Shannon Ashley Garcia "Shay" Mitchell (born April 10, 1987) is a Canadian actress and model. She rose to prominence for her role as Emily Fields in the mystery thriller drama series Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017), which earned her nominations for a People's Choice Award and six Teen Choice Awards. She has garnered wider recognition for starring as Peach Salinger in the psychological thriller series You (2018) and as Stella Cole in the Hulu comedy series Dollface (2019–2022). She currently voices Alexandra Trese in the Netflix animated series Trese (2021–present). After appearing in a series of short films, Mitchell made her feature film debut starring as Nicole in the musical drama film Dreamland (2016). She went on to appear as Tina in the comedy film Mother's Day (2016), and headline the horror film The Possession of Hannah Grace (2018) as Megan Reed. Aside from her acting, she is recognized for her media image and activism. In 2014, Esquire magazine dubbed Mitchell the "Sexiest Woman Alive", and in 2015 she appeared on the Maxim Hot 100 list. Early life Mitchell was born in Mississauga, Ontario, the daughter of Precious Garcia and Mark Mitchell. Her father is of Scottish and Irish descent and her mother, who is Filipina, is from the province of Pampanga, and left the Philippines at age 19. She is a first cousin-once removed of Lea Salonga, a singer and musical theater actress. She attended Rockridge Secondary School and then later transferred to West Vancouver Secondary School where she graduated. By her late teens, Mitchell had successfully modelled for a variety of companies in cities as varied as Bangkok, Hong Kong and Barcelona, eventually returning to Toronto to study acting. Career 2009–2015: Early work and Pretty Little Liars Mitchell began acting in 2009, making cameo appearances on the Canadian teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation and the police drama series Rookie Blue. Also in 2009, she appeared in the music video for "Hold My Hand" by Jamaican rapper Sean Paul. Mitchell was cast as Emily Fields in the Freeform series Pretty Little Liars, an adaptation of the book series of the same name. She initially auditioned for the character Spencer Hastings, for which she was rejected and the part was instead given to Troian Bellisario; thereafter she tried for Emily Fields and was cast in the role. On portraying Fields, she wrote: "I think for me, it's one of