Wikipedia

Sasha Pieterse

Sasha Pieterse Sheaffer (/ˈpiːtərsə/; born February 17, 1996[1]) is an American actress and singer.[2][3] She is known for portraying Alison DiLaurentis in the Freeform series Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017), and its spin-off Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists (2019), for which she received global stardom and critical acclaim.

Sasha Pieterse
Pieterse at PaleyFest in 2014
Born (1996-02-17) February 17, 1996 (age 28)
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Citizenship
  • South Africa (1996–present)
  • United States (2001–present)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • producer
  • businesswoman
Years active2000–present
Spouse
Hudson Sheaffer
​
(m. 2018)​
Children1
Musical career
Genres
LabelsDan Franklin Music

After early recognition for her roles as Buffy Davis in Family Affair (2002-2003) and as Marissa Electricidad / Ice Princess in the film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl (2005), Pieterse played minor roles in various other films and series. She later rose to prominence with her role in Pretty Little Liars. Upon the success of Pretty Little Liars, Pieterse starred in films such as Disney Channel's Geek Charming (2011), teen comedy G.B.F (2013), indie film Burning Bodhi (2015), drama films Coin Heist (2017) & The Honor List (2018), and a psychological thriller film The Image of You (2024).[4][5][6]

Pieterse has participated in the 25th season of Dancing with the Stars (2017).[7][8] In addition to acting, Pieterse has ventured into music and modeling. She served as a judge in one episode of shows Beat Bobby Flay and Sugar Rush Christmas (both 2020).

Early life

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Pieterse was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, on February 17, 1996, to Sean and Zizi.[1][9][10] Pieterse's family moved to the United States in 2001, she was raised in Las Vegas, before moving to Los Angeles.[11] She became accustomed to a career in entertainment at an early age, as her parents were a professional acrobatic dance team who performed internationally.[11] Pieterse was homeschooled and graduated when she was 14 years old.[12]

Career

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Modeling

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At four years old, Pieterse began modeling and appearing in commercials.[13] She appeared in an advertisement for Wenner Bread Products at five years old,[14] and later appeared on a national billboard for hair salon franchise SuperCuts and modeled for Macy's Passport fashion show.[15][16] Pieterse appeared in numerous magazines, including on the covers of BELLO's "Young Hollywood" issue (December 2014),[12] TeenProm (2015 issue),[17] Seventeen (August 2016), Social Life (August 2019).[18]

Film and television

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At the age of six, Pieterse got her start in television, co-starring in 2002 as Buffy on The WB's remake of the CBS sitcom Family Affair. She guest starred in the Stargate SG-1 episode “Grace” with Amanda Tapping as a little girl named Grace. 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.[citation needed]

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.[citation needed]

Pieterse was 13 years old in late 2009, when she was cast in the Freeform teen drama television series Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017) as Alison DiLaurentis, the former "queen bee" of her high school clique.[19] She had a regular role in the series from the first four seasons, until later became a main role in the fifth season, with one of the five girls. Since its debut, the series has received mixed reviews from television critics, but remained a success for Freeform, garnering a large fandom.[20] Pieterse reprised her role as Alison, in the spin-off series titled Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists on Freeform in 2019.[21][22] On Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, she portrayed the grown-up version of Alison who is working as a teaching assistant at Beacon Heights University.[13]

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. Later, Pieterse 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.[23] In September 2017, Pieterse was announced as one of the celebrities to compete on the 25th season of Dancing with the Stars. She was paired with professional dancer Gleb Savchenko.[24] They were the 4th couple eliminated, on October 16, 2017, finishing in 10th place.[25]

On August 16, 2021, Deadline announced that Pieterse had been cast in Netflix's film adaptation of Annie Barrows’ New York Times bestselling book series Ivy + Bean alongside Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jane Lynch and Nia Vardalos.[26] In July 2023, Deadline reported that Pieterse had been cast in psychological thriller film The Image of You (2024), starring in a dual roles of twin sisters of Anna and Zoe.[27]

Music

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Pieterse describes her music as "country with southern rock".[citation needed] 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]."[28] Her second single, "R.P.M", was released on June 13, 2013.[29]

Pieterse's third single, "I Can't Fix You", was released on July 12, 2013.[30][31] 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.[32][33]

Other ventures

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Pieterse's cookbook Sasha in Good Taste: Recipes for Bites, Feasts, Sips & Celebrations was published by Dey Street Books, an imprint of HarperCollins on October 8, 2019.[13] In the book Pieterse shares cooking and baking recipes, tips for inexpensive party planning, do it yourself projects and ideas for desserts.[13][34] San Francisco Book Review wrote that the book is "full of good ideas".[35]

Pieterse has a lifestyle website called "Sasha in Good Taste".[15]

Pieterse has developed an online and social media presence, including 16 million+ followers on Instagram as of January 2023.[36] She endorses products such as beauty and wellness products on Instagram and has partnered with Lightlife Foods,[37] and Pokémon Go.[38]

