Here Are 14 Troian Bellisario Facts For Every Pretty Little Liars Fan
After the epic series finale of "Pretty Little Liars" aired in 2017, multiple spin-off series have made their way into the world. Fans simply cannot get enough of the jaw-dropping secrets, mysterious text messages, and steamy romances that happen in Rosewood (and not far outside of it).
The end of the original series was an emotional time for fans, who had watched since its start in 2010, but it started a completely new era for its stars. "I definitely had that crisis of 'Will I ever work again?' Because it's like suddenly I didn't have a job, and I've always known for eight years that I'd be going back to work in March, have my same parking spot, the same dressing room, all of that," actor Troian Bellisario, who played Spencer Hastings in the series, admitted to W Magazine.
One thing that hasn't changed since her final day on set: Her "Pretty Little Liars" fans have always kept close by — and if you're one of them, you've come to the right place. "If I show you, then I know you won't tell what I said": Here are 14 facts about Troian Bellisario that every "Pretty Little Liars" fan should know.
She began acting when she was 3 years old
Many fans may not know that Troian Bellisario comes from a show business family. As the daughter of producer Donald P. Bellisario and actor Deborah Pratt, the "Pretty Little Liars" actors' love for being on set started early. "That was a world that I knew and that I saw both my mother and father so deeply in love with and engaged with," she told Interview Magazine.
Bellisario quickly found herself immersed in it as well. When she turned 3 years old, she appeared on screen for the first time in "Last Rites," a 1988 thriller written and directed by her father. The following year, she made an even bigger debut on her parents' television show, "Quantum Leap." "After I finished the episode, I got an agent," Bellisario explained on uInterview. "And then all of a sudden, more calls started coming in."
The actor went on to appear in several series, including "Tequila and Bonetti," "JAG," "First Monday," and "NCIS," before landing her successful role in "Pretty Little Liars."
She grew up across the street from Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen
Growing up in the business, Troian Bellisario knew many famous families. In fact, she grew up in the same neighborhood as another set of successful child actors — the Olsen twins. "When I was five years old, my best friends were Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen because we lived across the street from each other," she revealed during an interview with Seventeen.
While other kids her age were watching the Olsen twins on their televisions, Bellisario had never registered their level of fame until one of their regular playdates. "I just knew them as the girls across the street," she explained. "And I remember the first time I was playing with them and something happened and I realized these aren't normal kids. They're treated differently."
A few years later, each of their families moved away from the neighborhood. It wasn't until Bellisario was a teenager that she reunited with the twins on the set of "Billboard Dad." "Filming that movie was honestly like returning to summer camp with your best friends, because it was always at the pool and we were over at each other's houses shooting," Bellisario told Teen Vogue. "It was like picking up our friendship again, but putting it on screen."
She was always interested in pursuing other careers
Funny enough, even after having a solid career in show business as a toddler, Troian Bellisario had other plans for her future. "I actually turned to my parents, and I was like, 'I don't really like memorizing all those lines,'" the actor told uInterview.
Instead, Bellisario was in awe of all kinds of other occupations that had nothing to do with acting. However, after careful consideration, she discovered that there was a reason she was connecting with so many different careers. "For a while, I was like, 'I want to be a paleontologist,' and I realized it was because I had seen 'Jurassic Park,'" she told Interview Magazine. "Then I was like, 'I want to be a criminal pathologist,' because I had just watched 'Silence of the Lambs.'"
Television and film had a much bigger impact on her childhood than she had expected, and they were a defining force when it came to the direction of her career.
She was valedictorian at her high school
"Pretty Little Liars" fans see Spencer whenever they look at Troian Bellisario. Crazy enough, just behind the scenes, these two women are actually not all that different. Bellisario attended a private high school where graduates were expected to then attend an Ivy League school. She grew up with pretty high expectations of herself, too. "I grew up never being okay with a 'B' because a 'B' was not good enough," the actor told Seventeen.
Needless to say, Bellisario got straight A's throughout all of high school –- very much like Spencer Hastings — and even graduated as the valedictorian of her class (via J-14). In fact, this is what initially drew Bellisario to the iconic role. "I was 100% confident I was this girl," the actor admitted during an interview with Flaunt. "I was so concerned with being perfect and getting every good grade and being the best at everything and being well-liked, and then on top of that, covering up this insane neurosis and darkness."
Bellisario went on to attend the dramatic arts program at the University of Southern California and graduated with her bachelor's degree in acting in 2009.
