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Karen Lucille Hale is an actress and singer who shot to prominence as Aria Montgomery in the hit TV show Pretty Little Liars. She made her acting debut in 2005 with the sit-com Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide and has since appeared in titular roles in several successful movies and TV shows while sweeping through several accolades, including seven Teen Choice Awards, a Gracie Award, a People's Choice Award, and two Young Hollywood Awards.

Lucy Hale is currently one of the most sought-after young actresses in the industry and a successful singer, with her most notable works being in iconic movies and TV shows like Fantasy Island, The Unicorn, Katy Keene, Ragdoll, etc.

Lucy's Life Before Stardom

Lucy Hale was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and took acting and singing lessons as a child. At the age of 14, she appeared on the Fox reality show American Juniors, which was a spin-off of American Idol. She finished in the Top 5 of the show, as reported by Rotten Tomatoes, while gaining initial recognition. Hale moved to LA with her mother at age 15 in hopes of getting a record deal. But shortly, she started venturing into acting.

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Lucy Hale started attending various acting auditions and gradually landed guest/minor roles in TV shows like Drake & Josh, Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide, The O.C., and the popular TV show How I Met Your Mother. She also appeared in two episodes of Disney’s hit TV show Wizards of Waverly Place in 2007. Lucy Hale made her big-screen debut with the 2008 movie The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, playing the role of Effie Kaligaris. She went on to star in a string of TV and movie roles across the late 2000s, hustling hard to cement her position in the industry.

How Pretty Little Liars Proved To Be A Turning Point

In 2009, Lucy Hale was cast in a lead role as Aria Montgomery in the TV show Pretty Little Liars, which would eventually become her breakthrough role. Hale played a role in all 7 seasons of the hit TV show and gained widespread popularity and critical acclaim. Her role as the stunning Aria Montgomery won her the first Teen Choice Movie Award for Choice Summer TV Star: Female in 2010, followed by 6 more in the upcoming seasons. Besides winning multiple Teen Choice Awards, she further won a Gracie Allen Award and People's Choice Award, thus making her an established name in the industry.

Lucy Hale’s newfound success with Pretty Little Liars opened a floodgate of opportunities for her, boosting her music career. She returned to singing after being cast as an aspiring singer Katie Gibbs in the 2011 movie, A Cinderella Story: Once Upon a Song. She lent her voice to the movie’s soundtrack, which received widespread praise. In 2012, Hollywood Records signed her as a solo artist, as reported by National Today. Lucy Hale’s first-ever single and music video, You Sound Good To Me, was released on January 7, 2014.

The Several Projects That Established Lucy As A Lead Actor

Lucy Hale was catapulted to instant stardom, and critical acclaim post her award-winning role as Aria Montgomery in Pretty Little Liars. This led to her bagging roles in several movies, TV shows, and Brand endorsements. In 2013 she was roped in as the ambassador of the beauty brand Mark’s, as per Stylecaster, and in the same year, she co-hosted the Teen Choice Awards alongside David Dobrik. She went on to announce her debut studio album, Road Between, in 2014 while also hosting the pre-show of the MTV Video Music Awards.

In 2016 Lucu Hales co-hosted Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve in Times Square alongside Ryan Seacrest while becoming the first-ever millennial actress to do so. Her career trajectory continued after he landed the role of Stella Abbott in the CW comedy-drama series Life Sentence in 2018, which turned out to be quite a busy year for her as she also starred in three movies, including Truth or Dare, Dude, and The Unicorn. She landed another lead role in the 2020 musical comedy series Katy Keene. Her incredible stardom led her to yet another brand endorsement in 2021 for the Dutch lingerie company Hunkemöller taking her net worth to an impressive $6 Million, as per The Things.

Lucy Hales started her career as a child in American Juniors and moved to California to pursue singing, but little did she know that she would become a successful actress too. Ever since rising to fame with Pretty Little Liars, Lucy Hale has seized every opportunity to establish herself in the industry while reviving her music career. With her incredible acting prowess and sheer will, Hales has established herself as a credible actress and has become Hollywood’s newest sensation.

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Source - The Things, Stylecaster, National Today, Rotten Tomatoes