HOW IT ALL STARTED

Michalka started acting at the age of nine. In 1992, she and her older sister, Alyson Renae "Aly" Michalka and their parents (Carrie Begley Michalka and Mark Michalka) moved to Seattle. There her parents made sure they were exposed to all varieties of music. They then moved back to Southern California, where they still live. AJ was in a number of WORD Music productions at her church in Southern California as a young child. AJ sings and songwrites with sister Aly. Aly & AJ is the name of their singing partnership. Amanda plays a variety of instruments such as acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, and bongos. 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". They were to star in Haversham Hall, a new Disney Channel Original Series that was supposed to premiere this fall, but was not picked up. She has also made appearances on shows such as Oliver Beene, Six Feet Under, The Guardian, and General Hospital.