AJ Michalka

AJ Michalka
Michalka in 2007
Born	Amanda Joy Michalka (1991-04-10) April 10, 1991 Torrance, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress singer songwriter guitarist
Years active	2002–present
Relatives	Alyson Michalka (sister)
Musical career
Also known as	Amanda Michalka
Genres	Acoustic rock pop pop rock electropop
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano
Labels	Hollywood Independent
Associated acts	Aly & AJ

Amanda Joy "AJ" Michalka (born April 10, 1991), often credited as AJ, is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and musician. She was a model prior to becoming an actress, and is best known as one-half of the duo 78violet (formerly Aly & AJ) with her sister Aly Michalka. AJ recorded the theme song and accompanying music video for the film Secretariat, entitled "It's Who You Are". She also issued a single and video called "All I've Ever Needed" from her 2013 film Grace Unplugged. She has also had a successful acting career, and after two seasons in a recurring role as Lainey Lewis on the ABC sitcom The Goldbergs, she has been promoted to a regular role on the series for the third season onward.

Early life

Michalka was born in Torrance, California. Her father, Mark, owns a contracting company, and her mother, Carrie, is a musician and performed with JC Band, a Christian band. She has Ukrainian, German, British (English, Scottish and Welsh) and Irish ancestry. Michalka has been playing the piano since she was six and started playing the guitar in her early teens. She started acting when she was five years old, mostly in church play productions. She was raised as a Christian and continues to practice the faith. Michalka was in a number of musical productions at her school in Milwaukee as a young adult.

Career

She plays a variety of instruments such as acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, and bongos. She was a model for catalogs. In March 2006, she made her Disney Channel debut in the Disney Channel Original Movie Cow Belles, as "Courtney Callum", along with sister Aly, as "Taylor Callum". She has also made appearances on shows such as Oliver Beene, Six Feet Under, The Guardian, and General Hospital. She has also appeared with her sister, Aly, in the MTV film, Super Sweet 16: The Movie.

In 2009, she was featured in the Peter Jackson film The Lovely Bones, released widely on January 15, 2010.

Michalka and her sister perform as the musical duo 78violet (formerly Aly & AJ). They have released two studio albums and a holiday album. The two are working on a new album, to be released in 2014. She was cast as a recurring character on The CW series Hellcats starring Ashley Tisdale and along with her sister Alyson 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 is 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 girlfriend of one of the main characters on the show. In May 2015, it was announced that she would be a series regular for the show's upcoming third season. In July 2014, she and her sister, Aly Michalka 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, alongside her sister and Ringer, and also participated in the casting process. In early May 2015, it was announced the film, now titled, Weepah Way for Now, premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 16, 2015.

Filmography

Films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Cow Belles	Courtney Callum	Disney Channel Original Movie
2007	Super Sweet 16: The Movie	Sara	Television film
2009	The Lovely Bones	Clarissa
2010	Slow Moe	Emily
2010	Secretariat	Kate Tweedy
2011	Super 8	Jen Kaznyk
2011	Salem Falls	Gillian Duncan	Television film
2013	Grace Unplugged	Grace Trey
2013	Angels in Stardust	Vallie Sue
2014	Escaping Amish	Hannah Yoder	Lifetime TV Movie
2015	Weepah Way for Now	Joy

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Passions	Sheridan's Daughter	1 episode
2002	Birds of Prey	Young Dinah	2 episodes
2004	General Hospital	Ashley B.	2 episodes
2004	Six Feet Under	Ashley	2 episodes
2002–2004	The Guardian	Shannon Gressler	15 episodes
2003–2004	Oliver Beene	Bonnie	9 episodes
2007	Punk'd	Herself	1 episode
2007	Aly & AJ: Sister Act	Herself	MTV television special
2011	Hellcats	Deirdre Perkins	3 episodes
2013–present	The Goldbergs	Lainey Lewis	Recurring character (Seasons 1–2) Series regular (Season 3)
2014	Silicon Valley	Charlotte
2014	Motive	Emily Williams
2015	Steven Universe	Stevonnie (voice)
2016	Cupcake Wars	Herself	Celebrity special

Music videos

Year	Title	Role	Artist	Notes
2012	"Gotten"	Runaway daughter	Slash

Discography

See also: 78violet discography

Solo

Year	Title	Album
2010	"It's Who You Are"	Secretariat
2013	"All I've Ever Needed"	Grace Unplugged
	"Desert Song"
	"You Never Let Go"
	"Misunderstood"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated Work	Result
2006	American Music Awards	Contemporary Inspirational Artists of the Year	Into the Rush	Nominated
2014	MovieGuide Awards	Most Inspiring Performance in Movies	Grace Unplugged	Won
2015	Napa Film Festival	Special Jury Award-Acting in a Lounge Feature Film (shared with Aly Michalka)	Weepah Way for Now	Won

External links

• AJ Michalka at the Internet Movie Database
• Aly and AJ on Twitter
• AJ Michalka on Instagram
• AJ Michalka on Twitter