That awkward moment when all your friends are completely gorgeous and then there's you. “But it’s been incredibly nerve-wracking and exciting.” “Whenever anyone talked or a movie being in the works, I’d cover my ears and say: ‘If it happens, it happens.’ ” Down-to-earth and unassuming - the author is legally blind because she was born with the rare condition Leber’s congenital amaurosis - she found it difficult to believe the hype at first. Still, the phenomenon has taken Keplinger by surprise. Meanwhile, a host of Hollywood starlets have been spotted wearing “I’m somebody’s DUFF” T-shirts (presumably an ironic de-claration in Tinseltown, where anyone larger than a size 2 is considered obese). From top left: Sabrina Carpenter, Bailee Madison, Kylie Jenner and Tammin Sursok all seen sporting ‘Duff’ tees. Since her book “The DUFF” became a best seller, moving hundreds of thousands of copies since September 2010, the term has become common parlance.Īnd #Iamtheduff has begun trending on Twitter, in a celebration of self-acceptance and individuality. “I realized that everyone is insecure and thinks they’re the DUFF,” says Keplinger. “Then, I thought - ‘Wait, that’s super mean.’ And then: ‘Oh crap, that’s me! I am the DUFF of my group!’”īut when she did an informal survey of her pals, she was surprised to learn that she wasn’t alone. “When I first heard it…I thought, ‘That’s hilarious and super clever.’” recalls Keplinger, now 23, who will see the film adaptation of her young-adult novel “The DUFF” released Friday. That simple question ended up changing her whole life, leading to a lucrative book contract, a teenage-empowerment movement on social media and a Hollywood movie deal - which has catapulted Keplinger from small-town Kentucky to a glitzy existence flitting between Manhattan and LA.ĭUFF stands for “designated ugly fat friend” - the buddy who makes everyone else in the group look better by comparison. “What’s a DUFF?” asked Keplinger, curious. Sitting down to breakfast in her high-school cafeteria, 17-year-old senior Kody Keplinger overheard an intriguing-sounding acronym: “DUFF.”Ī girl was lamenting how a guy had used the term to describe one of her friends.

The duff book author