroad, and Hilary suddenly became a household name20.
★Who She Is
“Hilary is the same girl she always was,” says Taylor, 15, who's been Hilary's best friend for seven years. “We sit around21 for hours talking about boys and doing each other's makeup22. I never think of her as being famous, because she doesn't act like that.”
Hilary's mother has a lot to do with23 that. She still gives Hilary weekly chores24, like taking out the garbage and making her bed25. “Mom didn't want Hilary to become a spoiled26 brat27,” says Haylie.
Sure, Hilary gets to go backstage28 at Justin Timberlake concerts and shows up29 for movie premieres30, but she says she'd much rather hang with31 her friends than go to celebrity-filled32 after-parties33. She's also got crushes34, like any other girl. Her current obsession35 is British soccer star Beckham.
“I've always loved singing,” Hilary admits, “I sang in choir36, in the car, in the shower37. You can't shut me up38!” It was only two years ago that Hilary wanted to be a singer. In August 2002, Duff made her singing debut39 on “I can't wait” on the Lizzie McGuire TV soundtrack40. After that proved to be a success on Radio Disney, it was followed by Santa Clause Lane, a Christmas album featuring41 Duff's duets42 with Christina Milian and Lil Romeo. In August 2003, she released her first solo43 album, Metamorphosis. Hilary loves Michelle Branch, a famous singer. Unfortunately it doesn't look like the feeling's mutual44. Michelle recently told Rolling Stone that Hilary's song “Why Not” was the worst thing she's heard lately.
★Who She Will Be
When it comes to45 the relationship with Aaron Carter, Hilary blurts out46, “We broke up two weeks ago. I hate boys right now!” The couple dated on and off47 for nearly two years, but she says they broke up for good48 this time. “He did something very bad,” she explains.
The two met when Aaron did a guest appearance on Lizzie McGuire in 2001. They had to kiss for the show, so they got to know each other pretty quickly. Soon they were calling and sending photos from their cell phones49.
“Aaron and I couldn't even go out to dinner without people taking pictures of us. I don't like people knowing who my boyfriend is,” says Hilary, who's planning not to date anyone in the business anymore.
