Troian Bellisario

Troian Bellisario

Bellisario in Manila in February 2013
Born Troian Avery Bellisario
October 28, 1985
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater University of Southern California
Occupation Actress, singer
Years active 1988–present
Partner(s) Patrick J. Adams
(2010–present; engaged)
Parent(s) Donald P. Bellisario
Deborah Pratt

Troian Avery Bellisario (/ˈtrɔːjən/; born October 28, 1985) is an American actress and singer, best known for playing Spencer Hastings in the ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars.

Early life

Troian Avery Bellisario was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her parents are producers Donald P. Bellisario and Deborah Pratt.[1] Donald P. Bellisario created Magnum, P.I., Quantum Leap, and NCIS, among other TV series. She has a younger brother, Nick Bellisario,[2] three half-sisters, two half-brothers and is a stepsister of actor Sean Murray, and producer Chad W. Murray. Her father is of half Italian and half Serbian descent. Her mother is African-American.[3][4][5]

As a child, Bellisario was close friends with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.[6]

Bellisario attended Campbell Hall School in North Hollywood, California from kindergarten through twelfth grade,[7] where she was the valedictorian of her class.[8] She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Southern California in 2009.[9]

Career

Bellisario made her acting debut in the 1988 film Last Rites at the age of three.[10] From 1990 to 2007, she guest starred on Quantum Leap, Tequila and Bonetti, JAG, First Monday and NCIS, television series that were produced by her father Donald P. Bellisario. In NCIS, she played Sarah McGee, sister of Special Agent Timothy McGee, portrayed by her stepbrother Sean Murray.

In 1998, she co-starred with Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in the film Billboard Dad. Beginning in 2006, Bellisario began appearing in a number of independent short films namely, Unspoken, Archer House and Intersect. In November 2009, Bellisario was cast as Spencer Hastings in the TV series Pretty Little Liars based on the book series of the same name by Sara Shepard.[11] In October 2011, Bellisario announced she was in the process of writing and creating her own film, which was successfully funded through Kickstarter on November 16, 2011. Filming ended in December 2011 and the film was officially completed by August 2012.[12]

In August 2012, Bellisario appeared alongside Jennifer Beals in the WIGS web episode series, Lauren.[13] In January 2013, Bellisario confirmed on Twitter and Instagram that she and Beals are filming more Lauren web episodes.[14] Lauren returned on May 3, 2013 for a twelve episode run.[15][16] 2015 earned a leading role in the remake of Martyrs,[17] in which she co stars Bailey Noble, Kate Burton and Blake Robbins.[18]

Personal life

On February 24, 2014, it was confirmed that Bellisario is engaged to actor Patrick J. Adams.[19][20] They first worked together in theater, and since then on Pretty Little Liars and the short film The Come Up.[21]

Bellisario revealed in early January 2014 that she went through personal problems through high school, resulting in an eating disorder and self-harming problems. "I was the youngest daughter, the perfect little girl," she said. "My school was a very intense college prep school. So it was about wanting to please my father and mother and wanting to be perfect to everybody."[22]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1988 Last Rites Nuzo's daughter
1998 Billboard Dad Kristen
2006 Unspoken Jani Short film
2007 Archer House Tatum Short film
2009 Intersect Victoria Short film
2009 Before the Cabin Burned Down Meg Short film
2010 Consent Amanda
2010 Peep World Film set P.A.
2011 A November Girlfriend Short film
2012 Come Up, TheThe Come Up Jessica Short film
2012 Joyful Girl Belle Short film
2013 C.O.G. Jennifer
2013 Exiles Juliet Short film; also writer and executive producer
2013 Immediately Afterlife Bennett Short film
2014 Chuck Hank and the San Diego Twins Claire Post-production
2015 Surf Noir Lacey Short film
2015 Still a Rose Short film
2015 Martyrs Unknown
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1990 Quantum Leap Teresa Bruckner Episode: "Another Mother"
1992 Tequila and Bonetti Teresa Garcia Episode: "The Rose Cadillac"
1998 JAG Erin Terry Episode: "Tiger, Tiger"
2002 First Monday Kimberly Baron 2 episodes
2005–2006 NCIS Sarah McGee 2 episodes
2010–present Pretty Little Liars Spencer Hastings Main cast
2015 Suits Claire Episode: "Fork in the Road"
Web
Year Title Role Notes
2012–2013 Lauren Sergeant Lauren Weil Main cast

