Summary
- Hilary Duff was only 15 years old when she filmed the iconic rom-com A Cinderella Story, despite her character being 17 years old and a high school junior.
- The follow-up movies in the A Cinderella Story series did not feature Hilary Duff, opting instead for standalone projects with different actors in the Cinderella role.
- While there are now a total of six films in the A Cinderella Story series, the original film remains the most successful and beloved among fans.
One of the quintessential 2000s romantic comedies is A Cinderella Story, starring Hilary Duff, one of the quintessential teen stars in the early aughts. Duff rose to fame when she landed the role of the titular character in the Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire, which aired from 2001 to 2004. Following the conclusion of the television show, Duff focused on movies, starting with the Warner Bros. Pictures film, which is a modern-day adaptation of the classic Cinderella fairytale.
Aside from Duff as Sam Montgomery, the A Cinderella Story cast includes Chad Michael Murray as Austin Ames, Jennifer Coolidge as Fiona, Regina King as Rhonda, Dan Byrd as Carter Farrell, Madeline Zima as Brianna, Andrea Avery as Gabriella, and Julie Gonzalo as Shelby Cummings. The movie begins with Sam’s father, Hal, meeting Fiona, who represents the Evil Stepmother character from the Cinderella fairytale, and marrying her. So when Hal dies, Sam is stuck with her awful stepmother and two terrible stepsisters growing up until she attempts to escape at the end of high school.
Hilary Duff Was 15 Years Old In A Cinderella Story
Sam Montgomery was 17 years old and a junior in high school for the majority of A Cinderella Story. She was trying to graduate early and get a scholarship to Princeton to get far away from Fiona, Brianna, and Gabriella, who all treated her poorly and took advantage of her kindness. Meanwhile, Hilary Duff, whose birthday is September 28, 1987, was two years younger than her character — 15 years old — when she filmed the rom-com in 2003. However, A Cinderella Story premiered on July 16, 2004, so the actress had turned 16 by the time the teen film came out and was on her way to 17 that same year.
Why Hilary Duff Didn’t Return In A Cinderella Story’s Follow-Up Movies
Following the success of A Cinderella Story, Warner Bros. Pictures ordered another film. But instead of a direct sequel featuring the return of Hilary Duff and Chad Michael Murray, the movie was a standalone project with the same premise as the first one. Another Cinderella Story starred Selena Gomez in the Cinderella role and premiered in 2008. Consequently, four more follow-up films were made.
Each movie (A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song, A Cinderella Story: If the Shoe Fits, A Cinderella Story: Christmas Wish, and A Cinderella Story: Starstruck) followed different original characters who fit the Cinderella archetype. So, in total, the A Cinderella Story film series contains six movies, but the original film starring Hilary Duff will always be the most successful.