Samantha "Sam" Montgomery is the protagonist and Cinderella character of the film. She was portrayed by Hannah Robinson as a 9 year old and Hilary Duff as a 17 year old. She is a tomboy and lived a great life as a child until her father Hal Montgomery foolishly married Fiona, who already had 2 twin daughters of her own named Brianna and Gabriella. But all went well for Sam until the Northridge Earthquake strikes and Hal is killed. Fiona blames Sam for Hal's death. Since Hal apparently never left a will, all of his belongings went to Fiona. Since then, Sam had been mistreated by her jealous stepfamily. Despite their cruelty, Sam finds comfort through the diner staff consisting of Rhonda, Eleanor and Bobby and through her best friend, Carter.
Eight years later, Sam was employed at the diner which used to be Hal's Diner but was now Fiona's. But Sam had a secret IM pen pal known as Nomad whom she chats with everyday. She was unaware that it was Austin Ames, the most popular boy at her school, until the Halloween Homecoming Dance. After getting some encouragement from her friends she goes to the dance in a beautiful dress, and mask, and meets Austin. They get to know each other and share a romantic dance. Before he can unmask Sam however, the alarm on her cellphone goes off and she leaves. Austin and Sam are named Homecoming Prince and Princess but Sam leaves the dance in order to get back at the diner before midnight and she drops her cellphone while rushing out.
When Sam's stepsisters discovered that she was Austin's Cinderella, they, along with Austin's ex-girlfriend Shelby Cummings, become jealous and told everyone at the school pep rally by performing a skit as well as naming her an impostor, and Sam leaves feeling angry and humiliated with only Carter by her side. Later that day, Fiona gives Sam a fake rejection letter from Princeton, even though in reality she was accepted, in order for Sam to stay and serve her. Fed up with Fiona's abusive bossiness, Sam says "No" for the first time, quits her job and moved out to live with Rhonda. Right before the big Homecoming Game, Sam went into the locker room and confronted Austin, she made him feel ashamed and then left. During the game Sam decided to leave, but when Austin saw her leaving, he left the game and chased after Sam before she could leave. To Shelby Cummings and the stepsisters' dismay, Sam and Austin kissed in the rain as the Fighting Frogs win the game. Sam narrates that she and Austin got a cold from being in the rain, but it didn't matter.
Later Sam, after recovering from her cold, finds Hal's will in her favorite childhood book and finally realizes that she owns everything. She restores Hal's diner to its former glory and goes off to Princeton with Austin in the end after he gives her back her cellphone. Fiona, Brianna, and Gabriella work at Hal's diner to compensate the inheritance money they stole from Sam.
Personality[]
Sam is a very sweet girl, even to her stepfamily. But as a teenager, after being publicly humiliated at school, Sam finally gets tough on her stepsisters and Fiona. She tells Fiona that she can mess with her hair, nose, face, and even Hal's Diner, all she wants, but Fiona is done messing with Sam herself, the wrong thing Fiona chose to mess with. Sam can be unconfident especially around Austin until he chased after her before she left the game. She is very geeky, but very beautiful. She takes extra AP classes to graduate a year early to escape Fiona, and she is a straight-A student.
Sam is a tomboy. She is very beautiful, both inside and out. She is very strong inside.
Nicknames[]
- Sam (everyone)
- Diner Girl (Shelby Cummings and most other students)
- Sammy (Fiona & Eleanor)
- PrincetonGirl (Austin Ames)
Terry is the only character to call Sam "Samantha".
Appearance[]
Sam has golden blond hair. She is seen wearing different outfits mostly boy clothes, and her signature color is blue.
As a Child[]
As a child, Sam wore a light blue dress in the beginning of the movie. While playing softball with Hal, she is seen wearing a boy red and blue top. During Hal and Fiona's wedding, she has her hair in pigtails and is seen in a blue dress. During the earthquake scene, she is wearing a blue top and blue pajama bottoms.
As a Teenager[]
Sam is seen wearing mostly jeans, sneakers, and t-shirts and does not dress very girly. Her work uniform included roller-skates, a black T-shirt, blue jeans, and a peach apron. She usually has her hair in a ponytail during work. At the Halloween Homecoming Dance, Rhonda gave her a beautiful dress and a white mask. The dress is a wedding dress that Rhonda had been saving. It is strapless and has lace, beads, and a poofy skirt.
Likes/Dislikes[]
Sam has lots of likes and dislikes. We all know her greatest dislike(s): her stepfamily. She also dislikes Shelby, Caitlyn, and Madison the most out of the female students in no relation.
Likes[]
- Sports
- Hanging at Hal's
- Fairytales
- Romance
- Austin Ames
- Rhonda
- Her snowglobe (but then it was broken during the Northridge Earthquake)
- The color blue
- Carter Farrell
Dislikes[]
- Fiona
- Brianna
- Gabriella
- Shelby Cummings (and her friends)
- Public humiliation
- Being teased
- Fashion
- Dresses (except Rhonda's dress)
- Skirts
- Her stepfamily's teasing
- Being treated like Cinderella
- Losing her cellphone
- Cheerleaders (see above for specific proof)
Family[]
At the beginning of the movie, Sam is seen to be very close to her father and referring to him as her "best friend". Her mother died a few years before the film. When Hal married Fiona, Sam tries to be nice to them but Fiona, Gabriella and Brianna all treat her poorly while Hal appears to ignore the situation.