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×Road Between3 June 2014 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1You Sound Good to Me3:132From the Backseat3:093Nervous Girls4:054Red Dress4:395Goodbye Gone2:576Kiss Me3:147Road Between3:348Lie a Little Better3:449That's What I Call Crazy3:2610Love Tonight3:1611Just Another Song4:2712My Little Black Wedding Dress3:2513Feels Like Home4:0614Loved3:4215Kiss Me (live acoustic)3:1316Road Between (live acoustic)3:41 (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 stepsisters through her father. Hale was homeschooled as a child. During her childhood, she took acting and singing lessons.

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×Road Between3 June 2014 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1You Sound Good to Me3:132From the Backseat3:093Nervous Girls4:054Red Dress4:395Goodbye Gone2:576Kiss Me3:147Road Between3:348Lie a Little Better3:449That's What I Call Crazy3:2610Love Tonight3:1611Just Another Song4:2712My Little Black Wedding Dress3:2513Feels Like Home4:0614Loved3:4215Kiss Me (live acoustic)3:1316Road Between (live acoustic)3:41 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×Mistletoe1 January 2014 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Mistletoe3:37" and a cover of Francesca Battistelli's "You're Here×You're Here17 November 2017 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1You're Here4:14", 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. She was set to star in Scarlett Holmes in 2027.

Artistry

Hale described music as her "first love". Her early musical influences were Christina Aguilera, Shania Twain and Faith Hill, but her interest in pursuing music was prompted by Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time". Kristian Bush of country band Sugarland said: "She sounds like Carrie Underwood—strong with a blues side and a pop side to it. And a lot like Faith Hill."

Personal life

Hale has struggled with anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, discussing the latter in August 2012. She also struggled with addiction, having started drinking at 14 and attempting to quit alcohol on several occasions. In an episode of The Diary of a CEO podcast, Hale said: "I just held on to that belief that the real Lucy came out when she was drinking. It also quieted my mind... my brain just doesn't shut off and it's exhausting. I was a textbook binge drinker, blackout, wouldn't remember what I did or what I said, which is scary." In January 2024, Hale announced that she was two years sober from alcohol.
In her free time, Hale enjoys hiking, yoga, and Pilates.

Activism

On September 14, 2024, Hale received the Humanitarian Award at the 34th Annual Friendly House Awards Luncheon in Los Angeles. Friendly House is a women's addiction recovery center. She told People magazine: "When I got sober, my intention was never to be the poster child of sobriety. But when I began speaking about it, it came from a place of needing to heal and take my power back."