Hilary's dignified front

Duff isn't someone to take for granted. The singer-actress knows how to stay in the limelight, while never stooping to undignified behaviour

How many 19-year-olds can claim to have done so much so soon? From her Lizzy McGuire days to the present, she's done it all - she's released music albums, acted in movies, brought her sister into the limelight …

But that's not to say she hasn't had her share of controversy. Her break-up with longtime boyfriend Joel Madden, her alleged catfight with Nicole Richie, her new album, all this keeps Hilary Duff right where she wants to be - in the news.

Talking about her new album, let's be honest right from the start. Expectations from Hilary were never really high. So when Dignity was finally released, everyone was pleasantly surprised. Hilary can actually sing! The girl has talent!
Wow! Who would have thought?

Personal issues
The album, although a club-oriented one, touches upon a lot of very personal issues in Hilary's life, Issues that were probably not easy to write and sing about. And, as is the case whenever a celeb opens up their heart to the world, it makes big news.

Suddenly everyone wants to listen to Hilary's album. Everyone's curious about what she has to say about her break-up with Joel Madden, everyone wants to know why she's fighting with Nicole Richie … everyone suddenly wants to know everything about Hilary Duff.

A fact that the petite singer-actress realises all too well. It's controversies that more often than not keep a celebrity in the news. And when it comes to creating controversy, Hilary knows her way around.

Unlike Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan who are famous only for their off-screen activities, Hilary manages a fine blend of the two.

Take for example how, despite not being an A-list celebrity herself, Duff managed to bring her sister Haylie into the limelight too. Suddenly the sisters were a force to reckon with.

Rarely did one make an appearance without the other. So tight was their bond that they even starred in a movie together, Material Girls. The fate of that movie is not the point here. The point is, once again, everyone was talking about the Duff girls.

They soon were the inspiration of Duff jeans that were created exclusively around their petite derrieres. Whether they deserved that honour or not, is not the issue.

The fact remains that once again people started discussing why these two sisters, who do not have big hits to their names, are still so famous. One way or another, Hilary kept herself and her big sis in the limelight.

Creative declaration
Then came her breakup with love-of-her-life Joel Madden, the Good Charlotte drummer. When Madden started dating Nicole Richie, Hilary saw her opportunity to grab the headlines once again.

Not as the dejected, depressed ex-girlfriend, but as a 21st century woman who isn't afraid to speak her mind and lash out at Richie through her music.

That lashing out is the highlight of Duff's new album Dignity. In it, the title track, Duff vents her anger at Richie for stealing Madden by singing "Where's your dignity/I think you lost it in the Hollywood Hills."

Then of course, to ensure that the audience wouldn't think of her as a cruel vixen, she went on record as saying that the song is just a creative declaration and has nothing to do with Richie.

All this, again, kept Duff in the limelight and was an excellent build-up to the release of the album - which has already topped various album charts. The reason for her success? Knowing what works and how to work it best.
Keeping her dignity intact while making sure she doesn't fade away from the public eye.

"I'm older and more mature now than I was when I made my last record, but I don't think I know it all. Having dignity is something you work on your whole life, in how you treat people and how you treat yourself. I hope I always strive to have it," she says.

Wise words - coming from someone who's only 19.