Hilary Duff says she was ready to leave Lizzie McGuire behind after filming the 2003 movie that capped the Disney series. In a recent interview with Paper magazine, she recalled feeling exhausted by the attention surrounding the character and wanting audiences to see her as someone separate from Lizzie.
“I was pretty done with Lizzie at that time,” Duff said. She recalled filming 30 episodes one year and 35 the next, then traveling to Italy to make the movie. “I want people to see me. This isn’t fun anymore,” she remembered thinking.
Duff said she did not want her feelings to sound ungrateful, but she was “pretty exhausted” and trying to establish an identity beyond the role. At the time, she also decided she would never sing the show’s song, saying she did not own it. Her feelings have since changed: she now enjoys performing it and joining in the celebration of what Lizzie McGuire means to fans and to her.
The film followed Lizzie on a middle school graduation trip to Rome, where she is mistaken for Italian pop star Isabella Parigi and persuaded by Isabella’s music partner, Paolo Valisari, to take her place at an awards show. The television series ran from 2001 to 2004.
In a 2022 interview with The Cut, Duff said she still hoped a reboot might happen, adding that she thought audiences would be interested in finding out where Lizzie ended up, even if the character were 40.
Sources: Page Six.