Shay Mitchell

Shay Mitchell

Mitchell at the 38th People's Choice Awards in January 2012
Born Shannon Ashley Mitchell
April 10, 1987
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Occupation Actress, model
Years active 2009–present

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

Early life

Mitchell was born in Mississauga, Ontario to a Filipino mother, Precious Garcia, and an Irish/Scottish father, Mark Mitchell. Mitchell also has Spanish lineage from both sides of her family.[2] 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. She is a second cousin 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

Mitchell 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; including Pantene. 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] Mitchell also notably modeled for American Eagle Outfitters. 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 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. Despite mixed reviews, the series found success premiering to over 2.47 million viewers.[9]

In January 2011, Mitchell signed a contract with Procter & Gamble to be the spokesperson for the Pantene Nature Fusion shampoo line.[10]

On October 4, 2012, ABC Family announced that they renewed Pretty Little Liars for a fourth season.[11] Filming began on March 14, 2013.[12] It premiered on June 11, 2013, with the second part, season 4B premiering on January 7, 2014. Producer Marlene King and co-star Lucy Hale announced that there will be a fifth season of Pretty Little Liars.[13] This was confirmed by ABC Family on March 26, 2013.[14][15]

Personal life

Mitchell supported Somaly Mam Foundation, a non-profit organization that fought sex trafficking.[16] She has also worked with The Trevor Project alongside the Pretty Little Liars cast and the NOH8 Campaign.[17] To prepare for future acting roles, Mitchell has been learning Spanish.[2]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2013 Immediately Afterlife Marissa Short film
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
Rookie Blue Cute girl Episode: "Mercury Retrograde"
2012 Punk'd Herself Episode: "Heather Morris"
Glee Girl with a yellow jacket Epsiode: "Britney 2.0"
Music Video
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
2014 Teen Choice Awards Choice Summer TV Star – Female Pretty Little Liars Nominated

References

  1. ↑ Benson, Ashley (April 10, 2013). "Happy birthday to my gum drop @shaymitch". Twitter. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 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.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 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 (26 July 2010). "An interview with Shay Mitchell". AfterEllen. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  6. ↑ "Shay Mitchell". shaymitchell.org. Retrieved 8 September 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. 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  10. ↑ Bricker, Tierney (2011-01-06). "'Pretty Little Liars' star Shay Mitchell is Pantene's new spokesperson". zap2it.com. Retrieved 2011-03-12.
  11. ↑ Bibel, Sara (October 4, 2012). "'Pretty Little Liars' Renewed for Season Four by ABC Family". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  12. ↑ King, Marlene (March 1, 2013). "Twitter / imarleneking: @GrandeLovers2 we start shooting ...". Twitter. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Thanks for all the great wishes for season 5 of #PrettyLittleLiars and season 1 of #Ravenswood. Can twitter handle us?". Twitter. Retrieved March 26, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Twitter / TVGuideMagazine: This just in from @ABCFamily: ...". Twitter. March 26, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Twitter / ABCFpll: #Ravenswood premieres this ...". Twitter. March 26, 2013. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  16. ↑ Hudson, Kathryn. "ELLE Canada interview: Shay Mitchell". Elle Canada. Retrieved January 8, 2014.
  17. ↑ Brown, Geoffrey (March 1, 2012). "Interview: Shay Mitchell of 'Pretty Little Liars'". Out. Retrieved January 8, 2014.

External links