Kitty's Dish

Background:

A former model who has been in ads for magazines, store posters and Disney, Mattel, Playmates Toys, Zutopia, and American Girl, AJ Michalka began acting in such TV shows as "Passions," "Birds of Prey," "The Guardian," "General Hospital," "Oliver Beene" and "Six Feet Under." She later found new recognition as a singer when she launched a music album titled “In the Rush” (2005), alongside her sister Alyson “Aly” Michalka.

As “Aly & AJ,” the two sisters subsequently released their follow-up albums, "Acoustic Hearts of Winter" (2006) and "Insomniatic" (2007), the latter of which spawned the chart-topping song "Potential Break-Up Song."

"We're nonconformists who want to have a big impact on the kids who hear us. Our music comes from our heart, our soul, our experience. It's not just about boys and having the perfect day. It's got life in it. We're here to be a voice." Aly & AJ.

Meanwhile, AJ also continued her acting career by playing the title role in the Disney's animated television pilot "Kitty's Dish" (2005). Alongside her sister Alyson, she starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Cow Belles" (2006) and in the movie version of the MTV reality series “Super Sweet 16” (2007). Recently, it has been rumored she will play a role in the upcoming film "Scary Movie 5."

The 5' 6" green eyes actress was romantically linked with Joseph "Joe" Adam Jonas (born August 15, 1989), the lead vocalist/keyboardist of the pop-rock band “The Jonas Brothers.”

Amanda

Childhood and Family:

“We have the usual sister fights. But we’re best friends more than anything. We have a lot of fun together. We can be very different, but we’re similar in many ways, too. The whole blood harmony thing comes naturally to us. There is an amazing connection when you’re sisters, a real chemistry.” AJ Michalka (on her relationship with older sister Alyson)

On April 10, 1991, Amanda Joy Michalka, nicknamed “A.J.,” was born in Torrance, California, to parents Mark Michalka and Carrie Begley (was a cheerleader for the NFL's Oakland Raiders). Her older sister, Alyson Renae Michalka (aka Aly Michalka; born on March 25, 1989), is also an actress (she played Keely on Disney Channel's "Phil of the Future" (2004-2006) and a singer. They wrote and recorded their first album titled "Into the Rush" for Hollywood/Universal Records as “Aly & AJ,” which was released in early 2005.

AJ is of German descendant and is home schooled. She plays a variety of instruments such as acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, and bongos. During her leisure time, she enjoys dancing, cooking, horseback riding, mountain biking, reading and hanging out with her family and her dogs, Bandit, Roadie, and Willow.

"College is obviously something that I've thought about a little bit, but I'm so happy with what I'm doing now and I feel like college is an avenue for you to find what you want to do, what you want to have as your career, finding yourself as a person. If I wanted to go there for fun and have a good time and be on my own I would do that for sure, but I already know what I want to do." AJ Michalka

Super Sweet 16

Career:

At age nine, AJ Michalka began seriously studying acting and landed a starring role in a church musical "Jailhouse Rock." She subsequently booked a national commercial on her very first audition. She has been in ads for magazines, store posters and Disney, Mattel, Playmates Toys, Zutopia, and American Girl, among many others.

She was spotted as a guest in an episode of NBC’s soap opera "Passions," as well as in multiple episodes of the WB drama series loosely based on the DC Comics series, "Birds of Prey," and HBO’s television drama "Six Feet Under." She also had recurring roles on CBS’ Golden Globe nominated crime/drama series "The Guardian" (as Shannon Gressler; 2002-2004) and Fox’s sitcom "Oliver Beene" (as Bonnie, the love interest of the titular character played by Grant Rosenmeyer; 2003-2004).

In 2005, AJ wrote the song "No One" for Disney’s live action film "Ice Princess," which was directed by Tim Fywell and stars Michelle Trachtenberg, Joan Cusack, Kim Cattrall and Hayden Panettiere, and performed the track "Do You Believe in Magic" for the Disney Channel Original Movie “Now You See It...,” which stars her sister Alyson as an aspiring teen producer. Commenting on their remake of "Do You Believe in Magic" that was originally sung by John Sebastian's pop-rock band "The Lovin' Spoonful" in 1965, AJ said, "We really appreciated the song. It has a lot of passion and soul. We were told (songwriter) John Sebastian heard our version and just loved it."

Also in 2005, AJ, alongside her sister Alyson, got signed to Hollywood Records. As “Aly & AJ,” they made a pop-rock album together titled “Into the Rush,” which was released on August 16, 2005 (a deluxe edition was released on August 8, 2006). In order to promote the album's release, Alyson and AJ made a movie called “Aly & AJ in Concert” (2005), which was directed by her 16-year-old sister Alyson. Featuring 14 tracks, including the singles "Rush", "No One", "On the Ride", "Do You Believe in Magic" and "Walking on Sunshine," the album "Into the Rush" was eventually certified Platinum for sales of 1 million copies.

“We wanted this album to be about relationships. We were going through lots of different relationships and we wanted the new album to reflect that.” AJ Michalka on the album "Into the Rush" (2005)

Returning to acting, AJ played the title role in the Disney's animated television pilot "Kitty's Dish" (2005), alongside Dion Quon and Adam Wylie. She also co-starred with her sister Alyson in Disney Channel's failed comedy series "Haversham Hall" (2006), as the wealthy, troublesome roommate of Alyson's character, and in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Cow Belles" (2006), in which the two real-life siblings played two spoiled rotten sisters.

Aly & AJ released a Christmas album titled "Acoustic Hearts of Winter" on September 26, 2006. The first single from the album was "Greatest Time Of Year" and was used as a promotion for the 2006 film starring Tim Allen and Martin Short, "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause.” The music video premiered on Disney Channel on October 16, 2006.

On July 10, 2007, Aly & AJ's released their third studio album, "Insomniatic." It will be released in the UK on October 22, 2007, with new cover art. However, just days before its release, the album was leaked onto the Internet. All 12 songs on the standard edition of the album were posted in MTV.com's “The Leak” section on July 3, 2007.

"Insomniatic" has become Aly & AJ's highest debut to date, debuting at #15 in the official USA Billboard Top 200 albums chart and selling over 39,000 copies in its first week. To date, it has currently sold 170,000+ copies. To promote their album, Aly & AJ sang an edit of the album's lead single, "Potential Breakup Song," on Live with Regis & Kelly on July 4, 2007, and did a short interview on CBS’ morning news talk show "The Early Show" on July 9, 2007. They also took viewers backstage at one of their concert stops on MTV's "Total Request Live" on August 1, 2007, as well as did a short interview on ABC's “The View.”

The song "Potential Breakup Song" and "Like Whoa" from the album "Insomniatic" are also featured in the movie version of the MTV reality series “Super Sweet 16,” which stars AJ and her sister Alyson. The DVD of the movie was released on the same day that Aly & AJ's album "Insomniatic" was released.

Being asked about their musical success, AJ revealed, “It’s kind of surreal. We always thought we were just doing this for fun. We never thought it would turn into a career. But it’s really flattering when people recognize us and ask for our autographs and know our songs and want to talk to us.”

As for acting, it is rumored AJ will appear in the upcoming film "Scary Movie 5," the fifth installment of the "Scary Movie" franchise directed by David Zucker. The film's original casts, Anna Faris, Regina Hall and Leslie Nielsen, may also reprise their roles in the film. The release date of "Scary Movie 5" is currently set as October 31, 2008.

Awards:
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