Lucy Hale

Biography

Karen Lucille Hale (born June 14, 1989) is an American actress and singer. Her breakthrough role as Aria Montgomery in the television series Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017) won her seven Teen Choice Awards, the most for any actress in a single series. She has also won accolades at the Gracie Awards and the People's Choice Awards. Hale first became known in 2003, as one of five winners of the reality show American Juniors. She appeared in the film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2008) before landing her role on Pretty Little Liars. While starring on the show, she appeared in the films A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song and Scream 4 (both 2011), released her debut album Road Between (2014), and began hosting Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve (2016–2021). Hale's television roles following Pretty Little Liars include Life Sentence (2018), Katy Keene (2020) as the titular character, and Ragdoll (2021). Her continued film appearances include Truth or Dare, Dude (both 2018), Fantasy Island (2020), The Hating Game (2021) and Which Brings Me to You (2024).

== Early life == Karen Lucille Hale was born on June 14, 1989, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Julie Knight and Preston Hale. She was named after one of her great-grandmothers. Her mother is a registered nurse. She has an older sister, Maggie, a step-sister, Kirby, and three step-sisters through her father. Hale was homeschooled as a child. During her childhood, she took acting and singing lessons.

== Career ==

=== 2003–2009: Early roles and recognition === In 2003, Hale first appeared on television as a contestant in the Fox reality show American Juniors. On July 30, 2003, Hale finished in fourth place and became part of a group of the same name formed of the top 5 finishers (Chauncey Matthews, Danielle White and Tori & Taylor Thompson). The group disbanded in 2005, after their self-titled studio album's lackluster sales. Hale moved to Los Angeles at age 15 in the hopes of getting a record deal. Shortly after, she started auditioning for acting roles and received a minor role on Drake & Josh and guest roles on shows such as Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, The O.C., and How I Met Your Mother. She appeared as Miranda Hampson in two episodes of the Disney Channel show Wizards of Waverly Place. In 2007, Hale appeared in NBC's short-lived series Bionic Woman. Hale plays Becca Sommers, the younger sister of the title character Jaime Sommers (played by Michelle Ryan). The character was originally portrayed by Mae Whitman in the unaired pilot episode, after which Whitman departed the series. In August 2008, Hale made her film debut in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 portraying Effie Kaligaris, the younger sister of Lena Kaligaris (played by Alexis Bledel). Hale then appeared in The CW series Privileged as Rose Baker, with co-stars Ashley Newbrough and JoAnna Garcia. She starred in the Lifetime television film Sorority Wars.

=== 2010–2017: Pretty Little Liars and mainstream breakthrough ===

In October 2009, Hale was cast as Aria Montgomery in Pretty Little Liars, based on the book series of the same name by Sara Shepard. The television series lasted seven seasons from 2010 to 2017, with Hale's performance being praised by critics. She also received a number of awards and nominations for her performance, including seven Teen Choice Awards, a Gracie Allen Award, a People's Choice Award and a Young Hollywood Award. In January 2010, Hale appeared as the singer Phoebe Nichols and her identical body double Vanessa Patton in the CSI: Miami episode "Show Stopper". In 2011, Hale had a cameo role as Sherrie in the slasher film Scream 4. Later, she was cast as the aspiring singer Katie Gibbs in A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song, the third installment of A Cinderella Story series, which was released on direct-to-video in September 2011. She also recorded songs for the film's soundtrack. Hale has made appearances of music videos, such as Foy Vance's "She Burns", Chase Jordan's "Lose Control (Take a Sip)" and Jackson Harris' "Come Back Down to Earth".

Hale hosted an episode of MTV's Punk'd which aired on April 26, 2012. The episode also featured Hale's Pretty Litte Liars co-star Ian Harding, Vanessa Hudgens and Josh Hutcherson. The same year, Hale voiced Periwinkle, the twin sister of Tinker Bell (voiced by Mae Whitman) in the Disney animated film Secret of the Wings. In June 2012, Hale announced that she had signed a record deal with Hollywood Records (in co-partnership with DMG Nashville). On June 11, 2013, Hale announced her role as Ambassador of the beauty brand Mark Girl. Hale co-hosted the Teen Choice Awards with Darren Criss in 2013 and David Dobrik in 2019 and the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards Pre-Show with Sway Calloway. Hale's debut studio album Road Between was released on June 3, 2014. In 2015, Hale collaborated with Rascal Flatts on a cover of "Let It Go" from the Disney animated film Frozen for the compilation album We Love Disney. Hale served as a correspondent in New Orleans and co-hosted with Ryan Seacrest in Times Square for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve (2016–2021), making her the first millennial actress to co-host the Times Square segments. Hale has recorded two stand-alone Christmas songs, the original song "Mistletoe" and a cover of Francesca Battistelli's "You're Here", released in 2014 and 2017, respectively.

=== 2018–present: Continued film and television work === In 2018, Hale was cast in The CW comedy-drama series Life Sentence as Stella Abbott, a woman who finds out that her terminal cancer is cured. The show was canceled after one season. The same year, Hale starred in three films, Truth or Dare, Dude and The Unicorn. On March 11, 2019, Hale was cast as the lead role in Katy Keene, based on the Archie Comics character of the same name. In 2020, Hale starred as Melanie Cole in the supernatural horror film Fantasy Island. In 2021, Hale starred as the lead role in the romantic comedy film The Hating Game. The same year, Hale became a brand ambassador and model for lingerie company Hunkemöller.