Holly Marie Combs portrays Ella Montgomery, Aria's mother who is unsuspecting that her husband, Byron, had an affair with one of his ex-students at the college.

Combs is known worldwide for her role as Piper Halliwell on the long-running and popular series "Charmed," where she was also a producer for four seasons. After taking time off to raise her young family, Combs starred in the television production "Mistresses" before joining the cast of "Pretty Little Liars."

Combs was born in San Diego, California, and moved with her family to New York when she was eight years old. There she attended the Professional Children's School and, following in her mother's footsteps as an aspiring actress, began her career working in television commercials and print advertisements at age 10. She won her first movie role by age 13, playing the daughter of Don Johnson and Susan Sarandon in the feature film "Sweet Hearts Dance."

At 18, Combs got her big break starring for four seasons in the critically acclaimed television drama "Picket Fences." Her role as teenager Kimberly Brock won Combs critical acclaim and a Young Actors Award.

Combs has starred in an impressive range of tele-films, portraying a variety of characters including the daughter of a murdered heiress in the fact-based "Daughters," killer Diane Zamora in "Love's Deadly Triangle: The Texas Cadet Murder" and a rape victim in "Sins of Silence." Feature film work includes "Born on the Fourth of July," "Chain of Desire" and "Simple Men." She also appeared as herself in Steven Soderbergh's "Ocean's Eleven," opposite George Clooney and Brad Pitt.