Michalka was in a number of WORD Music Productions at her church in Southern California as a young child. Michalka plays a variety of instruments such as acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, and bongos. She used to be a model for catalogs. In March 2006, she made her first appearance on the Disney Channel in the Disney Channel Original Movie "Cow Belles", as "Courtney Callum", along with sister Aly, as "Taylor Callum". She has also made appearances on shows such as "Oliver Beene", "Six Feet Under", "The Guardian", and "General Hospital". She also appeared with her sister in the MTV movie, "".