Allisyn Ashley Snyder, is an American actress, writer, artist, and director best known for her main role as Zora Lancaster on Sonny with a Chance and its spin-off So Random! and Heather on NBC's A.P. Bio.
Early life
Arm was born on April 25, 1996, in Glendale, California, to Steve and Anji Arm. Her mother Anji is the half-sister of Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick making him the half-uncle of Arm and her younger sister Josie. After seeing a number of plays in the Los Angeles area, her parents saw her fascination with theater and enrolled her in acting school at four and a half years old.
Career
The first acting job Arm booked was for a Bounty commercial that never aired. She went on to film over 60 commercials, and in May 2002 made her first television appearance on the medical drama series: Strong Medicine. She would go on to make appearances in episodes of Friends, 10-8, Miracles, and Judging Amy. Arm also had roles on films such as Meet Dave and King of California opposite Michael Douglas. In 2009, Arm appeared as Zora in the Disney Channel hit series Sonny with a Chance, and in the spin-off series So Random! in 2011. Arm also voiced the character Stormy in the Disney Junior series Jake and the Never Land Pirates. Allisyn Ashley Arm later developed a YouTube personality named and is assisted by Joey Luthman as Beckett, Jacey Tomlinson as Jacey, Autumn Wendell as Autumn, Tess Baines as Luna, Caleb Pierce as Gilly, Sam Lant as Colton, Hannah Leigh as Carmen, and Dylan Riley Snyder as Boom Guy. The web series also features Josie Arm as Astrid's sister Bliss Clover. Allisyn is currently filming a new NBC show produced by Seth Meyers, titled A.P. Bio in the recurring role of a mousy high-schooler named Heather. Allisyn later established Watch the Footage Production with the help of Dylan Riley Snyder, Joey Luthman, and Bryan Morrison.
Personal life
Arm studied cinematography in Los Angeles and recently teamed with Mali Elfman's "Fun Size Horror", to release a comedic horrorshort film that she wrote and directed titled Weeji, starring former So Random! castmate Matthew Scott Montgomery. Allisyn is also a prolific artist and had her first gallery showing at 15 years old. She enjoys roller derby and studies trapeze with her younger sister Josie. Along with her husband, fellow Disney Channel star Dylan Riley Snyder, Allisyn became scuba certified and enjoys scuba trips to Catalina. As a supporter of PETA, Allisyn Ashley Arm has been a vegetarian since she was 11 years old as a part of a vegetarian family. On Drew C. Ryan's Reel Geek Girls series, Allisyn shared her extensive collection of Fight Club memorabilia, which she considers her personal obsession. In December 2014, Arm started dating Dylan Riley Snyder. The couple got engaged on January 1, 2019 and got married on September 19, 2019.
Influences
Arm said, "I watch a lot of SNL skits online. I love Chris Farley and Jim Carrey. I always think, 'What would Jim Carrey do in this scene?' He's a lot of my inspiration for my character."