Hilary is also an ambitious50 girl. She knows many girls love her style. So she's starting her own fashion and beauty line, called Stuff, which hits51 stores very soon. “My clothing line is edgy52 without showing off53 your boobs54 and your butt55. You don't have to take your clothes off to look more adult or sexy56 or beautiful.”
☆曾经的希拉里
“从我五岁起，姐姐和我就常常在看完电视后一块儿把故事演出来，”希拉里说，“海莉总是说：‘你头发短，我的头发又长又美，那就该你扮男孩。’她真坏。”
不久姐妹俩儿都开始上表演班。希拉里8岁的时候，他们家结识了一个女人，她主动提出要在洛杉矶替她们当经纪人。于是姑娘们和妈妈一起搬到那儿，而爸爸则留在休斯敦经营他的连锁加油站。“我们当时太天真了，”希拉里说，“那个女人要的钱我们给了，搬到了加州，却没有人和我们签约——她甚至连我们的电话都不回。妈妈看了很多这方面的书，到处打电话给我们找经纪人。”
希拉里最终得到了一些广告出镜和客串演出的机会，后来又拍了一些电视片和只用于录像播放的片子。2000年，迪斯尼公司为《平民天后》选演员，希拉里击败了250个竞争对手，得到主角。“我不知道我为什么会赢，但我很高兴我赢了！” 希拉里说，“我喜欢这个角色。不管同学们待她多么不好，她从不报复。她是一个模范人物。而且，扮演这个角色很有趣，因为我们有很多相同之处。”这部连续剧征服了美国国内外少年观众的心，希拉里突然之间成了一个家喻户晓的名字。
☆如今的希拉里
“希拉里一点都没有变”，希拉里的7年好友15岁的泰勒说：“我们常常几个小时坐在一起谈论男孩子，帮彼此化妆。我从不把她当名人看，因为她从不以名人自居。”
这一点与希拉里的妈妈大有关系。她仍旧给希拉里分派日常家务活儿，比如倒垃圾和铺床。“妈妈不想把希拉里宠坏了，”海莉说。
当然，希拉里也会去贾斯汀·廷伯雷克音乐会后台，出席一些电影首映式。但是她说她更喜欢和朋友们在一起消磨时光，而不是去名人云集的聚会。像其他女孩子一样，她也会有自己的偶像。最近令她着迷的是英国球星贝克汉姆。
“我一直都很喜欢唱歌，” 希拉里承认，“我在合唱团里唱，在车上唱，在洗澡的时候也唱。你没法让我闭嘴！”不过，想当歌手是两年前才动的念头。她于2002年8月首次演唱《平民天后》的电视配乐歌曲《我等不及》。歌曲在迪斯尼电台播出获得成功后，她又录制了《圣诞之路》，一张她与克里丝汀娜·米利安和利尔·罗密欧合作的二重唱圣诞专辑。2003年8月，希拉里推出了她的首张独唱专辑《甜心日记》。希拉里很喜欢著名歌手蜜雪儿·布兰奇，遗憾的是这种好感似乎不是双向的。蜜雪儿最近在《滚石》杂志的一次访问中说希拉里的《为什么不》是她近来听过的最糟的一首歌。
☆未来的希拉里
当谈及与艾伦·卡特的关系时，希拉里不假思索地说，“我们两周前就分手了。我现在讨厌男孩子。”这一对分分合合持续了近两年，但希拉里说这次是永远分手了。她解释说：“他干了些顶坏的事。”
他俩认识是在2001年，当时艾伦在《平民天后》中有一个客串角色。在剧中他俩有一场吻戏，于是两人很快就认识了。后来两人一直用手机互致问候和传送照片。
“艾伦和我甚至在外出就餐的时候也免不了被人拍照。我不想让别人知道我的男朋友是谁，” 希拉里说，她已经决定不再和娱乐圈内的人约会了。
希拉里也是一个雄心勃勃的女孩。她知道很多女孩子喜欢她的着装风格。于是她开发了自己的时尚美容系列产品，命名为Stuff，不久就可以上市了。“我的款式会让你穿起来很有线条却又不至于过分露胸凸臀，要显得成熟、性感或者美丽并不意味着你非得脱下衣服不可。”
1. upcoming adj． 即将来临的
2． clothing line 服装生产线
3． turn off 关掉
4． act out v． 表演
5． evil adj． 邪恶的
6． L．A．＝Los Angeles 洛杉矶
7． chain n． [pl．] 联营商店; 连锁商店
8． naive adj． 天真的
9． appointment n． 约定，协约
10． agent n． 代理人，经纪人
11． spot n． 电视节目间的插播广告
12． made－for－TV 电视片
13． straight－to－video 用于播放录像的
14． beat out 击败
15． lead n． 主角
16． mean adj． 刻薄的
17． role model 行为榜样
18． plus adv． 另外
19． series n． 连续, 系列
20． household name 家喻户晓的名字
21． sit around 闲坐着, 无所事事
22． makeup n． 化妆
23． have sth． to do with 与…有关
24． chore n． 家务杂事
25． make the bed 铺床
26． spoil v． 宠坏, 溺爱
27． brat n． 小子
28． backstage adv．在后台
29． show up 露面
30． premiere n． 初次公演
31． hang with sb 与…泡在一起
32． celebrity－filled 名流云集的
33． after－party n． 聚会
34． crush n． 迷恋
35． obsession n． 迷住, 困扰
36． choir n． 合唱团
37． shower n． 淋浴
38． shut up 住口
39． debut n． 初次登场
40． soundtrack n． 音带
41． feature v． 以…为特色
42． duet n． 二重唱
43． solo n． 独唱