15-year-old Disney star Hilary Duff denies having cosmetic surgery on her breasts

http://www.nationalpost.com/artslife/story.html?id=998A6737-8700-458F-8DED-4E775871D21E

It was the New York Observer that first boosted sweet and wholesome Hilary Duff's mammary glands into the popular discourse three weeks ago with a story titled "Lizzie's McGuires."

"Ms. Duff's image has been all around town, in subway and bus-stop Lizzie McGuire Movie posters, which depict her in an exuberant, tippy-toe pose," the Observer observed, "and she's causing something of a stir, because people who don't know the first thing about Lizzie McGuire now can't stop talking about her perky, enthusiastic ... boobs."

One expert labelled them "suspiciously high," while another likened them to tennis balls. While speculating on digital or physical enhancement, the article ventured that Lizzie's new-found bust might be a marketing ploy aimed at attracting "shifty-looking older men in raincoats" to the theatre.

Relaxing in her downtown suite at one of Toronto's more luxurious hotels, clad in a snug but in no way inappropriate pink sweatsuit, after a chaotic day of publicity that we'll get to later, Duff could only laugh off the speculation.

"I feel so bad for Britney Spears now," Duff said, noting the last pubescent female celebrity to endure this kind of speculation. "It's so weird because I'm 15 years old. Legally, I don't think any doctor would give you a boob job at 15 years old, nor do I want one. And obviously I think you can tell by looking at me that I haven't had a boob job. It's weird, but it's almost complimentary in a way -- people are spending their time trying to make up stuff about that."

The comparison doesn't quite work, though. From her first moment in the public eye, Spears flaunted her sexuality with sexed-up schoolgirl uniforms and striptease dance routines. Duff, conversely, has built her reputation on innocence and virtue: She is as loved by eight- to 10-year-old girls as she is by their parents, who endorse her as a positive role model for young women.

It's this pure and decent Duff, synonymous now with her onscreen alter ego, Lizzie, who was responsible for that hectic day of publicity in Toronto, culminating in a shriek-filled appearance at a local Wal-Mart (itself a standard-bearer of all that is good and right in the world).

Saturday, a day that would bring word of failed contract talks with Disney -- effectively severing her ties with the Lizzie McGuire character -- began quietly enough at the hotel. Though she had stayed up late the night before (i.e., midnight) playing cards, Duff was up and about promptly at 8. By noon, freshly made-up and conservatively clad in a long-sleeved blue top and beige pants, Duff greeted her first fan of the day just outside the hotel lobby -- a suspiciously older young man bearing a bouquet of flowers and a poster to be signed.

After stopping to pose for a few pictures, she was off in a chauffeured van along with her bodyguard Troy, a big, bald, black Yale-educated man as affable as he is imposing, and her manager, Andre, a long-haired German man with a thick accent who has made a career of teen idols, including the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync and, less notably, ATC.

Alongside, as always, was mother Susan, an exuberant Texan who accompanies her daughter on all road trips, and who grabs your arm when she speaks. Much to the teenager's dismay, she enjoys recounting embarrassing moments from Hilary's younger days. "She's my everything," Duff says of the mother who has helped direct her career and that of her older sister, a budding singing star. "Her whole life is me and my sister."

There was a stop at Starbucks, and then it was off to Wal-Mart. After a security-escorted stroll through linens and children's toys, Duff found herself in garden supplies, her public anxiously awaiting her arrival outside.

Stepping through the door into sunshine that seemed to have broken through the dreary day just for her, Duff was greeted with the kind of screaming pandemonium generally reserved for boy bands and Communist dictators. About a thousand girly munchkins had begun lining up at 7 a.m. for this 2 p.m. autograph session. Some hadn't even bothered with the autograph line and were instead stacked four and five deep behind metal barricades. Others stood on top of vans, shopping carts or anything else they could find, just to get a glimpse of the ever-smiling, ever-waving Miss Duff (one unfortunate young girl would later require an ambulance after falling from her perch).

Those lucky enough to share 10 to 15 seconds with her while she signed their pictures, posters and CDs walked away shaking or crying.

"It's so unreal. I'm just a normal kid like they are. And it's just kind of weird that people are standing there screaming my name," Duff said afterward. "And it's so cool at the same time. It's very rewarding."

It is girls like these who have logged on to Duff's Web site in large numbers and contributed to a popular Ask Hilary feature, in which confused and curious kids inquire about sex, drugs, family and everything in between (including Duff's relationship with kiddie pop star Aaron Carter, brother of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter; it's "not serious," Duff assures).

"Sometimes I'm a little overwhelmed by their questions, but I'm going through the same things they are," Duff said. "It's really cool in a way. It makes me feel honoured that someone I don't even know would share such personal information with me. It makes me feel like more of a friend than them being fans of mine. And I'm glad that kids are open about when are they ready to have sex and whether they should do drugs, or who I'm dating or questions about their boyfriend or family life. Sometimes kids are shy to talk to their best friend or parents about it."

A little over an hour after she had arrived, it was time for Duff to make her exit, and after pausing to greet those still pressed anxiously against the barricades (much to the dismay of her bodyguard, the 20-member private security team and at least two Toronto police officers on hand to maintain order), Duff made a mad dash through the fenced-in garden centre, the crowd now chasing her as she went. As Duff scrambled into a waiting van, her pint-sized pursuers were kept at bay just long enough to ensure a safe exit -- some still chasing the vehicle on foot as it sped away.

Duff and her team are surely hoping the end of Lizzie McGuire won't eventually mean an end to such rabid reactions to her presence in public. Saturday morning, the Los Angeles Times had broken the news that talks between Duff and Disney had broken down. The sticking point was apparently money, but the whispered word is that Duff wants to move forward with her career and expand her appeal beyond the much talked about tweens.

Duff is currently shooting Cheaper by the Dozen for 20th Century Fox and is also tabbed to star in the Warner Bros. film The Cinderella Story. Her clothing and makeup lines are already in production and her debut album will be released in the fall (several Duff songs were included on The Lizzie McGuire Movie soundtrack). In a sense, she's already something of a mini-J.Lo.

The trick will be negotiating her clean-cut image as she makes her way toward womanhood and, consequently, a more adult audience -- the current boob job speculation symptomatic of this often difficult transition.

"I don't think anyone gets into the business to become famous, and if they do that's not a good reason why. I really love to work, I love to act, I like to sing, I like to do all different kinds of things, and I like to stay really busy. But I never imagined this."