Fans started to love Hilary Duff as Lizzie McGuire back in the day but in her recent candid interview with PrideSource, the "Sparks" singer admitted that those days weren't all fun and games.
"As torturous as it has been at some points in my life to be Lizzie McGuire, I think that when that show came out, it was such a part of who I was, I didn't feel like I was playing a part," she revealed.
She also shared that a huge part of her fully absorbing her role as Lizzie was because of the writer's intimate knowledge of herself.
"The writers all knew me so well and were writing things that were happening in my life and things that I would say, and I was dressing exactly like I wanted," she continued. "It was so me."
Hilary Duff's time as Lizzie McGuire wasn't "torturous" in terms of filming or her time on the set because she "loved it during filming."
"I just didn't know what a success the show was gonna be, and after that - four years, five years after that - and I was still Lizzie McGuire to people and that was super annoying," she went on, pointing out that she doesn't mind being associated with the character now.
"I'm grateful for it," she further clarified.
The hard part of her career, as the actress and singer intimated, was right after the show ended. Unlike other child actresses like the Olsen twins, Lindsay Lohan and Miley Cyrus, she just had to "bow out for a minute."
"I really needed it personally. I grew up in the spotlight and on tour and with everyone just knowing me and knowing me a certain way," she added. "At some point I was like, 'I don't even know if I'm that person anymore, and I don't even have the time to figure that out.'"
Now she's back in the spotlight and despite getting divorced recently, Duff seems to be more carefree now. And according to Cosmopolitan, she's still going strong. Her new album, "Breathe In, Breath Out" is already out on iTunes and Spotify. She's also starring on TV Land's "Younger."
Do you think Hilary Duff bowing out after "Lizzie McGuire" was a smart move for her?
