Malia Leilani Pyles (born July 13, 2000) is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayals of Sarah Baskets on FX's ''

Baskets A basket is a container that is traditionally constructed from stiff fibers and can be made from a range of materials, including wood splints, runners, and cane. While most baskets are made from plant materials, other materials such as horsehai ...

'' and Minnie "Mouse" Honrada in

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netwo ...

's '' Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin''.

Early life and education

Malia Leilani Pyles was born on July 13, 2000 in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 during the 2020 census, maki ...

as the only child to Richard Pyles, who is of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

descent, and Cora C. Pyles, who is originally from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Pyles began modeling at age eight. After appearing in ''Susan's Remembrance'' in 2011, Malia joined Hollywood-based Young Actor’s Studio, where she studied with coaches Carol Goldwasser and Lisa Picotte. At age fourteen, she began attending

Orange County School of the Arts Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA, ), is a 7th–12th grade public charter school located in downtown Santa Ana, California. The school caters to middle and high school students with talents in the performing, visual, literary arts, cul ...

. She attended other acting institutes such Bradley Baker, Broadway on Tour, Hollywood Kids, The Actor’s Circle, and OC Crazies.

Career

2011–2021: Career beginnings, ''Baskets'', and ''Batwoman''

Pyles began her acting career in 2011 in the short film ''Susan's Remembrance''. She continued on to play roles in the short films ''The Lepidoctor'' (2012), ''No Child Left Deprived'' (2013), and ''Guests'' (2014). In 2014, she made her television debut, portraying the role of Kristen in the short-lived series ''Scarlett''. In 2015, she appeared in films such as ''

The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards ''The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards'' is a 2015 American anthology film based on the book by Robert Boswell. It consists of seven vignettes. It premiered at the 2015 Atlanta Film Festival. Vignettes ''A Walk In Winter'' The first is ''A Wa ...

'' and ''

Memoria Memoria was the term for aspects involving memory in Western classical rhetoric. The word is Latin, and can be translated as "memory". It was one of five canons in classical rhetoric (the others being inventio, dispositio, elocutio, and pronunt ...

''. In 2016, Pyles appeared as Amanda Jane in an episode of

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

's ''

Bella and the Bulldogs ''Bella and the Bulldogs'' is an American comedy television series created by Jonathan Butler and Gabriel Garza that aired on Nickelodeon from January 17, 2015 to June 25, 2016. The series stars Brec Bassinger, Coy Stewart, Jackie Radinsky, Bud ...

''. In the same year, Pyles landed her first recurring role as Sarah Baskets in the FX comedy series ''

''. In 2017, she continued to play roles in the television series '' Speechless'', ''The Fosters'', ''

How to Get Away with Murder ''How to Get Away with Murder'' is an American legal thriller television series that premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on September 25, 2014, and concluded on May 14, 2020. The series was created by Peter Nowalk, and produced by Sh ...

''. In 2020, Pyles appeared as Parker Torres in ''

Batwoman Batwoman is a name used by several characters of DC Comics, both in mainstream continuity and Elseworlds. The best known Batwomen are Kathy Kane and Kate Kane. History * The first Batwoman, Kathy Kane, debuted during the Silver Age of Comics ...

''. In 2021, she appeared in the short films ''The Soot Man'' and ''Conjugal Revivification''.

2022–present: ''Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin''

In 2022, Pyles gained international recognition when she began portraying Minnie "Mouse" Honrada, a 15-year-old high school student, in HBO Max's critically acclaimed drama series '' Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin''. In September 2022, the series was renewed for a second season. In October of the same year, the new season was teased under the title ''Pretty Little Liars: Summer School''.

Personal life

Pyles currently resides in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and openly identifies as queer. On October 24, 2022, Pyles officially announced her relationship with '' Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin'' co-star Jordan Gonzalez after they appeared in a Halloween photoshoot together.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* Living people 2000 births American people of Filipino descent 21st-century American actresses American film actresses American television actresses {{DEFAULTSORT:Pyles, Malia Actresses from California American queer actresses LGBT actresses LGBT people from California Queer actresses Queer women