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Born September 28, 1987 in Houston, Texas, Hilary Duff was the second of two daughters born to Susan Duff, a housewife turned film and music producer, and Bob Duff, the owner of a chain of Texas convenience stores. Taking after her older sister Haylie, young Hilary entered ballet classes and auditioned for local theatrical productions with her sibling. "I always wanted to be like my older sister Haylie," Hilary Duff later recalled.
Hilary has several charities that she takes an interest in, and also puts in time as an animal rights advocate. She was a member of the 1998/99 Advisory Board of the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund and a member of the 2001 Youth Advisory Committee of Kids With A Cause, a non-profit organization of celebrity children working to assist those less fortunate than themselves.
In July, Duff started preparing for the August release of Most Wanted. The collection included three new songs -- including the single "Wake Up," written by Benji and Joel Madden from Good Charlotte -- as well as remixed versions of past Hilary hits like "So Yesterday" and "Come Clean." There was also the Most Wanted tour, which stretched into September, ending just in time for her 18th birthday. By this point, the Hilary Duff promotion machine was in overdrive: her website offered a pay-as-you-go mobile phone branded with her name and bundled with Hilary-themed ringtones and wallpapers.
