Hilary Duff’s “What Dreams Are Made Of” has long been a go-to song for graduation celebrations. Now, the singer and actress can add another achievement to her list: delivering a commencement speech.
On Wednesday, April 29, Duff addressed the graduating class of Northeastern University’s Class of 2026 at Fenway Park in Boston. Her speech was a mix of humor, inspiration, and personal reflection, drawing from her experiences in the entertainment industry. She began by joking that she was “envious” of the graduates, noting that her formal education ended around third grade due to her early career as a child actor and teen pop star.
From there, Duff shared key lessons she learned throughout her journey. One of the most important messages she conveyed was about the importance of staying true to oneself.
“Just because something is a good opportunity or a good paycheck doesn’t mean it’s right,” she said. “By simply accepting what the world was offering to me, I was losing my own voice; I was reacting, instead of asking myself what I really wanted. That realization was a paradigm shift for me.”
She went on to explain how she had to change her pattern of saying “yes” to everything. “I took a break from making music,” she continued. “Not because I didn’t know exactly what kind of album I wanted to make or what kind of stories I wanted to tell through my music, because I knew precisely what I wanted. But I somehow knew that I couldn’t authentically make it, yet.”
After achieving success with her 2007 album Dignity, which reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200, Duff stepped back from the music scene. She shifted her focus to acting, production, and writing her New York Times bestselling Elixir trilogy. In 2015, she returned to music with Breathe In. Breathe Out., which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and featured the Hot 100 hit “Sparks” (No. 93).
“So I made a choice, and I took a step back. I pivoted. I rebuilt myself, I refilled my tank, I put effort into my relationships, into building my family and building a business,” Duff explained. “I waited until I was ready to meet the moment. I realized that saying ‘no’ wasn’t rejection, it was redirection… I took back control of what I was building, and I reclaimed my story. And I realized my own agency. I’m grateful I had the ability to take that pause… the key is that I was choosing where my energy went instead of letting others choose for me. Don’t forget to pause and appreciate how far you’ve come.”
The crowd at Fenway Park responded with thunderous applause, proving that Duff’s message resonated with the graduates. This speech added another highlight to an already successful year for Duff.
At the start of the year, she returned to the road on her Small Rooms, Big Nevers Tour, which led to the release of her latest album, Luck… Or Something. Co-written and co-produced with her husband, Matthew Koma, Luck reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and included the radio hit “Roommates,” which climbed to No. 25 on Pop Airplay.
Next month, Duff will launch her Lucky Me Tour with two shows at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach, Florida, on June 21 and 22. The tour will take her across major cities in North America, Australia, and the U.K., including New York City, Toronto, and London. It will conclude with two shows at Mexico City’s Palacio de los Deportes in February 2027.
For those interested in hearing Hilary Duff’s full commencement speech for Northeastern University’s Class of 2026, it is available below.
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