Alyson Renae Michalka ( ; born March 25, 1989) is an American actress, singer-songwriter and musician who rose to prominence with her starring role as Keely Teslow in the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Comp ...

sitcom '' Phil of the Future'' (2004–2006). Aly Michalka went on to appear in various films, such as '' Bandslam'' (2009), '' Easy A'' (2010), ''

The Roommate ''The Roommate'' is a 2011 American psychological thriller film directed by Christian E. Christiansen and written by Sonny Mallhi. The film stars Leighton Meester, Minka Kelly, Cam Gigandet, Danneel Harris, Matt Lanter, and Aly Michalka. '' ...

'' (2011), ''

Grown Ups 2 ''Grown Ups 2'' is a 2013 American comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Adam Sandler, Fred Wolf, and Tim Herlihy, and produced by Sandler and Jack Giarraputo. It is a sequel to the 2010 film '' Grown Ups''. The film stars Sandler ...

'' (2013), '' Sequoia'' (2014), '' Weepah Way for Now'' (2015), and ''

The Lears ''The Lears'' is a 2017 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Carl Bessai, and starring Bruce Dern, Anthony Michael Hall and Sean Astin. It is a modern adaptation of William Shakespeare's '' King Lear''. Plot On a family weekend ...

'' (2017). She had starring roles in

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

comedy drama series ''

Hellcats ''Hellcats'' is an American cheerleading comedy-drama television series that originally aired on The CW in the United States from September 8, 2010, to May 17, 2011. Based on the book ''Cheer: Inside the Secret World of College Cheerleaders'' ...

'' (2010–2011) and the CW crime drama series ''

iZombie ''iZombie'', originally titled ''I, Zombie'', is a comic book series created by writer Chris Roberson and artist Michael Allred, published by DC Comics' Vertigo imprint beginning in 2010. The series deals with Gwen Dylan (née Gwendolyn Price) ...

'' (2015–2019), along with the Hallmark Channel Original Movie, ''Sand Dollar Cove'' (2021). She is half of the musical duo Aly & AJ (briefly 78violet), alongside her sister AJ Michalka.

Early life

Michalka was born in

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has of beachfront on the Pacific O ...

. She grew up in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

, and

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

with her younger sister, Amanda Joy "AJ", who is also an actress and musician. Her father, Mark, owns a contracting company, and her mother, Carrie, is a musician who performed with the

Christian rock Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly C ...

band "JC Band". Her parents are divorced. Michalka has played the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

since she was five and started playing the guitar at the age of 13. She started acting when she was five years old in church play productions. She was raised as a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

.Grounded in Faith – Today's Christian

Career

Acting

In 2004, Michalka was cast in the role of Keely Teslow on the

's '' Phil of the Future''. The series premiered on June 18, 2004. In August 2006, Disney Channel ended the series after two seasons. She has also starred in the Disney Channel original movie ''Now You See It...'', and appeared in the TV movie ''

Cow Belles ''Cow Belles'' is a 2006 romantic teen comedy Disney Channel Original film that stars American pop recording artists Alyson Michalka and Amanda Michalka, better known as sister duo Aly & AJ. It premiered on March 24, 2006 on the Disney Chan ...

'' opposite her sister. Michalka and her sister starred in several projects produced by the Disney Channel and

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. In 2007, they appeared in the MTV film '' Super Sweet 16: The Movie'' based on the MTV series '' My Super Sweet 16''. In August 2009, she co-starred in the

Walden Media Walden Media, LLC or Walden Media is an American film investor, distributor, and publishing company. Its films are based on children's literature, biographies or historical events, as well as documentaries and some original screenplays. The corpo ...

film '' Bandslam''.Aly & AJ Writing New Songs, Plot Films
''Billboard''. January 10, 2008. In April 2010,

announced Michalka was cast in the main role of Marti Perkins on the

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

drama series ''

''. Despite a successful premiere, ratings dropped, and in May 2011, The CW announced the show was not renewed for a second season. In 2011, Michalka made a guest appearance on ''

CSI: NY ''CSI: NY'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: New York'', stylized as ''CSI: NY/Crime Scene Investigation'') is an American police procedural television series that ran on CBS from September 22, 2004, to February 22, 2013, for a total of nine season ...

