23 Reasons Hilary Duff Was the Ultimate Early-'00s It Girl

Hilary Duff is released her new single, "Chasing the Sun," this week and it got us thinking of how much we loved her back in the day. Before she was a sweet mother to her son, Luca, she was a — sometimes literally — animated teenager on Lizzie McGuire with the coolest friends and a sassy personality. Hilary was one of the early-'00s It girls, not only starring in her own TV show and movie but also romancing Chad Michael Murray in A Cinderella Story and both Aaron Carter and Joel Madden in real life. We're coming clean about our total girl crush. Source: Getty / Gregg DeGuire

01
She Had the Best Friends Ever on Lizzie McGuire
Disney

She Had the Best Friends Ever on Lizzie McGuire

And we all know she should have ended up with Gordo too.

02
She Had an Animated Version of Herself
Disney

She Had an Animated Version of Herself

Her alter ego was always perfectly dramatic and sassy.

03
Lizzie Totally Understood How We Felt About Life
Disney

Lizzie Totally Understood How We Felt About Life

Aka always.

04
She Made a Music Video With Lil Romeo
Getty | L. Cohen

She Made a Music Video With Lil Romeo

He may have been lesser known in comparison to Lil' Bow Wow, but still. This was notably for "Tell Me a Story" off her holiday album, Santa Claus Lane.

05
She Rocked the Red Carpet in Amazing Clothes
Getty | SGranitz

She Rocked the Red Carpet in Amazing Clothes

Both her and her actress sister, Haylie, wore belly-baring tops and chopsticks in their hair at the Kids' Choice Awards in 2002.

06
She Got to Go on TRL
Getty | Stephen Lovekin

She Got to Go on TRL

She and veejay Damien Fahey were always adorable together.

08
She Feuded With Lindsay Lohan

She Feuded With Lindsay Lohan

Though it's hard to see two of your favorites fight, the idea that Hilary and Lindsay were feuding over who got to be with Aaron Carter is kind of amazing. Source: Getty / S Granitz, Jason Squires

09
She Also Dated Good Charlotte's Joel Madden
Getty | SGranitz

She Also Dated Good Charlotte's Joel Madden

He was the bad boy who was almost 10 years older than her, but they were adorable together for two years, from 2004 to 2006.

10
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"So Yesterday" Was the Perfect Breakup Anthem

Don't lie: you totally told your ex he was "so yesterday."

11
She Was in One of the Best Disney Channel Original Movies
Disney

She Was in One of the Best Disney Channel Original Movies

Cadet Kelly is just so good, and she also romanced pre-X-Men Shawn Ashmore in it.

12
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She Sang the Laguna Beach Theme

This was definitely our ringtone for many years.

13
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"Why Not" Was the Original YOLO Song

Why not take a crazy chance? PS: the best part is when she raps.

15
She Got to Make Out With Chad Michael Murray
Warner Bros.

She Got to Make Out With Chad Michael Murray

Multiple times.

16
She Hung Out With Your Crush Jesse McCartney
Getty | Jeff Kravitz

She Hung Out With Your Crush Jesse McCartney

They both have beautiful souls.

17
She Got This Close to Ryan Gosling
Getty | Jeff Kravitz

She Got This Close to Ryan Gosling

This was at the MTV Movie Awards right before he made out with Rachel McAdams on stage.

18
And Lastly, She Was on Gossip Girl
The CW

And Lastly, She Was on Gossip Girl

This was actually in 2009, but we're still going to count it.