AJ Michalka

Amanda Joy "AJ" 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 (briefly 78violet), alongside her older sister Aly Michalka.

In addition to her music career, Michalka 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), and she voiced a lead role as Catra in the Netflix animated adventure series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018–2020).

Early life Michalka was born in Torrance, California 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 band "JC Band". Her parents are divorced. As a little girl, she briefly lived in Seattle and Milwaukee. 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 and homeschooled for part of her childhood. Michalka was in a number of musical productions at her school in Milwaukee as a young woman. She and her sister appeared 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.

From 2009 to 2013, Michalka and her sister performed as the musical duo 78violet. They decided to change their band name back to "Aly and AJ" in 2015. She was cast as a recurring character on The CW series Hellcats starring Ashley Tisdale 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.

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.

Starting in 2015, Michalka voiced the character Stevonnie in Steven Universe, a fusion of the protagonist Steven and his best friend Connie.

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.

In December 2025, it was announced that Michalka was cast in season 4 of The White Lotus.

Personal life In 2006, Michalka dated actor and musician Joe Jonas. 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 Year Title Role Notes 2009The Lovely Bones Clarissa 2010 Slow Moe Emily Secretariat Kate Tweedy 2011 Super 8 Jen Kaznyk 2013 Grace Unplugged Grace Trey Angels in Stardust Vallie Sue 2015 Weepah Way for Now Joy Also producer 2016 Dirty Lies Tiffany 2017 Apple of My Eye Kai 2018 Support the Girls Krista

Television Year Title Role Notes 2002 Passions Sheridan's Daughter 1 episode Birds of Prey Young Dinah Lance Episode: "Pilot" 2004 General Hospital Ashley B. 2 episodes Six Feet Under Ashley Shannon Gressler Recurring role (season 2–3) Oliver Beene Bonnie Recurring role 2006 Cow Belles Courtney Callum Television filmHaversham HallHope MasonEpisode: "Pilot" 2007 Punk'd Herself 1 episode Super Sweet 16: The Movie Sara Connors Television film Aly & AJ: Sister Act Herself Television special 2011 Hellcats Deirdre Perkins 3 episodes Salem Falls Gillian Duncan Television film 2013–2023 The Goldbergs Lainey Lewis Recurring role (season 1–2, 5); main role (season 3–4, 6); guest (season 7–10) 2014 Silicon Valley Charlotte Episode: "Proof of Concept" Motive Emily Williams Episode: "Dead End" Expecting Amish Hannah Yoder Television film 2015–2019 Steven Universe Stevonnie (voice) Recurring role 2016 Cupcake Wars Herself Television special All My Friends Are Getting Married Chloe 6 episodes 2018 Celebrity Family Feud Herself Episode: "Aly Michalka & AJ Michalka vs. Adrienne Houghton" 2018–2020 She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Catra (voice) Main role 2020 The Disney Family Singalong Herself Television special 2022 Ray Donovan: The Movie Young Abby Television film The Good Doctor Nelly Dunn Episode: "Yippee Ki-Yay" 2024 The Masked Singer Herself Main role (season 12) TBA The White Lotus TBA Main role (season 4)

Music videos Year Title Artist(s) Role 2012 "Gotten" Slash featuring Adam Levine Joanna Martin 2020 "Malibu" Kim Petras Herself

Discography

+Soundtrack appearances Year Track Album 2010 "It's Who You Are" Secretariat 2013 "All I've Ever Needed" Grace Unplugged "Desert Song" "You Never Let Go" "Misunderstood" 2017 "Here Comes a Thought"(with Estelle) Steven Universe, Vol. 1 (Original Soundtrack) "Tom Sawyer"(with Hayley Orrantia) The Goldbergs Mixtape "Eternal Flame"(with Hayley Orrantia) "Walking on Sunshine"(with Hayley Orrantia)2018 "We Deserve to Shine"(with Zach Callison, Grace Rolek, Estelle, Deedee Magno Hall, Michaela Dietz, Charlyne Yi and Erica Luttrell) 2019"Escapism"(with Zach Callison and Grace Rolek)Steven Universe, Vol. 2 (Original Soundtrack)2020"Warriors"The Music of She-ra

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2006 American Music Awards Contemporary Inspirational Artists of the Year Into the Rush 2014 Movieguide Awards Most Inspiring Performance in Movies Grace Unplugged 2015 Napa Film FestivalSpecial Jury Award-Acting in a Lounge Feature Film (shared with Aly Michalka) Weepah Way for Now 2017 Behind the Voice Actor AwardsBest Female Vocal Performance in a Television Series in a Guest Role Steven Universe