Shay Mitchell

Shannon Ashley "Shay" Mitchell (born April 10, 1987) is a Canadian actress and model. She stars in the ABC Family original series Pretty Little Liars as Emily Fields.

Biography
Born to Filipino mother Precious and Irish/Scottish father Mark, Mitchell is a native of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Even as a young child, Mitchell was interested in the 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 west to 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.

Career
By her late teens, Mitchell had successfully modeled for a variety of companies in cities as varied as Bangkok, Hong Kong and Barcelona. Wanting to focus on her true passion, Mitchell returned to Toronto and began to study acting with great focus and determination. Her hard work paid off and, after signing with her first theatrical agency, Mitchell appeared in the hit series Degrassi: The Next Generation and booked several national commercials. Mitchell also landed a recurring role in the Disney XD series "Aaron Stone," is featured in the music video for recording artist Sean Paul's hit song "Hold My Hand" and appeared in the Global series Rookie Blue. She modeled for Aéropostale. Her most prominent role is Emily Fields a character in Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family. She originally auditioned for the role of Spencer Hastings.

Trivia

 * Is of Filipino descent maternally.
 * Is of Irish and Scottish descent paternally.
 * Favorite Books: Eat, Pray, Love; The Alchemist; The Kite Runner and Pretty Little Liars.
 * Favorite Food: Anything Italian (pizza, pasta), Thai food and my Mom's cooking.
 * Favorite Three TV Shows: Entourage, Californication, and Oprah.
 * Top Favorite Show: I Love Lucy.
 * Favorite Vacation Place: Moorea, Tahiti.
 * Favorite Three Movies: Vicki Christina Barcelona, Under the Tuscan Sun, Little Mermaid.
 * Top Favorite Movie: Selena with Jennifer Lopez.
 * Her Celebrity Crushes are Paul Walker and Ryan Gosling.
 * Is horribly afraid of clowns﻿ and horror movies.
 * Double Jointed.
 * Enjoys guided meditation.
 * In 2011, Shay made her debut on "The 2011 AfterEllen's Hot 100 List," coming in at #7.
 * Watches Glee.
 * Is friends with Naya Rivera from Glee.
 * Favorite people to work with Girl: Ashley Benson Boy: Keegan Allen on set.
 * Her Twitter account is @ShayMitch.
 * She and Ryan Merriman share the same birthday, April 10th.
 * She has a younger brother named Sean.