She initially didn't want to audition for Pretty Little Liars
"Pretty Little Liars" may have aired its final episode back in 2017, but its fans have still been wanting more. However, as successful as the series turned out to be, Troian Bellisario wasn't initially excited about auditioning for it. In fact, she wanted to pass on the opportunity altogether. "I had this idea in my head about what a 'teen show' would be," she admitted to Vulture. "And I thought I wouldn't want to be a part of it because I didn't want to watch those shows as a teen."
However, things completely changed as soon as she sat down and read the script. One particular scene in the pilot episode, which ended up being removed entirely from the final cut, depicted Spencer flirting with her sister's fiancé Wren. "That was a moment for me when I was like, 'oh, maybe I don't know what this kind of show is about and I don't know this world, and I have this idea about it,'" the actor said. "Truthfully, 'Pretty Little Liars' was the first time all of my expectations broke down."
Her husband is Suits star Patrick J. Adams
In 2009, Troian Bellisario was cast in a play that was about to change her entire life. The play was called "Equivocation" where her character was the love interest of "Suits" star Patrick J. Adams. According to an interview with Her World, he immediately fell for her throughout rehearsals.
Shortly after curtain call, Bellisario went on to film "Pretty Little Liars" in Burbank, California while Adams was working on "Suits" in Toronto, Canada. "And we would see each other for 24 hours maybe twice a month," Bellisario explained to W Magazine.
Dating long distance was difficult, and at one point, they even called it off. Crazy enough, the very next day after their split, Adams got a call to audition for a guest star role in the fifth episode of "Pretty Little Liars." He knew he needed to secure that spot in order to win back her heart — and he did. "By being there and being invited to the table read and shooting the show, we ended up getting back together," Adams told PopSugar. The two tied the knot in 2016 and have been together ever since.
She secretly hoped Spencer would get killed off in Pretty Little Liars
Throughout its seven-season run, "Pretty Little Liars" threw a lot of killer curveballs at the main characters. In many instances, fans weren't even sure if the liars would get out alive. While all of the leading ladies made it to the series finale, Troian Bellisario always secretly wished that her character's run had ended sooner. "I definitely tried [to get killed off]," she admitted during an interview with W Magazine.
Behind the scenes, Bellisario had always hoped that she would be able to act out a tragic death scene. Not only would it be an incredible episode that fans would freak over, but "on our show, your character becomes infinitely more interesting when you die," the actor explained.
Looking back at everything Spencer Hastings has been through, Bellisario still believes it would have been a lot more interesting if she wasn't around until the end. "I honestly felt that for this world to be truly dangerous, one of the Liars would have to die," she said. "Otherwise, 'A' is just always putting them in danger and still saving them." As it's so famously said in the series: Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.
This Pretty Little Liars star hates watching herself on screen
Though millions of people have tuned in over the years to watch all the drama unfold on "Pretty Little Liars," Troian Bellisario can't stand to see herself be Spencer Hastings. "I hate watching myself," she admitted to BuzzFeed. "I abhor it." That being said, Bellisario told Variety that she would still invite her friends over to watch episodes while they were still airing.
Out of all the episodes, however, it was the epic series finale that the actor was most anxious about other people seeing –- for a good reason. There was a lot of pressure for her to get the reveal of "A" just right after dedicated fans had waited seven seasons to see. "I'm just nervous about how the hell this character is going to go over. It's bold!" she admitted to Elle at the time. "We've made these great leaps and unexpected turns, and the audience has come with us every time. So I have a lot of faith that the audience is just going to enjoy it."
She directed an episode of Pretty Little Liars
Not only did Troian Bellisario's stardom skyrocket after appearing on "Pretty Little Liars," but the successful series gave the world its first look at her directing skills, too. In the final season, Bellisario made her directorial debut in Episode 17, where Alex Drake's true identity is hinted at for the very first time. There, Drake accidentally runs into Ezra at the airport, leaving fans questioning why someone who looks exactly like Spencer is acting so strangely.
Being in control of such a pivotal moment was a milestone for Bellisario. At that time, she had been working with the same cast for nearly seven seasons and instinctively knew how to direct each and every one of her co-stars. "I felt like there were a lot of moments, because I was in this director's position, where I could look at Lucy [Hale] and say, 'I know you've been wanting to explore this aspect of your character for seven years, I want you to lean into that for this take,'" she explained to Interview Magazine. "Then I could watch her as an artist go in and do that."
The set of the successful series is where Bellisario says she learned the most about writing and directing stories – something she continues to do today. "It's been an interesting shift for me," she said. "And 'Pretty Little Liars' has really supported it, to jump from actor to writer to director."
