With Love..

Yes, it's the newly brunette Hilary Duff! - one of the top Hollywood It girls..

I began to take notice of Hilary Duff from the Disney's "Lizzie McGuire" movie - I thought she was cute, and just a nice, girl-next-door type, especially with her honey blonde hair, and that warm smile of hers. (I later catched her TV show and "Agent Cody Banks" - her first movie - I think)

Her music - "Why Not?, What Dreams Are Made Of, So Yesterday and Comin' Clean" - I thought they were catchy and fun - for young teens.

Then I saw her in "Cheaper by The Dozen" - although her role is not that prominent, she was a still a 'breath of fresh air' in the funny and meaningful family movie.

Came the movie "Raise your Voice" and her accompanying single "Fly." I love her edgier music, with a touch of rock and it became and instant fave in my music playlist. The feel-good movie was quite inspiring and the morals of the movie -"have faith, believe in yourself, because if you believe, you can achieve your dreams" - was heartwarming and positively encouraging .

However, it was her major-lead-starring-role in the movie "A Cinderella Story" that I began to really pay attention to Hilary Duff.. she was sooo good in it, her acting was natural, believeable and she suits the modern-cinderella-personality oh so perfectly. (she looked super gorgeous in her halloween-cinderella-white-bridal-dress-with-the-white-mask!) I love the movie, everytime I watch it, it made me smile. The catch phrase of the movie " Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game" was really memorable and sort of become my fave quote. (even until now)

And now, she took drastic measures - transforming herself from a blonde teen queen to an edgier brunette, with new white veneers to boot, and a brand new slimmed-down HOT figure! Bang! As a fashion style maven, she just rocks! Skinny jeans, 'it' handbags, christian louboutins, her style was casual luxe, generally covered up - not revealing too much- she kept it classy-cute-and dignified, which made it only right and justified that she called her brand new spanking album DIGNITY.

Yes, she is an all around entertainer, a good actress (with a long bright career ahead, I have faith in her), and just a nice, kind, radiant personality, inspite of being an A-list celebrity. She kept a rather low profile life - not 'right in front of your face' all the time (unlike other celebs her age, who got so much coverage in gossip mags by getting into rehab, jail, dui charges, esp with those raging paparazzis). Hilary is much more mature, (though sometimes she lets loose, have fun and hit the clubs), she came off (to me) as a genuinely humble modest person - unaffected by her social status.

Despite being under constant criticism for lip-synching, Hilary continues to explore her talents in music, taking a more contemporary approach by recording the more upbeat, clubbing songs (a departure from her bubblegum pop music - which appealed to a younger fan base, she now reinvented herself musically). Her latest hits "Play With Fire" and "With Love" got me hooked instantly, (they are my faves in my ipod!)

For ignoring all the flaks from the show biz industry, and for never giving up on both her music and movie career, Hilary Duff has started to really grown on me. Hilary's courageous move to constantly revolutionize herself has not been an easy road but she overcamed it eventually, but most importantly - she keept her dignity intact throughout the way, and I applaud her for that.

So really, what's not to love about her? :)