Shay Mitchell

Shay Mitchell

Mitchell at the 38th People's Choice Awards in January 2012
Born Shannon Ashley Mitchell
(1987-04-10) April 10, 1987
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Occupation Actress, model, entrepreneur, author
Years active 2009–present
Website Official website

Shannon Ashley "Shay" Mitchell (born April 10, 1987[1][2]) is a Canadian actress, model, entrepreneur and author. She is best known for her role as Emily Fields in the Freeform series Pretty Little Liars.

Early life

Mitchell was born in Mississauga, Ontario to a Filipina mother, Precious Garcia, and a Scots-Irish Hispanic father, Mark Mitchell. Her parents work in finance.[3] Her mother, who is from Pampanga,[3] left the Philippines at age 19.[4] She has one younger brother, Sean, born in 1996. She is a second cousin-niece of Lea Salonga, singer and Tony Award-winning theater actress well known for originating the lead role of Kim in the musical Miss Saigon.[5] Even as a young child, Mitchell was interested in performing arts, declaring to her parents that she would pursue such a career. Mitchell began dance lessons at the age of five, and she and several of her classmates toured the city to compete with a variety of other dance schools. At the age of 10, Mitchell's family moved to West Vancouver, British Columbia. Within a year of their arrival, an international modeling agency held an open casting call for teen and pre-teen girls who were vying for representation. Mitchell was one of the girls selected. She attended Rockridge Secondary School and then later transferred to West Vancouver Secondary School where she graduated.[6]

Career

At the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards

By her late teens, Mitchell had successfully modeled for a variety of companies in cities as varied as Bangkok, Hong Kong and Barcelona, but she later returned to Toronto to study acting. After signing with her first theatrical agency Mitchell appeared in the Canadian teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation and booked several national commercials. Mitchell guest starred in the Global series Rookie Blue and appeared in the music video for "Hold My Hand" by Jamaican rapper Sean Paul.[7] In 2010, Mitchell appeared in a four-episode arc on the Disney XD series Aaron Stone as cheerleader Irina Webber.

In December 2009, Mitchell was cast in the ABC Family (currently Freeform) planned adaptation of the book series Pretty Little Liars. Initially, Mitchell auditioned for the role of Spencer Hastings.[8] In January 2010, the series was picked up by ABC Family. The series centers on four friends up against an anonymous foe who threatens to reveal all their secrets whilst unraveling the mystery of the murder of their best friend. Mitchell portrays the role of Emily Fields, the "jock girl" of the group. The program gained quick popularity despite mixed critical reviews.[9] It has since been renewed to a seventh season, with the sixth season currently airing.

In January 2011, Mitchell signed a contract with Procter & Gamble to be the spokesperson for the Pantene Nature Fusion shampoo line.[10] Subsequent endorsements include American Eagle, Nike and Biore.

She coauthored the novel Bliss with Michaela Blaney (2015).

Personal life

Mitchell supported Somaly Mam Foundation, a non-profit organization that fought sex trafficking until it ended operations in 2014.[11] She has also worked with The Trevor Project alongside the Pretty Little Liars cast and the NOH8 Campaign.[12] She has also taken Spanish-language lessons to expand the range of roles she can take.[13]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2013 Immediately Afterlife Marissa Short film
2015 Dreamland Nicole
2016 Mother's Day Tina

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2009 Degrassi: The Next Generation Model Episode: "Up Where We Belong"
2010–present Pretty Little Liars Emily Fields Main cast
2010 Aaron Stone Irina Webber 4 episodes
2010 Rookie Blue Cute Girl Episode: "Mercury Retrograde"
2012 Punk'd Herself Episode: "Heather Morris"
2015 Project Runway Herself/Judge Season 13, Episode 12: "Fashion Week: Who's in and Who's out"

Music videos

Year Artist Title
2009 Sean Paul "Hold My Hand"

Awards

Year Award Category Work Result
2011 Young Hollywood Awards Cast to Watch (shared with Troian Bellisario, Lucy Hale and Ashley Benson) Pretty Little Liars Won
2011 Youth Rock Awards[14] Rockin’ TV Actress Nominated
2014 Teen Choice Awards Choice Summer TV Star – Female Nominated
2015 MTV Fandom Awards Ship Of The Year (shared with Sasha Pieterse) Nominated
2015 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress: Drama Nominated

References

  1. ↑ Benson, Ashley (April 10, 2013). "Happy birthday to my gum drop @shaymitch". Twitter. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  2. ↑ Mitchell, Shay (April 10, 2016). "I mean is anyone really shocked at this pretty little cake?! This day feels surreal for many reasons but the fact that I'm doing press for my first movie, "Mother's Day", on my 29th birthday feels just right...lets do this!!!". Instagram. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  3. 1 2 Tomada, Nathalie (January 7, 2013). "The Filipino in Shay Mitchell". The Philippine Star. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  4. ↑ Tibajia, Chonx (March 13, 2013). "Pretty Shay Mitchell is no little liar". The Philippine Star. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  5. ↑ Hogan, Heather (July 26, 2010). "An interview with Shay Mitchell". AfterEllen. Archived from the original on August 19, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2013.http://www.afterellen.com/people/77237-an-interview-with-shay-mitchell
  6. ↑ "Shay Mitchell". shaymitchell.org. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Shay Mitchell Bio". kidzworld. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Emily Fields played by Shay Mitchell". abcfamily.go.com. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Tuesday Cable: Justified Finale & Law & Order:CI Flat, Plus Deadliest Catch, The Hills, WWE NXT". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. June 9, 2010. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
  10. ↑ Bricker, Tierney (January 6, 2011). "'Pretty Little Liars' star Shay Mitchell is Pantene's new spokesperson". zap2it.com. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  11. ↑ Hudson, Kathryn. "ELLE Canada interview: Shay Mitchell". Elle Canada. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  12. ↑ Brown, Geoffrey (March 1, 2012). "Interview: Shay Mitchell of 'Pretty Little Liars'". Out. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  13. ↑ Cheche V. Moral (March 8, 2013). "Shay Mitchell: 'My Filipino family made me perform at every wedding when I was a kid!'". Inquirer.net. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Ashley Benson wins 2011 Youth Rcok Award For Best Actress" Announced". Youth Rock Awards. December 8, 2011. Retrieved December 8, 2011.

External links

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