Amanda Joy Michalka ( ; born April 10, 1991) is an American actress, musician and singer-songwriter who is best known as one half of the musical duo

Aly & AJ Aly & AJ is an American pop rock duo consisting of sisters Aly Michalka, Alyson "Aly" Michalka (born 1989) and AJ Michalka, Amanda Joy "AJ" Michalka (born 1991) from Torrance, California. They signed with Hollywood Records and in 2005, they rele ...

(briefly 78violet), alongside her older sister Aly Michalka. She has appeared in films such as '' The Lovely Bones'' (2009), '' Secretariat'' (2010), '' Super 8'' (2011), '' Grace Unplugged'' (2013), '' Weepah Way for Now'' (2015), and '' Support the Girls'' (2018). Michalka also starred in the ABC sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–2023) and its spin-off series '' Schooled'' (2019–2020). She is also known for voicing a lead role as Catra in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

animated adventure series ''

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' is an American Animated series, animated superhero television series developed by ND Stevenson and produced by DreamWorks Animation Television for Netflix. It is a Reboot (fiction), reboot of the 1985 Fil ...

'' (2018–2020).

Early life

Michalka was born in

Torrance, California Torrance is a coastal city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the metropolitan ...

and is the younger sister of actress and musician Aly Michalka. Her father, Mark, owns a contracting company, and her mother, Carrie, is a musician and 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 in Christianity, Jesus. This music is typically performed by Christians, Christian individuals. The extent to whi ...

band "JC Band". Her parents are divorced. As a little girl, she briefly lived in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. Both she and her sister attended Mack Elementary. She has played the piano since she was six and started playing the guitar in her early life. She started acting when she was five, mostly in church play productions. She was raised as a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and homeschooled for part of her childhood.Grounded in Faith – Today's Christian
Michalka was in a number of musical productions at her school in

as a young woman.

Career

She plays a variety of instruments such as

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, electric guitar, and piano. She was a model for catalogs. In 2006, she made her

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

debut in the

Disney Channel Original Movie Since its launch on April 18, 1983, American cable and satellite pay television channel Disney Channel airs and/or releases/distributes original first-run television films under the banner names of Disney Channel Premiere Films until October 1 ...

'' Cow Belles'', as "Courtney Callum", along with sister Aly, as "Taylor Callum". She has also appeared on shows such as '' Oliver Beene'', '' Six Feet Under'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', and ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera created by Frank and Doris Hursley which has been broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC since April 1, 1963. Originally a half-hour seria ...

''. She and her sister appeared in the MTV film '' Super Sweet 16: The Movie.'' In 2009, she was featured in the

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

film '' The Lovely Bones'', released widely on January 15, 2010. From 2009 to 2013, Michalka and her sister performed as the musical duo

78violet Aly & AJ is an American pop rock duo consisting of sisters Aly Michalka, Alyson "Aly" Michalka (born 1989) and AJ Michalka, Amanda Joy "AJ" Michalka (born 1991) from Torrance, California. They signed with Hollywood Records and in 2005, they rele ...

. They decided to change its name back to "Aly and AJ" in 2015. She was cast as a

recurring character A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main f ...

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

series '' Hellcats'' starring

Ashley Tisdale Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress and singer. During her childhood, she was featured in over 100 advertisements and had minor roles on-screen and in theatre. She achieved mainstream success as Maddie Fitzpatric ...

and her sister Aly Michalka. The series ran for one season and was cancelled in May 2011. Michalka appeared in the 2011 film '' Super 8'', directed by J. J. Abrams. Her first big-screen starring role was as the title character in 2013's '' Grace Unplugged''. Since 2013, Michalka has had a recurring role on the ABC sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' as Lainey Lewis, the best friend of main character Erica Goldberg and one-time girlfriend of Erica's brother, Barry. In May 2015, it was announced that she was promoted to series regular for the show's upcoming third season. She also played the Lainey character in a lead role on the spinoff series '' Schooled'', which ran for two seasons. Michalka voices the character Stevonnie in ''

Steven Universe ''Steven Universe'' is an American animated television series created by Rebecca Sugar for Cartoon Network. It tells the coming-of-age story of a young boy, Steven Universe (character), Steven Universe (Zach Callison), who lives with the Crys ...

'', a fusion of the protagonist Steven and his best friend Connie. In July 2014, she and her sister filmed an untitled drama in Laurel Canyon, California. The film was directed and written by Aly's husband, Stephen Ringer. Michalka was one of the producers of the film, with her sister and Ringer, and participated in the casting process. In May 2015, it was announced that the film, '' Weepah Way for Now'', would premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 16, 2015. The film was released on DVD, iTunes, and other streaming platforms in June 2016. In 2024, Michalka competed in season twelve of '' The Masked Singer'' as "Strawberry Shortcake", with Hayley Orrantia (who competed in season seven as "Ringmaster") serving as her Mask Ambassador. She was eliminated in the semi-finals and finished in third place. Michalka also made references to her nephew and Aly & AJ's upcoming album.

Personal life

In 2006, Michalka dated actor and musician

Joe Jonas Joseph Adam Jonas (born August 15, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He rose to fame as a member of the pop rock band the Jonas Brothers, alongside his brothers Kevin Jonas, Kevin and Nick Jonas, Nick. The group released their ...

. She has confirmed that her duo's song "Flattery" was written about him. Since August 2017, Michalka has been in a relationship with actor Josh Pence.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Discography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michalka, AJ 1991 births Living people Actresses from Torrance, California Actresses from Seattle Aly & AJ American acoustic guitarists American child actresses American child singers American film actresses American performers of Christian music American television actresses American women guitarists American women pop singers American women singer-songwriters Guitarists from California Guitarists from Washington (state) Hollywood Records artists Liberalism in the United States Singers from Seattle Musicians from Torrance, California Singer-songwriters from California 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American women singers Singer-songwriters from Washington (state)