Philanthropy

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In June 2019, Pieterse and her husband worked together with Habitat for Humanity to help build houses in New Orleans.[39]

Personal life

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On December 22, 2015, Pieterse became engaged to her long-term boyfriend Hudson Sheaffer.[40] They were married on May 27, 2018, at Castle Leslie in Glaslough, Ireland.[41] On May 27, 2020, Pieterse announced that she and Sheaffer were expecting their first child.[42] Their son was born in November 2020.[43] As of 2022, the family resides in Nashville, Tennessee.[44]

At the start of season 25 of Dancing with the Stars, Pieterse revealed that she was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome, which causes symptoms such as irregular periods and weight gain.[45][46]

Pieterse speaks Afrikaans, English, and French.[47]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2005 The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D Marissa Electricidad / Ice Princess
2007 The Air I Breathe Young Sorrow
Good Luck Chuck Young Anisha Carpenter
2011 X-Men: First Class Teenage girl Cameo[citation needed]
2013 G.B.F. Fawcett Brooks
2014 Inherent Vice Japonica Fenway
2015 Burning Bodhi Aria
2017 Coin Heist Dakota Cunningham
2018 The Honor List Isabella Walker
2022 Ivy + Bean: The Ghost That Had to Go Ms. Aruba-Tate
Ivy + Bean: Doomed to Dance Ms. Aruba-Tate
2024 The Image of You Anna / Zoe [27]

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2002–2003 Family Affair Buffy Davis Main role
2004 Stargate SG-1 Grace Episode: "Grace"
2005 Wanted Millie Rose 2 episodes
House Andie Episode: "Autopsy"
2007 Claire Maggie Bannion Television film
CSI: Miami Beth Buckley Episode: "Stand Your Ground"
2009 Without a Trace Daphne Stevens Episode: "Wanted"
2009–2010 Heroes Amanda Strazzulla Recurring role (season 4)
2009 Heroes: Slow Burn Amanda Strazzulla Web series; recurring role
2010–2017 Pretty Little Liars Alison DiLaurentis Main role
2011 Medium Marie DuBois (age 14) Episode: "Me Without You"
Geek Charming Amy Loubalu Television film
2014 Hawaii Five-0 Dawn Hatfield Episode: "Pe'epe'e Kanaka"
2016 Sing It! Destiny Wood Episode: "Destiny Is Calling!"
2017 Dancing with the Stars Herself Contestant (season 25)
2019 Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists Alison DiLaurentis Main role
Epic Night Shook Web series; 2 episodes
2020 Beat Bobby Flay Herself Celebrity judge; episode: "Pretty Little Fryer"
Sugar Rush Christmas Herself Guest judge; episode: "North Pole"

Music videos

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Year Title Artist Role Notes Ref.
2013 "Rewind" Skye Stevens Love Interest [48]
"R.P.M." Sasha Pieterse Reckless Driver Girl Also executive producer [49]
2014 "Hey! (The Last Party Ever)" The New Average Girl [50]

Awards and nominations

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Year Association Category Work Result Ref.
2003 Young Artist Awards Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) – Young Actress Age Ten or Younger Family Affair Won [51][52]
Best Ensemble in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama)
(shared with Caitlin Wachs and Jimmy "Jax" Pinchak) 		Nominated
2011 ShoWest Awards Breakthrough Performer of the Year Pretty Little Liars Nominated [53]
2014 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Female Breakout Star Won [54][55]
2015 Independent Spirit Awards Robert Altman Award (shared with director, casting director and cast) Inherent Vice Won [56]
MTV Fandom Awards Ship of the Year (shared with Shay Mitchell) Pretty Little Liars Nominated [57]
Teen Choice Awards Choice TV: Scene Stealer Nominated [58][59]
2016 Won [60]
2017 Choice TV Actress: Drama Nominated [61]
Choice TV Ship (shared with Shay Mitchell) Nominated [62][63]

References

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  4. ^ "Sasha Pieterse on Why "The Perfectionists" Need Alison's Help". Teen Vogue. March 19, 2019. Archived from the original on October 6, 2019. Retrieved October 6, 2019.
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  38. ^ "Sasha Pieterse Sheaffer on Instagram: "#ad Anyone else feel like Pokémon Go brings you straight back to your childhood?! Oshawott loves the beach just as much as I do 😉 #pokemongo"". Instagram. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  39. ^ "Sasha Pieterse Sheaffer on Instagram: "So so glad @hudsonsheaffer and I could be apart of [sic] this awesome new build for @habitatforhumanity in New Orleans. Hurricane Katrina…"". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
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Bibliography

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  • Pieterse, Sasha (2019). Sasha in Good Taste: Recipes for Bites, Feasts, Sips & Celebrations. Dey Street Books.
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