Hilary Duff considers it a "badge of honour" that she was a part of so many people's childhoods.

The 38-year-old actress became a household name thanks to her role as the titular Lizzie McGuire in the series which ran from 2001 to 2004.

Hilary also launched her music career in 2002 - with the Christmas album Santa Claus Lane, followed by 2004 record Hilary Duff and 2007's Dignity - meaning that numerous adults nowadays tell her what an important part she played while they were growing up.

She told People: "I hear that a lot from people, [that I was an important part of their childhood], and I wear a badge of honour."

Hilary is currently touring the US with her Lucky Me tour, which she will bring to the UK this September, and regularly delights fans as she performs her older tracks including So Yesterday and Come Clean as part of her set list.

She even belts out What Dreams are Made Of, from Lizzie McGuire, and said of performing the tunes: "What's been so fun about the live shows is realizing how much the old songs mean to people.

"A lot of those songs just live rent-free in my head, so it'll be nice for the other music to catch up and join the mix.

"t's this very cool way to connect in our lives now -- everyone's grown up, and we feel like we have a lot of the same life experiences. It's like more real-world s***, and it's fun to mix those two together."

She added to The Hollywood Reporter: "It's exciting to me when they're scream-singing the new stuff back to me as much as they do the old stuff.

"The show for me feels like a very big celebration that's representative of my present self and celebrating an important part of my life, which is my past. When I first met everyone.

"And that naturally is the nostalgic element that feels emotional for people."

Being on tour as well as raising four children means that Hilary rarely has a second to rest.

But she does her best to "slow down" whenever she has the opportunity to do so.

She said: "In my life right now where I feel like I'm just pedalling as fast as I can to keep up. It's important to slow down and realise all the little victories or the goals that I'm meeting."