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Title Result
2010 Vison Fest Best Acting (Female Lead) Consent Won
2010 FirstGlance Philadelphia Best Actress Won
2011 Young Hollywood Awards Cast to Watch (shared with Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale and Shay Mitchell) Pretty Little Liars Won
2011 Teen Choice Awards Choice Summer TV Star: Female Nominated
2012 Teen Choice Awards Choice Summer TV Star: Female Won
2013 IAWTV Award Best Female Performance (Drama) Lauren Nominated
2013 New York Festivals Best Performance by an Actress Won
2013 Streamy Award Best Female Performance (Drama) Nominated
2013 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress: Drama Pretty Little Liars Won
2014 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress: Drama Nominated

References

  1. "Donald P. Bellisario Biography (1935–)". Filmreference.com. August 8, 1935. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  2. Kombert, Alissa (January 18, 2013). "Guess Which Little Liar's Cute Younger Brother This Is (PHOTOS)". Wetpaint. Retrieved June 15, 2013.
  3. "15 Celebrities Most People Don't Know Are Black". MadameNoire.
  4. "@fashionchalet painting of the death scene...".
  5. "Actress Troian Bellisario on GDLA".
  6. Lauren Brown (January 1, 2014). "Exclusive Troian Bellisario Interview". Seventeen. Retrieved February 26, 2014.
  7. "Right Out of the Gate". Backstage.com.
  8. "Exclusive Q&A with Pretty Little Liars' Troian Bellisario". J-14. 6 May 2013.
  9. Troain Bellisario biography, ABC Family.com
  10. Troian Bellisario on Pretty Little Liars By Fred Topel Published June 10, 2010 – Canmag.com
  11. Andreeva, Nellie (November 11, 2009). "ABC Family fills comedy, Liars roles". HollywoodReporter.com. Retrieved November 24, 2009.
  12. Best Inventions of 2010. "Exiles by Troian Bellisario » Updates — Kickstarter". Kickstarter.com. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  13. "Lauren | Season 1 (Feat. Troian Bellisario & Jennifer Beals)". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  14. "She's back!".
  15. "I gave you a sneak peek yesterday but now it's official! S2 of #Lauren with @jenniferbeals returns to @wigs on 5/3!". Twitter. Retrieved April 19, 2013.
  16. ""Lauren" will return in mid-April".
  17. "Bailey Noble, who played Adilyn Bellefleur on "True Blood," toplining with "Pretty Little Liars" star Troian Bellisario. Kate Burton (Stay, Big Trouble in Little China) and Blake Robbins (Rubber) round out the cast of Martyrs".
  18. Barton, Steve (3 April 2014). "The ‘Martyrs’ Remake Already Has Already Been Filmed". DreadCentral.com. DC. Retrieved 21 April 2014.
  19. "Troian Bellisario Interview - ABC Family's Pretty Little Liars". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  20. PEP.ph. "Pretty Little Liars star Troian Bellisario on relationship with Patrick J. Adams: "I think we're both very fortunate in that we both fell in love before we got our shows." | PEP.ph: The Number One Site for Philippine Showbiz". PEP.ph. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  21. Mathieson, Frankie (October 22, 2012). "Troian Bellisario on ‘Pretty Little Liars,’ Her Short Film, & the Return of Drunk Spencer". bullettmedia.com. Retrieved August 24, 2012.
  22. Greenwood, Carl (January 6, 2014). "Pretty Little Liars actress Troian Bellisario opens up about her eating disorder and "feeling like a fraud".". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved January 7, 2014.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Troian Bellisario.