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). She starred in the
Lifetime television film
Sorority Wars.
2010–2017: Pretty Little Liars and mainstream breakthrough in 2012 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 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" and a cover of
Francesca Battistelli's "
You're Here", 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. == Artistry ==