Hilary Duff moves on from ``Lizzie McGuire''

On a recent hot summer's day, as hundreds of children waited anxiously with their parents to meet the latest, hottest teen star, one uninformed parent asked who all the fuss was about.

``It's Lizzie McGuire!'' another adult proclaimed excitedly.

Not quite. Although Hilary Duff became a multimedia sensation based upon the hugely popular Disney Channel TV series ``Lizzie McGuire,'' she made a very public break from the character in May.

Although the 15-year-old knows it will take some time before people stop calling her ``Lizzie,'' she's confident that a spate of new projects - including a debut album due out next month - will help carve out her own identity.

``It doesn't really bother me that people call me that,'' she says of her TV namesake. ``But my music is kind of what helps, I think, for people to get to know me better.''

Fewer and fewer are needing an introduction. Hilary recently landed on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine, along with Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Amanda Bynes and others, as among the 20 ``hot teens'' in Hollywood. She will appear in two upcoming films, including ``Cheaper by the Dozen,'' with Steve Martin and Ashton Kutcher. She's set to star in two WB music specials in the fall. And her music videos have been among the more anticipated by the MTV set.

``I think she's definitely one of the hot people to watch right now, and I don't see that waning,'' says Amy Doyle, vice president of music programming at MTV. ``She's become the fabric of pop culture with teens right now.''

``At this point, she's obviously already a franchise,'' boasts Bob Cavallo, chairman of Buena Vista Music Group, Hilary's Disney-based record label.

While she may not be as omnipresent as the Olsen twins, there are few teen stars that rival her in name recognition and star power.

Her good looks, wholesome image and comedic flair helped make ``Lizzie McGuire,'' which chronicled the growing pains of a teenage girl, the highest-rated show on the Disney Channel. The show - which premiered in 2001 and will continue to air new episodes until early 2004 - spawned video games, toys and books about the character, as well as ``The Lizzie McGuire Movie,'' which made a respectable $40 million at the box office this summer.

She also sang on two ``Lizzie McGuire'' soundtracks, which have sold more than 2 million copies, according to her record company.

Duff moved to Hollywood when she was about 9, leaving her hometown of Houston with her family to pursue her acting dream. Her breakthrough role came in 1998, in the TV movie ``Caspar Meets Wendy.

The enormity of her current fame is sometimes hard for even Hilary to grasp.

``It's very weird because it's like, I'm such a normal 15-year-old girl when I'm not working,'' she says with a cheery smile. ``At home, I have to do chores, I hang out with my friends. I have to pinch myself sometimes, it just seems so unreal. But it's cool.''

She's just not popular with kids: her good-girl image also makes a hit with parents. She's proud to be a role model. ``It's good that people are looking up to me, and it's always very important to set a good example,'' she says earnestly.

And unlike some child stars, who try to look and act older than they are, Hilary comes across as your typical teen: cool, but not too grown-up.

Ask her about the partying scene that have brought down other teen stars, and she says: ``I'm 15 years old, and I have no interest in that right now.''

She doesn't even have a boyfriend. She and teen pop singer Aaron Carter, brother of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, are no longer dating, though she says they're still friends.

``It was too hard to be in a relationship when you're working, and my mind's somewhere else and we're always away from each other,'' she says.

Hilary's rise has placed her more in demand - which is what eventually caused her to leave ``Lizzie McGuire'' behind. Disney wanted her to do a sequel to the movie, but she declined. While reports said Hilary was holding out for more money, the teen says she just couldn't fit it into her schedule.

Yet there's no bad blood between Hilary and Disney; the company is releasing her first album. Due out Aug. 26, ``Metamorphosis'' is co-produced by the same team that made hits for teen rocker Avril Lavigne.

Her first single, ``So Yesterday,'' is ``more mature than the past work that she's done,'' says Cavallo. Yet she's clearly appealing to the same teen set that helped make pop phenoms out of former Disney kid stars such as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera.

(``It's) definitely stuff that everybody my age can relate to, you know?'' says Duff.

Besides, she's not ready to make the jump to adult material just yet. After all, her 16th birthday is still two months away. The main thing on her mind right now is getting a driver's license.

Despite her millions, she's still not sure what kind of ride she'll get.

``I have to wait and see what my parents get me,'' Duff says with a smile.