Aly Michalka

ALY MICHALKA

Date of Birth: March 25, 1989

Although Alyson Michalka began her acting career at the age of five in local theatre productions, her first paying job—a starring role on The Disney Channel's Phil of the Future—shot her to fame among young audiences. While appearing on the show, she also starred in two Disney Channel films, Now You See It and Cow Belles, then when the series came to an end, shot the Disney pilot Haversham Hall, which co-starred her sister, Amanda "A.J." Michalka. Aly also starred in the MTV original DVD movie Super Sweet Sixteen: The Movie.

Michalka moved to the big screen when she starred in Summit Entertainment's Bandslam opposite Vanessa Hudgens and Gaelen Connell. She followed that up with a leading role in Sony's Easy A, opposite other young stars such as Amanda Bynes, Emma Stone and Penn Badgley. She's also completed a role in the thriller The Roommate, starring with Twilight's Cam Gigandet and Gossip Girl's Leighton Meester.

Alongside Ashley Tisdale, Aly can be seen in the new CW drama series Hellcats, playing a college student forced to join the competitive Hellcats cheerleading squad in order to save her scholarship and stay in school.

In addition to her many film roles, she is also working on another album with her sister AJ Michalka. The duo is now known as 78violet. In addition to singing and songwriting, Aly also plays guitar, piano and percussion. As part of the rock/pop duo Aly &AJ, Michalka and her younger sister AJ became platinum-selling recording artists at a very young age. In 2006, Aly & AJ were nominated for an American Music Award. They have also written or co-written all of the songs on their two hit records, and their holiday release Acoustic Hearts of Winter was one of the best-selling Christmas albums of 2006. Their hit single, Potential Breakup Song, was noted in Time magazine as one of the Top 10 Songs of the Year for 2007 and has been RIAA certified with sales of more than 1,000,000 downloads.

In 2006 and 2007, Aly & AJ had two consecutive sold-out tours, headlining amphitheaters and arenas across the United States, as well as international success in Japan and the UK. The duo has also contributed to the soundtracks for the films The Game Plan, Herbie Fully Loaded, Ice Princess, and Bandslam.

In addition to her music and acting, Michalka has an abundance of other activities keeping her busy. Penguin Books has published a four-book series Aly & AJ's Rock 'n Roll Mysteries, for which she is the credited illustrator. Her and her sister have also partnered with Performance Designed Products (PDP) to launch a line of video game accessories targeted at female gamers. The accessories debuted last year with a signature line of guitar controllers compatible with Wii, Guitar Hero and Rock Band. Michalka is also very involved with philanthropic activities. She supports the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation and Race to Erase MS. Previously, she was a co-chair of the AmberWatch Foundation, an organization that promotes child safety and awareness.

Michalka currently resides in Los Angeles.