Today, the star of Pretty Little Liars is celebrating her 32nd birthday and to commemorate, we are going to take a look at her career so far…
Karen Lucille ‘Lucy’ Hale was born on 14 June 1989 to father Preston and registered nurse mother Julie Knight. Hale was home-schooled as a child and took acting and singing lessons alongside her studies.
In addition to her acting career (which she is most well-known for due to her portrayal of Aria Montgomery in the Freeform TV series Pretty Little Liars,) Hale is also a singer. Surprisingly, her singing career actually began before her acting one after she appeared on American Juniors in 2003.
Hale’s singing career only got better from there, and in 2012 she signed a record deal with Hollywood Records (co-partnership with DMG Nashville). On June 3rd, 2013, her singing career as a solo artist began when she released her debut album Road Between.
Hale’s first acting role came in the form of Becca Sommers, the younger sister of Michelle Ryan’s Jamie Sommers in Bionic Woman in 2007 and what a greta first appearence on our screens.
With her acting career on the rise, Hale stepped up into playing more characters such as Rose Baker in Privileged the following year, as well as leading in a Lifetime film.
In 2009, Hale landed her first film role as the lead character in the Lifetime film Sorority Wars, playing Katie Parker. The film focuses on the relationship between two friends who are so inseparable that they even decide to attend the same university.
However, all this is about to change when they become enemies after joining rival societies…
When writing about the career of Lucy Hale, you mustn’t forget Pretty Little Liars, as Aria Montgomery was Hale’s breakthrough role.
Her performance as Aria Montgomery was praised by critics and won her seven Teen Choice Awards, a Gracie Allen Award, a People’s Choice Award and also a Young Hollywood Award.
Pretty Little Liars (2010-2017) takes place one year after the death of teenager Alison DiLaurentis, four friends drift apart, only to be brought back together by the mysterious ‘A’.
In 2011, Hale played the lead role in the third instalment of the Cinderella Story series; A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song. In this film she is again playing a girl called Katie.
However, this time she is an inspiring singer who is treated badly by her stepmother and stepsisters. However, her luck may change when she meets the sun of a recording mogul.
In fact, Hale ended up recording an album of the songs that she sang in the film! What a great album too.
Most recently, in February 2020, Hale played the titular character Katy Keene in the tv series of the same name, based on the Archie comics.
The series centres around four characters from the Archie comics, up and coming fashion designer Katy Keene (Lucy Hale), the Riverdale singer/songwriter Josie McCoy (Ashleigh Murray), performer Jorge Lopez aka Ginger (Jonny Beauchamp) and socialite Pepper Smith (Julie Chan).
The development of Hale’s acting has been great to witness overtime, with her passion for the industry shining throughout her standout roles.
This is just the beginning for Hale, who will make a name for herself in the industry and continue to soar in both her acting and singing careers.
Happy birthday Lucy!
By Ellie Moylan
Feature image: Allure/Getty Images