Sasha Pieterse Biography

Sasha Pieterse (born February 17, 1996) is a South African-born American actress and singer-songwriter. She is known for her role as Alison DiLaurentis in the Freeform series Pretty Little Liars. Upon the success of the series, Pieterse earned a supporting role as Amy Loubalu in the 2011 Disney Channel film Geek Charming. In 2013, she starred in the teen comedy film G.B.F.. She also starred in the Netflix Original film Coin Heist, which premiered in 2017.

Personal life

Pieterse was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on February 17, 1996. Moving to the United States in 2001, she was raised in Las Vegas, before moving to Los Angeles. She became accustomed to a career in entertainment at an early age, as her parents were a professional acrobatic dance team who performed internationally. Pieterse was homeschooled and graduated at 14.

On December 22, 2015, Pieterse became engaged to her longterm boyfriend, Hudson Sheaffer. At the start of season 25 of Dancing with the Stars, she revealed that she was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which contributed to her weight gain.

Career

Modeling

Pieterse was featured on the cover of BELLO magazine "Young Hollywood", December 2014 issue. Pieterse appeared on the cover of the 2015 issue of TeenProm magazine.

Acting

At six years old, Pieterse got her start in television, co-starring in 2002 as Buffy on The WB's revival of the CBS sitcom Family Affair (1966-1971). She guest starred in an episode of Stargate SG-1 with Amanda Tapping as a little girl named Grace and in 2005, she appeared on an episode of House titled "Autopsy", portraying Andie, a young girl with terminal cancer. That same year, she made her film debut in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D as Marissa, the Ice Princess, and also appeared as Millie Rose for two episodes of the short-lived TNT series Wanted, alongside her former Family Affair co-star, Gary Cole.

Pieterse appeared in the 2007 film Good Luck Chuck, playing a young goth girl who places a curse on the titular character. She played the younger version of Sarah Michelle Gellar's character in the 2007 film The Air I Breathe, along with such co-stars as Kevin Bacon, Forest Whitaker, and Emile Hirsch. She also played a leading character in the Hallmark original film Claire, also released in 2007.

In December 2009, Pieterse was cast in the ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars as Alison DiLaurentis, the former "queen bee" of her high school clique. She had a regular role in the series since it premiered in 2010.

Other roles Pieterse has had include a 2009 appearance in Without a Trace, and a recurring role as Amanda Strazzulla, an abandoned daughter, in Heroes. In 2011, she appeared as Amy Loubalu in the Disney Channel Original Movie Geek Charming, and also as a teenage girl in the film X-Men: First Class. More recently, Pieterse has appeared in the film G.B.F. and in an episode of Hawaii Five-0 as a terrorist pupil named Dawn Hatfield. Pieterse played Japonica Fenway, a young lady involved with cocaine, in the film Inherent Vice (2014), based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Pynchon.

Music

Pieterse describes her music as "country with southern rock". Her debut single "This Country is Bad Ass" was released on April 12, 2013. Pieterse described the patriotism behind the song: "I just love this country so much and I would never have been able to be where I am if I wasn't in America, so we decided to come up with this [track]." Her second single, "R.P.M", was released on June 13, 2013.

Her third single, "I Can't Fix You", was released on July 12, 2013. On December 10, 2013, she released her fourth single "No", an upbeat track about "standing strong in your convictions" and saying no when an unfaithful, lying ex-boyfriend asks for a second chance.

Dancing with the Stars

In September 2017, Pieterse was announced as one of the celebrities to compete on the Dancing with the Stars - season 25. She was paired with professional dancer Gleb Savchenko. They were the 4th couple eliminated, on October 16, 2017.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	'	Marissa Electricidad / Ice Princess
2007	'	Young Sorrow
2007	Good Luck Chuck	Young Anisha Carpenter
2011	X-Men: First Class	Teenage girl
2013	G.B.F.	Fawcett Brooks
2014	Inherent Vice	Japonica Fenway
2015	Burning Bodhi	Aria
2017	Coin Heist	Dakota Cunningham
2018	Honored	Isabella

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002-03	Family Affair	Buffy Davis	8 episodes Main cast (Season 1)
2004	Stargate SG-1	Grace	Episode: "Grace"
2005	Wanted	Millie Rose	2 episodes
2005	House	Andie	Episode: "Autopsy"
2007	Claire	Maggie Bannion	Movie
2007	CSI: Miami	Beth Buckley	Episode: "Stand Your Ground"
2009	Without a Trace	Daphne Stevens	Episode: "Wanted"
2009-10	Heroes	Amanda Strazzulla	5 episodes Recurring role (Season 4)
2009	Heroes: Slow Burn	Amanda Strazzulla	6 episodes
2010-17	Pretty Little Liars	Alison DiLaurentis	113 episodes Main cast (Seasons 1-7)
2011	Medium	Marie DuBois (age 14)	Episode: "Me Without You"
2011	Geek Charming	Amy Loubalu	Movie
2014	Hawaii Five-0	Dawn Hatfield	Episode: "Pe'epe'e Kanaka"
2016	Sing It!	Destiny	Episode: "Destiny Is Calling!"
2017	Dancing with the Stars	Herself/Contestant	Season 25
2018	Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists	Alison DiLaurentis	Main cast, upcoming series

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist	Role
2013	"Rewind"	Skye Stevens	Love interest of singer
2013	"R.P.M."	Herself

As producer

Year	Title	Credited as	Notes
2013	"RPM"	Executive producer	Her own music video

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result
2003	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) - Young Actress Age Ten or Younger	Family Affair
2003	Young Artist Awards	Best Ensemble in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama)
2011	ShoWest Awards	Breakthrough Performer of the Year	Pretty Little Liars
2014	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Female Breakout Star
2015	Independent Spirit Awards	Robert Altman Award	Inherent Vice
2015	MTV Fandom Awards	Ship of the Year	Pretty Little Liars
2015	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Scene Stealer
2016	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Scene Stealer
2017	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress: Drama
2017	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Ship