Hilary Duff will always and forever be known as Lizzie McGuire, the title character of Disney’s early 2000s show.
Around Los Angeles, she’s also known for something else: “I can’t tell you how many people will stop me in L.A. and be like, ‘You came to my homecoming!'” she tells Yahoo Entertainment. “I just wanted to see everyone, like, bump and grind. Like, teachers coming up being like, ‘Body length apart!'”
Duff was, of course, a child star, who was home-schooled from the time she was in third grade. So she didn’t have school events of her own to attend.
She found a way, though. On one occasion, the actress accompanied Lizzie co-star, Clayton Snyder, who played Ethan Craft, to one of his school’s formals.
“I actually went to two homecomings,” Duff said. “One with him and one with just like another friend.”
Snyder mentioned the evening last month on an episode of the Vulnerable podcast, which is hosted by another Disney alum, Christy Carlson Romano. As he recalled, his mom had suggested he ask Duff to attend with him — not as a date — but because she thought the actress needed a “normal kid experience.”
Only thing was that everyone noticed the star was there. There was immediately “a big circle around her” and guys would try to “start dancing with her.”
“And I’m like, I don’t think she’s having any fun,” Snyder said.
Whatever happened, Duff still has an affection for school dances. She says she plans to chaperone the dances of her three kids: 11-year-old son Luca, whose dad is ex-husband Mike Comrie, and daughters Banks, 4, and Mae, 2, whom she shares with husband Matthew Koma.
– Kerry Justich contributed to this report
