Childhood & Early Life
Haylie Duff was born on February 19, 1985, in Houston, Texas. Her mother, Susan Colleen Duff is a film producer, and was a co-executive producer of ‘A Cinderella Story’, released in 2004, a producer of ‘The Perfect Man, released in 2005, and also of ‘Material Girls’ released in 2006.
Her father, Robert Erhard Bob Duff, is the owner of a chain of convenience stores, and works with his father, John B. Duff. Robert resides in Houston to look after his family's business.
Her sister Hilary Erhard Duff is also an actress and singer. She started acting at a young age, and became labeled as the teen idol of the Disney Channel comedy series ‘Lizzie McGuire.’
Haylie also started her acting career at a very young age, as an offshoot of her dance training. She began learning ballet at an early age. When she was an 8-year-old, she was cast in Houston Metropolitan Dance Company's production titled ‘The Nutcracker Suite’, a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. In 1993, she moved with her mother and sister to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.
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Career
Initially in her acting career, Haylie Duff made several guest appearances. Her first guest appearance was on made-for-television films like ‘True Women’, a 1997 CBS mini-series based on the 1993 novel by Janice Woods Windle directed by Karen Arthur. She made her film debut in ‘The Addams Family Reunion’ in 1998.
Next she appeared as a guest on the TV series ‘The Amanda Show’, an American live action sketch comedy and variety show, created by Dan Schneider. It aired on Nickelodeon in 1999. She also guest-starred in 'Chicago Hope’, ‘Boston Public’, and ‘Third Watch’.
She shot to fame in 2002 as Amy Sanders on ‘Lizzie McGuire’, an American live-action scripted teen sitcom, created by Terri Minsky. It premiered on Disney Channel.
Haylie also appeared as a guest in ‘American Dreams’, a television drama program aired on NBC television network from 2002 to 2005. In 2003, she made a guest appearance in ‘Joan of Arcadia’, an American television fantasy drama. The series aired on CBS and CTV for two seasons.
In 2004, she made a guest appearance on ‘That's So Raven’ as Katina Jones. It was an American supernatural sitcom that debuted on Disney Channel in January 2003, and ended in November 2007.
In the feature film ‘Napoleon Dynamite’, she played the role of Summer Wheatley. It was a 2004 American comedy film co-produced by Jeremy Coon, and directed by Jared Hess. The film was a runaway success.
Haylie Duff lent her voice to ‘In Search of Santa’, a Christmas animation film, which featured her sister Hilary as well. A 2004 family film, it was directed by William R. Kowalchuk and released in November 2004.
In 2005, she was cast in the television series ‘7th Heaven’, where she played Sandy Jameson, the best friend to Simon's girlfriend Rose. It was a television drama series created and produced by Brenda Hampton.
In June 2006, she portrayed a mean girl Amber Von Tussle in ‘Hairspray’, an American musical series, based on the 1988 John Waters film ‘Hairspray’. She quit the role in October 2006.
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In 2006, she also acted in ‘Material Girls’ with her sister Hilary. She was also the co-producer of the film with her mother and sister. It is a teen comedy film, based on a script written by John Quaintance, and directed by Martha Coolidge.
She was also featured in several made-for-television or straight-to-DVD films such as ‘Nightmare’, ‘Legacy’, ‘My Sexiest Year’, ‘Backwoods’, ‘Love Finds a Home’, ‘Love Takes Wing’, and ‘My Nanny's Secret’.
She lent her voice to the animated film ‘Foodfight!’ It was a computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Threshold Entertainment and directed by Larry Kasanoff. The film was released in 2012. In the same year, she started her own blog called ‘Real Girl's Kitchen’, which was picked up by the Cooking Channel and made into a show in 2014, in which both the sisters appeared together. In 2015, she appeared in the film ‘Badge of Honor.’
As a singer, she has recorded several singles for various soundtracks with her sister. Most of them appeared on the Disneymania discs. Some of the significant soundtracks include: ‘The Lizzie McGuire Movie’, ‘In Search of Santa’, ‘A Cinderella Story’, and ‘Material Girls’.
She was featured on rapper Kool G Rap's album ‘Half a Klip’, where she provided the background vocals on the track ‘On the Rise Again’. She also sang ‘A Whatever Life’ for the ‘Stuck in the Suburbs’ soundtrack; and ‘Sweetest Pain’ for the ‘Raising Helen’ soundtrack.
She was featured on the song ‘Babysitting Is a Bum Deal’ for the album ‘Family Guy: Live in Las Vegas’, where she sang a duet with Seth MacFarlane. Haylie has also written and co-written several songs for her sister Hilary's first two studio albums.
Major Works
Haylie Duff hosted an MTV reality show ‘Legally Blonde: The Musical–The Search for Elle Woods’. The show searched for an actress to do the lead role in ‘Legally Blonde: The Musical’. Haylie was in the chorus of the musical which debuted in June 2008. She was also an executive producer of the show.
She appeared in ‘Fear Island’, a 2009 thriller film directed by Michael Storey. The original title for the film was ‘Deep Cove’, but was later changed to ‘Fear Island’.
Haylie was featured in ‘Slightly Single in L.A’, an American romantic comedy film, written and directed by Christie Will. The film was released in December 2012.
Personal Life
In 2009, Haylie Duff said that she does not see herself as a religious person, but more of a spiritual person. “There are a lot of things that I agree with in Christianity and things that I don't agree with. I'm not a regular churchgoer, but I do think that I have my own beliefs that I feel strongly about," she said in an interview.
In April 2014, she announced her engagement to Matt Rosenberg. The couple had been dating for more than a year at the time of their engagement. Their daughter, Ryan Ava Erhard, was born on May 11, 2015.
