Troian Bellisario
Introduction '''Troian Avery Bellisario''' (born October 28, 1985) is an American actress. A graduate of the University of Southern California, in 2010, she received her breakthrough role as Spencer Hastings in the Freeform drama series ''Pretty Little Liars'' (20102017), for which she received worldwide recognition and multiple awards and nominations.
Early life Bellisario was born and raised in Los Angeles. Her parents are producers Deborah Pratt and Donald P. Bellisario; her father created ''Magnum, P.I. '', ''Quantum Leap'', and ''NCIS'', among other TV series. She has a younger brother, three half-sisters, two half-brothers, and two stepbrothers, actor Sean Murray and producer Chad W. Murray. Her father is of Italian and Serbian descent, and her mother is of African American descent.Attending Campbell Hall School in Studio City, California, from kindergarten through twelfth grade, Bellisario was the valedictorian of her class. After high school, she attended Vassar College for several months before taking a break for the sake of her mental health, feeling that the institution aggravated her perfectionist tendencies. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Southern California in 2009.
Career ===Early work===Bellisario made her acting debut in the 1988 film ''Last Rites'' at the age of three, which was directed, written and produced by her father, Donald P. Bellisario. In 1990, she guest-starred in an episode of her father's series ''Quantum Leap''. 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''.===2010s===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. 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.Bellisario (far left) with the cast of ''Pretty Little Liars'' in 2014In 2014, she starred in the music video for The Head and the Heart's song "Another Story". Bellisario also starred in ''Immediately Afterlife'', a short film about two cult members who are the only survivors of their group's mass suicide, playing Bennett, alongside her ''Pretty Little Liars'' co-stars Shay Mitchell (Emily), Ian Harding (Ezra Fitz) and Nolan North (Peter Hastings). In 2015, she was cast in a leading role in the American remake of the French-Canadian film ''Martyrs''. In 2015, Bellisario and fiancée Patrick J. Adams filmed the short film ''We Are Here in Haida Gwaii'', which Bellisario wrote and starred in. In 2017, Bellisario starred in her feature film, ''Feed'', which she also wrote and produced. The film was written based on Bellisario's own experiences with an eating disorder.On April 7, 2016, it was announced that Bellisario would be directing season 7, episode 15 of ''Pretty Little Liars''. This made her one of the first in the cast, alongside Chad Lowe, to direct an episode on the series. In 2020, Bellisario appeared as the bride character Jenna Marshall from the episode "Til Dex Do Us Part" in ''Stumptown''.Further in television, she costarred with Australian actress Jacki Weaver in the television drama film ''Sister Cities'' (2016), and opposite Bradley Whitford in the Me Too drama ''Lauren'' (20122013). In film, Bellisario has received recognition for her performances in ''C.O.G.'' (2013), ''Feed'' (2017), ''Clara'' (2018) and ''Where'd You Go, Bernadette'' (2019).===2020s===In March 2020, Bellisario played the lead role of Claire in the CBS political drama pilot ''Ways & Means'', written by Ed Redlich. The pilot, which also starred Patrick Dempsey, focused on a secret alliance between a disillusioned career politician and an idealist up-and-comer in the gridlocked American system. The show was not picked up.In 2022, she appeared in the comedy ''Doula'' alongside Arron Shiver (who also wrote the film) and Will Greenberg. The film, produced by Chris Pine and directed by Cheryl Nichols, deals with Bellisario's character hiring her midwife's son as the latter's replacement when she passes away.
Personal life Bellisario started dating ''Suits'' star Patrick J. Adams after they met on the set of the play ''Equivocation'' in 2009.The couple briefly split, but after Adams' guest appearance as Hardy in ''Pretty Little Liars'', in 2010, the two got back together. Since working on ''Equivocation'' and ''Pretty Little Liars'', the couple also worked together on the 2012 short film ''The Come Up'', ''Suits'', and the short film ''We Are Here''. Bellisario and Adams were married on December 10, 2016, in Santa Barbara, California. The couple have two daughters, Aurora, born in 2018 and Elliot, born in 2021.In an episode of actress Katie Lowes's podcast, ''Katie's Crib'', Bellisario and Adams said their second child was born in the backseat of their car at the hospital parking lot due to an accelerated labour, with Adams delivering the baby. Hospital staff assisted within minutes of the delivery, and Bellisario and the baby were found healthy.Bellisario said in January 2014 that she endured personal problems during high school, resulting in self-harm and an eating disorder. "I was the youngest daughter, the perfect little girl. 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. "In 2014, Bellisario returned to her alma mater, USC School of Dramatic Arts, delivering the commencement speech.
