Sasha Pieterse was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. She immigrated over to the United States with her professional dancer parents in 2000. She started acting at the age of four in modeling and commercials and moved to theatrical work starring as "Buffy" in her first TV show, Family Affair (2002) alongside Tim Curry and Gary Cole at the age of six. She went on to star in movies such as The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl 3-D (2005), X: First Class (2011) and Good Luck Chuck (2007) and also starred in shows such as House M.D. (2004) and Heroes (2006) before landing the role as Alison Dilaurentis in the TV show Pretty Little Liars (2010). While filming her TV show she also starred in movies such as G.B.F. (2013) and as "Japonica Fenway" in Paul Thomas Anderson's G.B.F. (2013) alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Martin Short. The TV series Pretty Little Liars (2010) finished after 7 seasons and since then she continues pursuing her passion for movies and television.