Aly michalka and stephen ringer

American actress and singer (born 1989)

Alyson Michalka (mee-SHAH-kə; born March 25, 1989) is an American actress, singer-songwriter, and musician. Michalka rose to prominence with her starring role as Keely Teslow in the Disney Channel sitcom Phil of the Future (2004–2006). She went on to appear in various films, such as Bandslam (2009), Easy A (2010), The Roommate (2011), Grown Ups 2 (2013), Sequoia (2014), Weepah Way for Now (2015), and The Lears (2017). She had starring roles in The CW comedy drama series Hellcats (2010–2011) and the CW crime drama series iZombie (2015–2019), along with the Hallmark Channel Original Movie, Sand Dollar Cove (2021).

Michalka is half of the musical duo Aly & AJ (briefly 78violet) alongside her sister, AJ.

Early life

Michalka was born in Torrance, California, USA. She grew up in Seattle, Washington, and Southern California with her younger sister, Amanda Joy "AJ", who is also an actress and musician. Her father, Mark, owns a contracting company, and her mother, Carrie, is a musician who performed with the Christian rock band "JC Band". Her parents are divorced.

Michalka has played the piano since she was five and started playing the guitar at the age of 13. She started acting when she was five years old in church play productions her family attended outside Seattle, Washington and Thousand Oaks, California. She was raised as a Christian.^[8]

It wasn't easy for AJ Michalka to watch her sister Aly get engaged to now-husband Stephen Ringer.

The Aly & AJ musicians appeared on the Jan. 8 episode of Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast, and AJ opened up about feeling quite emotional upon learning Aly was gearing up to tie the knot with Ringer, whom she married in 2015 and now shares 9-month old son Jack with.

"He's literally become like my brother. I love him, and I have so much respect for him as a husband and dad. To watch him as a father, it’s really beautiful. But in the beginning I was like, ‘I don't know about this guy,'" recalled AJ, 33, who noticed how "shy" and "quiet" the filmmaker, 40, was then.

Aly Michalka Tried Dating Kevin Jonas While Sister AJ Was with Joe but They Weren't 'Vibing': 'You Can't Force It'

The former Goldbergs star added, "He’s, like, an intellectual. He's super grounded, super smart, and I think I felt maybe a little like, ‘Okay, here's this Ivy League guy. I'm not going to be able to like carry a conversation with him. He's probably smarter than me.’ I think I was intimidated."

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When Aly, 35, and Ringer got engaged, AJ — who lived with her sister in the Laurel Canyon area of Los Angeles at the time — got emotional. "I lived in the top loft, and I closed my closet door, and I sobbed," she recalled. "I was so happy for her, but at the same time I was like, ‘I’m literally going to lose my sister,’ and it didn't happen at all."

Eventually, AJ overcame the admittedly "unrealistic" feelings. But while dancing with their father, Mark, in

• Aly Michalka and husband Stephen Ringer welcomed their first baby, son Jack Francis, on April 21, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal
• The singer and actress went into labor while recording her and sister AJ Michalka's upcoming album
• "He's just a great little guy," says Aly of her baby boy, who arrived about two weeks ahead of her due date in a home birth

Aly Michalka is a new mom!

The Aly & AJ musician and actress, 35, has welcomed her first baby, son Jack Francis, with husband Stephen Ringer in a home birth at their Santa Barbara residence after nine years of marriage, PEOPLE can exclusively reveal.

"It was a very peaceful and calm birth, which is really what we were hoping for," says Aly of Jack, who arrived on Sunday, April 21 — about two weeks ahead of her due date — at 6:40 a.m. and weighed 6 lbs., 10 oz. "He's just a great little guy. He's got a really special disposition about him."

Choosing the baby's name was simple for the couple. At the top of their brief list of options was Jack, inspired by Aly's late grandfather on her mom's side, while Francis is a Ringer family name. "We just kind of knew immediately like, 'Oh yeah, he's a Jack,'" she explains.

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Aly Michalka Is Pregnant! Singer Expecting First Baby with Husband Stephen Ringer (Exclusive)

Planning the birth, on the other hand, was a bit more complicated. Before Jack's arrival, Aly and her sister, AJ, were working on their next album in Topanga Canyon. The musician knew they "were cutting it close" to her due date, but she didn't expect him to be early.

Aly initially planned t