Filmography ===Film=== Year Title Role Notes 1988 ''Last Rites'' Justin's daughter 1998 ''Billboard Dad'' Kristen Bulut 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 2011 ''Pleased to Meet You'' Carson 2012 '''' Jessica Short film 2012 ''Joyful Girl'' Belle Short film 2013 ''C.O.G.'' Jennifer 2013 ''Exiles'' Juliet Short film; also writer and executive producer 2014 ''Immediately Afterlife'' Bennett Short film 2015 ''Surf Noir'' Lacey Short film 2015 ''Martyrs'' Lucie Jurin 2015 ''Still a Rose'' Juliet Short film 2015 ''Amy'' Amy Short film 2016 ''In the Shadows of the Rainbow'' Short film 2017 ''Chuck Hank and the San Diego Twins'' Claire 2017 ''Feed'' Olivia Grey Also writer and producer 2018 ''We Are Here'' Woman Short film; also producer and writer 2018 ''Clara'' Clara 2019 ''Where'd You Go Bernadette'' Becky 2019 ''Like Turtles'' Molly Short film; also producer 2020 ''Life on Mars'' Stella Short film; also writer 2021 ''Poppet'' Maeve Short film; also producer and writer 2022 ''Doula'' Deb===Television=== Year Title Role Notes 1990 ''Quantum Leap'' Teresa Bruckner Episode: "Another Mother" 1992 ''Tequila and Bonetti'' Teresa Garcia Recurring role; 2 episodes 1998 ''JAG'' Erin Terry Episode: "Tiger, Tiger" 2002 ''First Monday'' Kimberly Baron Recurring role; 2 episodes 2005–2006 ''NCIS'' Sarah McGee Guest role; 2 episodes2010–2017 ''Pretty Little Liars'' Spencer Hastings Main role; 160 episodes Alex Drake Recurring role (season 7); 6 episodes 2014–2015 ''Suits'' Claire Bowden Guest role; 2 episodes 2016 ''Sister Cities'' Baltimore Baxter Television film 2020 ''Stumptown'' Jenna Marshall Episode: "Til Dex Do Us Part" 2022 ''Celebrity Jeopardy!'' Herself Contestant 2023 ''Plan B'' Miranda Delano Television miniseries; 4 episodes===Radio=== Year  Title Role Notes  2020 ''The Adventures of Superman'' Girl DC FanDome ===Web=== Year Title Role Notes 2012–2013 ''Lauren'' Sergeant Lauren Weil Main role; 14 episodes 2014 ''Pa-gents with Chris Pine'' Cathryn Crest 2015 ''Instagram Intervention with Troian Bellisario'' Herself===Music videos=== Year Title Role Artist  2014 "Another Story" Girl The Head and the Heart  2018 "Fading Light" Woman Nights & Weekends ===Director=== Year Title Episode(s) Notes 2017 ''Pretty Little Liars'' "In the Eye Abides the Heart" Directorial debut 2018 ''Famous in Love'' "Guess Who's (Not) Coming to Sundance?" 2019–present''Good Trouble'' 7 episodes 2020 ''Life on Mars''  Short film
Awards and nominations  Year Award Category Work ResultRef.2010 Vision Fest Best Acting – Female Lead''Consent''   Philadelphia First Glance Film Festival Best Actress  2011 Young Hollywood Awards Cast to Watch (shared with Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale and Shay Mitchell)''Pretty Little Liars''   Teen Choice AwardsChoice Summer TV Star: Female   2012 Teen Choice Awards  2013 New York Festivals Best Performance by an Actress''Lauren''  Streamy Awards Best Female Performance – Drama   Teen Choice AwardsChoice TV Actress: Drama ''Pretty Little Liars''  2014 IAWTV Awards Best Female Performance – Drama ''Lauren''   Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress: Drama''Pretty Little Liars''   2015 Teen Choice Awards Choice Summer TV Star: Female   2016 Teen Choice AwardsChoice TV Actress: Drama   2017 Teen Choice Awards   2018 Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award Best Actress in a Canadian Film ''Clara''   2020 Northeast Film Festival Best Actress in a Short Film ''Like Turtles''
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