''. In 2010 and 2011 respectively, Michalka had major supporting roles in films '' Easy A'' and ''

''. In 2013, Michalka appeared in the independent drama film, ''

Crazy Kind of Love ''Crazy Kind of Love'' is a 2013 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Sarah Siegel-Magness which is based on the 1995 novel '' Angel Angel'' by April Stevens. The film stars Virginia Madsen, Graham Rogers, Amanda Crew, Zach Gilford a ...

'', alongside Eva Longoria, Virginia Madsen and

Amanda Crew Amanda Catherine Crew (born June 5, 1986) is a Canadian actress. Following her film debut in ''Final Destination 3'' (2006), she had lead roles as Felicia Alpine in ''Sex Drive'' (2008) and Tess Carroll in '' Charlie St. Cloud'' (2010), as well a ...

. In 2013, Michalka participated in a multi-episode role on the

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

Two and a Half Men ''Two and a Half Men'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS for twelve seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. Originally starring Charlie Sheen in the lead role alongside Jon Cryer and Angus T. Jones, t ...

''. In July 2014, she and her sister filmed the independent drama '' Weepah Way for Now'' in Laurel Canyon, California; Michalka also participated in the casting process and production for the film. The movie was written and directed by her husband, Stephen Ringer, and premiered at the

Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, epis ...

on June 16, 2015. Michalka had a recurring role on the CW series ''

'' for the first and second season, and became a regular cast member for season three. On April 19, 2016, she was announced as a cast member for the comedy film ''

'', an adaptation based on the Shakespearean play ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...

''.

Music

Michalka and her sister AJ formed the musical duo Aly & AJ in 2004. They released their first album, '' Into the Rush'', on August 16, 2005. In September 2006, they released a holiday album, ''

Acoustic Hearts of Winter ''Acoustic Hearts of Winter'' is a Christmas album and the second studio album by American pop duo Aly & AJ. The album was released on September 26, 2006 in the United States, via Hollywood Records. The album was conceived as a project after compl ...

'', featuring cover songs and two original songs. In July 2007, their third album, '' Insomniatic'', was released, featuring the Billboard top 20 hit single, "

Potential Breakup Song "Potential Breakup Song" is a song co-written and performed by pop rock duo Aly & AJ and is the first single from their third studio album, ''Insomniatic''. It was released on June 26, 2007, going on to top many video countdowns, and becoming A ...

". The duo changed their name to 78violet and were set to release a fourth album in early 2010, but the project never materialized following their departure from

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label focuses in pop, rock, alternative, hip hop, and country genres, as well as specializing in mature recordings not suitable for the flagship Walt Disney Records ...

. Several years later, in the summer of 2013, they returned with new music, releasing their first single, " Hothouse", on July 8, 2013. In December 2015, they confirmed that they had returned to their original name, "Aly & AJ". In April 2016, they confirmed plans to release new music for an upcoming studio album. On June 2, 2017, they announced a new single, titled "Take Me". It served as the lead single from their EP, planned to be released on July 14, 2017. On May 7, 2021, they released '' A Touch of the Beat Gets You Up on Your Feet Gets You Out and Then Into the Sun''.

Personal life

In 2013, Michalka began dating independent film producer Stephen Ringer, whom she met on the set of her film ''Sequoia''. The couple became engaged at

Big Sur, California Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California between Carmel Highlands, California, Carmel and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Range, Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the ...

, in July 2014. They married in a small ceremony in Portofino, Italy, on June 6, 2015.

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

Discography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michalka, Alyson 1989 births Living people Aly & AJ 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women singers Actors from Torrance, California Actresses from California Actresses from Seattle American child actresses American child singers American Christians American women pop singers American women singer-songwriters American film actresses American television actresses American women guitarists Musicians from Seattle Musicians from Torrance, California Guitarists from California Guitarists from Washington (state) Singer-songwriters from California Hollywood Records artists 21st-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Washington (state)