No longer Lizzie (via WikiCommons).

Just one Google search of “child stars” brings up a never-ending series of “Where Are They Now?” articles, comparing the admirable individuals who braved through their transitional years while in the spotlight to the has-beens who simply decided to step away from the fast-paced lifestyle before it got even less manageable.

Even worse, there’s the comparison of these two categories alongside the most taboo, VH1-countdown favorite archetype: the trainwreck stumbling out of a club, intoxicated, and cursing at the paparazzi. 

Then we have someone like Hilary Duff. As Disney’s former sweetheart, she has arguably set the bar in the media’s eyes for how a child star should behave after growing up. Duff once had the world at the palm of her hand, with her hit show “Lizzie McGuire” capturing the hearts of America and the admiration from thousands upon thousands of pre-teens (myself included). She solidified the star-making machine that Disney Channel uses to this day. Lead a show, start a singing career on the side, have a clothing line inspired by said show, and bam—success.

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The problem with this machine? After that success happens, there’s no clear outline for the next step. It is at this point that these actors become too old for Disney and find themselves with a number of directions to take. As Duff explained last month in an interview with the Los Angeles Times: "I didn't know what kind of artist I wanted to be. I didn't know what to write about. I wasn't booking roles that I wanted. I was in a box of what people wanted me to be."

So Duff took the road less traveled and, for lack of a better phrase, had a life. She met someone, got married, had a kid. The media loved this: the quintessential girl-next-door living a normal life after all of the frenzy that came with the limelight. 

Then, like “normal” people sometimes do, Duff filed for divorce. After some time, she wanted to try dating and stay normal, so what does she do? Make a Tinder profile, of course. Oh, and document her Tinder dates for her latest music video. Yeah. Normal.

Unsurprisingly, this video did not bode well for fans and critics alike. Time called it “pretty much one giant ad for Tinder” and agreed that a Tinder-less version of the video would be way better. (On a personal note, I could only stomach one viewing of “Sparks” because seriously, I felt like I was watching an infomercial trying to be hip by dancing and throwing neon colors at me.)

Then I wondered: why? Why does attaching one of the biggest names from the start of the millennium to the dating scene’s latest feel so uncomfortable? Is this sense of normalcy from a celebrity something the public can handle?

It is this very concept which keeps Hilary Duff going, why the public continues supporting her, though not as intensely as before. By being aware of her own toeing the line between worldwide recognition and a slower pace of life, Duff is not a has-been. As she explained in the same LA Times interview, "...I realized that I really care about being an actress, a singer and having a life outside of both. So maybe that means I'm not going to be able to be where I was. I'm not going to be able to fight for being the biggest artist."

The quality of her current work is up for debate: her fifth studio album has been referred to as “unabashed, least-common-denominator pop that won’t take no for an answer,” while her latest show, “Younger,” is considered as “not perfect but highly watchable.” What matters here is that Hilary Duff is doing things her way, knowing wholeheartedly what she wants, and moving forward from there.

Reach Staff Reporter Gennyvera Pacheco here.