Meet the original ‘DUFF’ — a teen author who started a Hollywood trend

Sitting down to breakfast in her high-school cafeteria, 17-year-old senior Kody Keplinger overheard an intriguing-sounding acronym: "DUFF."

A girl was lamenting how a guy had used the term to describe one of her friends. "What's a DUFF?" asked Keplinger, curious.

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.

DUFF stands for "designated ugly fat friend" — the buddy who makes everyone else in the group look better by comparison.

"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. "Then, I thought — 'Wait, that's super mean.' And then: 'Oh crap, that's me! I am the DUFF of my group!'"

But when she did an informal survey of her pals, she was surprised to learn that she wasn't alone. "I realized that everyone is insecure and thinks they're the DUFF," says Keplinger.

Since her book "The DUFF" became a best seller, moving hundreds of thousands of copies since September 2010, the term has become common parlance.

And #Iamtheduff has begun trending on Twitter, in a celebration of self-acceptance and individuality.

From top left: Sabrina Carpenter, Bailee Madison, Kylie Jenner and Tammin Sursok all seen sporting 'Duff' tees.Photo: Startraksphoto.com (4)

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).

Still, the phenomenon has taken Keplinger by surprise. 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. "Whenever anyone talked [about the success of the book] or a movie being in the works, I'd cover my ears and say: 'If it happens, it happens.' "

"But it's been incredibly nerve-wracking and exciting."

As the story goes, after that gossipy conversation in the cafeteria, Keplinger, an aspiring author, jokingly said, "I'm going to write a book called 'The DUFF.'" Encouraged by friends, the teenager threw down the gauntlet to herself and typed up the first few chapters within a month.

There are clear similarities between the writer and her main character, Bianca Piper, who suffers from deep insecurities but is also quick-witted and fiery.

She ends up falling for her high-school frenemy, Wesley, an oversexed jock who is persuaded to help Bianca with a makeover to become more attractive and popular.

Feminists will be relieved to hear the "makeover" doesn't go quite as planned. As Keplinger reveals, Bianca doesn't become that girl "who takes off her glasses and is suddenly a supermodel."

"I always tell people that Bianca is me on my worst days," she laughs. "She is very snarky, maybe a little mean, whereas I'm much more upbeat and cheerful.

"Our home lives are different, but we also have awesome, pretty friends and some self-esteem issues," the author adds.

They're also both quite astute. When Keplinger sent out her draft of "The DUFF," agents were lining up to sign her — but didn't know she was 17.

"I didn't tell anyone I was in high school, but I was using my high-school e-mail address so they could see that it was a '.edu,'" Keplinger says. "[One] agent sent me an e-mail saying, 'Can we talk?' and I said, 'It has to be after 3 p.m.' But I didn't mention why.

I realized that everyone is insecure and thinks they're the DUFF. - Kody Keplinger, author of 'The Duff'

"She called me and said, 'I want to represent you, but is there anything you need to ask me first?' So I said, 'You know, my mom is going to have to cosign everything.'

"She paused and said, 'What?'

"I told her I was 17, and she was like, 'OMG, I thought you were a teacher, which is why I had to call you after 3 p.m.!'"

Within weeks, Poppy, an imprint of Little Brown, snapped up the book, which became a best seller. The option for the movie was sold before the book was even published. Keplinger began her freshman year at Ithaca College in upstate New York, majoring in creative writing and juggling revisions to "The DUFF."

She now lives in Washington Heights, where she has completed four more YA books. Her latest novel, "Lying Out Loud," will be published in April.

As for the inevitable changes that can create controversy when a beloved book is turned into a film, Keplinger is quick to reassure fans.

"The filmmakers cared a lot about the heart of the story," she explains. "As long as the message remains intact — that everyone feels like the DUFF at times — I'm 100 percent thrilled."

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