Arguably the only teen pop star with the potential to rival or surpass the popularity of Britney Spears - albeit with a very different approach - Hilary Duff made a name for herself on the enormously successful Disney Channel/ABC Kids show Lizzie McGuire, which she parlayed into careers as a pop singer and film actress. Like most overnight successes, Duff paid her dues for a few years before her big break. Appearances in the 1997 women's Western True Women, 1998's Casper (as the Friendly Ghost's human friend Wendy), and 1999's The Soul Collector paved the way for her best-known role. Lizzie McGuire, which chronicled the ups and downs of junior high schooler Lizzie's life with live-action and animated clips, debuted in 2001 and very quickly became a huge hit with the preteen set. Aside from the show's unique format, one of the main reasons for its success was Duff herself. As Lizzie, she was pretty, funny, and smart, but not intimidatingly so; she had two best friends, Gordo and Miranda, so she wasn't super-popular or an outcast; and she was confident enough to do her own thing, but still vulnerable enough to have crushes on unattainable boys.

At the same time Lizzie was taking off, Duff also appeared in the indie film Human Nature, reflecting her continuing big-screen aspirations. Lizzie McGuire mania continued through 2002, and Duff began her first steps toward her singing career with the song "Santa Claus Lane," which appeared on the soundtrack to The Santa Clause 2, as well as her own Christmas album, also named Santa Claus Lane. That year, production ended on Lizzie McGuire, freeing up Hilary Duff to pursue other opportunities. Episodes of the show continued to run into 2003, but by that time Duff had begun to move on, appearing in the teen spy movie Agent Cody Banks and playing Lizzie one last time in The Lizzie McGuire Movie, where funnily enough, she goes to Italy and is mistaken for a teen pop star. The soundtrack to the movie also featured several songs by Duff, including the singles "Why Not" and "I Can't Wait," which were both successes in their own right; the soundtrack went platinum in summer 2003.