Haylie Duff

Haylie Katherine Duff (born February 19, 1985) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, television host, writer, and fashion designer. She is also the older sister of American singer and actress Hilary Duff. Haylie Duff was born in Houston, Texas. Duff's mother, Susan Duff is a film producer who was a co-executive producer of Comme Cendrillon (2004), a producer of L'Homme parfait (2005) and Material Girls (2006), and the manager of Hilary; she was previously a homemaker. Her father, Robert Erhard "Bob" Duff, a partner and owner in a chain of convenience stores with his father, John B. Duff, resides at the family home in Houston to maintain the family's business. She began her acting career as an offshoot of her early dance training. Growing up in Texas, Duff began ballet at an early age. By the age of eight, Duff landed a role in the Houston Metropolitan Dance Company's production of The Nutcracker Suite. Duff's early career started by making guest appearances on made-for-television films such as Soeurs de coeur (1997) and on TV series such as The Amanda Show (1999). In addition to guest-starring roles on Chicago Hope, la vie à tout prix (1994), Boston Public (2000), and New York 911 (1999), Duff became a familiar face starting in late 2002 as Amy Sanders on Lizzie McGuire (2001). In 2004, Duff made a guest appearances on Phénomène Raven (2003) as Katina Jones. After making guest appearances on television, Duff received her first role in a feature film when she was cast as Summer Wheatley in Napoleon Dynamite (2004). The film earned her first Teen Choice Award win. She continued making guest appearances, which include Le monde de Joan (2003) and Mes plus belles années (2002). She also lent her voice talent to the Christmas animation film À la recherche du père Noël (2003) which again, featured Sister Hilary Duff. In 2005, Duff joined the cast of the television series 7 à la maison (1996), playing Sandy Jameson, best friend to Simon's girlfriend Rose. In June 2006, Duff joined the Broadway cast of Hairspray, portraying mean girl Amber Von Tussle, and left the role in early October 2006. Duff has also starred in Material Girls (2006) with her sister Hilary Duff, where she is credited as co-producer, with her mother and sister credited as producers. Following Material Girls (2006), Duff appeared in various made-for-television or straight-to-DVD films including Nightmare (2007), My Sexiest Year (2007), Petites diablesses (2008), Backwoods (2008), Le Cœur à l'épreuve (2009), Les chemins de l'espérance (2009) and Le secret d'une soeur (2009). Between 2008 and 2015, Duff appeared in various films and TV roles, including; Fear Island: l'île meurtrière (2009), Tug (2010) and Slightly Single in L.A. (2013). She lent her voice to the animated film Foodfight! (2012), but due to distribution issues, the film was delayed for years until it finally saw a release in 2012. Duff hosted the reality show Legally Blonde the Musical: The Search for Elle Woods (2008), which searched for an actress to take over the lead role in Legally Blonde: The Musical (2007) where she had been in the chorus. She was also listed as an executive producer of the series.