Hilary Duff, 39, Admits She Was ‘Done’ With ‘Lizzie McGuire’ by the Time the Show Ended

Years after saying goodbye to her most famous character, one former Disney star is finally making peace with the role that made her a household name. What once felt like a weight she couldn't shake has become something she happily celebrates on stage.

Hilary Duff is reflecting on the toll her breakout role as the title character in "Lizzie McGuire" took on her. The Disney show ran for two seasons between 2001 and 2004 and spawned the 2003 feature film "The Lizzie McGuire Movie."

Hilary Duff attends the 5th Annual Academy Museum Gala at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 18, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images

By the time the movie hit theaters, Duff admitted she was worn out and "done" with the franchise.

"The Lizzie McGuire Movie" features the now-iconic track "What Dreams Are Made Of," which Duff re-recorded for her 2026 "(Mine)" EP and performed live for the first time this year on her "Small Rooms, Big Nerves" Tour.

"I was pretty done with Lizzie at that time," the 39-year-old actress and singer revealed in a conversation with Paper Magazine. "I had filmed 30 episodes one year and 35 episodes the next. I turned into a huge star. Everyone called me Lizzie."

Hilary Duff poses with a "Lizzie McGuire" CD on August 14, 2002. | Source: Getty Images

"And then I went to Italy to film that movie, and I think I was just like, I'm [expletive] done with you. I want people to see me. This isn't fun anymore," she continued.

"So now when I sing it, it feels so much better, and I get to join the celebration of what it meant to people, and what it means to me now," she added. "I don't want to sound ungrateful for doing it, but at the time, I was pretty exhausted by it."

"I was trying to create Hilary Duff separate from Lizzie, so that was right at the midway point where I was like, 'I'm never singing that song.' And I didn't even own it. It wasn't my song to sing. But now I feel like it is," Duff explained.

Hilary Duff with one of her "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" posters in 2003 | Source: Getty Images

Duff's "(Mine)" EP includes seven freshly re-recorded versions of her biggest hits, which originally appeared as bonus tracks on vinyl editions of her "Luck… or Something" album.

Looking back on that whirlwind era, the star admitted she wouldn't mind a second chance. "When I look back at that, I'm like, oh my god, I would love a redo," she confessed.

She continued, "All of it was just so crazy. I'm so glad it resonated with people this many years later, and that they loved it and ate it up. But when I perform it now, I'm like, 'Oh, I'm in this.' Back then, I just feel like I wasn't in my body yet."

Hilary Duff speaks during an interview for SiriusXM's Small Stage Series at El Rey Theatre on May 14, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images

Speaking of do-overs, a "Lizzie McGuire" reboot was once in the works.

The "Lizzie McGuire" revival had been in development at Disney Plus since 2019, but the project hit a major roadblock in early 2020 when Terri Minsky, who created the original series and was serving as showrunner on the reboot, was pulled from the role.

Cameras started rolling in November 2019, but production went on hold in early January 2020 while Duff honeymooned in Mozambique. Just two days before her return, Variety reported that Minsky was being dismissed.

The publication also shed light on the behind-the-scenes tension that prompted Minsky's sudden departure.

Essentially, Duff and Minsky wanted the revival to explore a more mature version of Lizzie, while Disney preferred a family-friendly series aimed at younger audiences, much like the original.

Insiders claimed Disney had initially supported the pair's more adult direction, but the studio had a change of heart once the first two episodes were finished. In December 2020, Duff took to Instagram to confirm that the revival had officially been scrapped.