Her film Feed is based off of her life
The first project that Troian Bellisario turned to after wrapping up "Pretty Little Liars" was a pretty important one. The 2017 film "Feed" follows a young girl named Olivia, who develops an eating disorder shortly after losing her twin brother in a car accident.
This was the first film Bellisario ever wrote, and it was a story she had been working on long before she was ever cast in "Pretty Little Liars." The horror/thriller film is based on her own life story, during a period when she was hospitalized for an eating disorder as a teenager.
When it came to showcasing this on screen, "I really wanted people to see that it's a fight for life and death," the actor told HelloGiggles. "And treatment should absolutely be taken seriously because nobody should suffer alone." In addition to writing the film, producing it, and also starring in it, Bellisario partnered with the National Eating Disorders Association to help those who are going through similar situations.
If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who is, help is available. Visit the National Eating Disorders Association website or contact NEDA's Live Helpline at 1-800-931-2237. You can also receive 24/7 Crisis Support via text (send NEDA to 741-741).
She really was pregnant while filming Doula
Any woman who has been through childbirth knows all of the ups and downs that pregnancy can bring. Troian Bellisario showcased many of them in her 2022 film "Doula." In it, she portrays a pregnant woman working with her new live-in doula. The Mayo Clinic defines a doula as, "a professional labor assistant who provides physical and emotional support to you and your partner during pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period."
The movie has been one of Bellisario's most personal to date because she had some incredible inspiration to pull from: She was pregnant with her second child while filming it. "Every time I was on screen, I was actually carrying a baby inside my belly," the actor shared during an interview with Pop Culturalist.
This helped her relate to her character and made it much easier to fully flesh out all of her character's actions. The only issue was that Bellisario was still very early in her pregnancy. "The interesting thing was that I was having to act like I was much further along," she explained. When Bellisario did deliver her baby girl, she had a special role in the film, too. The baby at the end of the film is Bellisario's bundle of joy, the actor revealed to Teen Vogue.
Her first child's name starts with an 'A'
"A" is always just out of sight throughout seven seasons of "Pretty Little Liars" and has made a permanent mark on fans. It seems as though she has permanently made her mark on the cast as well, because Troian Bellisario unintentionally gave her first child Aurora an "A" name. "It never crossed my mind until, like, an initial occurred," the actor admitted to Teen Vogue. "We were playing in our playroom, and I just put A's everywhere, and then I was like, 'Oh my God, I've done it to myself!'"
Crazy enough, she isn't the only "Pretty Little Liars" actor who has done so. Her co-star Shay Mitchell, who plays Emily in the series, also ended up giving her first daughter Atlas an "A" name –- and it's no surprise. These two pretty little liars turned pretty little mamas still keep in touch and even swap all kinds of motherly advice today, Mitchell told Entertainment Tonight.
Her second child was born in the front seat of her car
When it came time for Troian Bellisario to have her second child, she felt she knew what to expect. Her first labor had lasted 26 hours, so when contractions started to come a second time around, she anticipated having lots of time to get to the hospital. However, she was in for quite a surprise instead.
Shortly after pulling into the hospital parking lot, Bellisario got on her hands and knees in the front seat and felt the urge to push. Before her husband could even comprehend what was happening, their baby's head had already entered the earthside. "It was four hours into labor at this point," the actor explained on the podcast "Katie's Crib." She continued, "And so I was completely, basically, just on another planet."
From there, Bellisario delivered her baby in the front seat of their car. When the nurses arrived, they couldn't believe the scene that unfolded. "They were just like, 'Wow! What a morning you've had!'" Bellisario laughed.
She always said she was A, but no one believed her
At the start of Season 5, Troian Bellisario was trusted with a huge "Pretty Little Liars" secret. She was told by creator I. Marlene King that she would soon be playing the ultimate villain in the series — and she wasn't allowed to tell a single soul. "You cannot tell anybody," King instructed her (via Elle), because "it might not even happen." Better lock it in your pocket. Taking this one to the grave.
Fans of the series know that this reveal did end up happening –- and it was something Bellisario knew for three whole years before the finale. None of the other pretty little liars had any clue who "A" was, though crazy enough, it was a secret that Bellisario joked about for a long time before anyone ever saw the iconic scene air. "For a long time, people would ask, 'Who's A.D.?' And I'd say, 'It's me!'" Bellisario reminisced. "And everyone would just laugh."
The only other co-star that kept this ongoing secret was Keegan Allen, who played Toby Cavanaugh. He happened to be sitting on set near Bellisario the day she was told she was "A." Got a secret. Can you keep it?