20 Intriguing Things About The Gorgeous 'Pretty Little Liars' Actress, Lucy Hale

Lucy Hale may not even be 30 yet, but she's already accomplished more than many actresses could in their entire careers. She's been a part of several television shows, including a huge hit teen drama, and her career shows no signs of slowing down.

Now that Pretty Little Liars is wrapped, she's already on her way to a new show, and she may even decide to venture into the film world a bit. Plus, she's working on a music career, and doing all sorts of amazing projects. It's safe to say that Lucy Hale is a busy woman - and her talent is kind of endless.

However, even though she became a huge star thanks to playing Aria on the hit teen show, there's still a lot that people don't know about the star. She's impossibly gorgeous, she's a little mysterious, and she's majorly talented. I mean, what's not to love? We can't wait to see what kind of characters she tackles next - Aria was definitely a fascinating role to play on screen, but we foresee a ton more incredible characters in her future projects.

20 She Competed (And Won!) On A Kids' Singing Competition Reality Show

Back when American Idol was a hugely successful, someone at the studio decided they wanted to try to capture a younger audience and bring a different demographic to the screen.

So, they launched American Juniors, a spinoff show where kids competed to be part of a singing group.

A teenage Lucy Hale was one of the talented children competing, and she actually ended up being one of five winners selected to perform as American Juniors.

She's a lot younger than the Lucy we know, but if you look close during performances, you can definitely tell it's her. Talk about a powerhouse!

19 She Didn't Even Have To Audition For 'Pretty Little Liars'

It's always tough to tell which shows will end up dying after one season and which will be huge hits, but Pretty Little Liars had all the signs of being a smash - it was a dark, juicy teen drama! You'd think that competition would be fierce for the roles, but not in Lucy Hale's case.

Apparently, as the showrunner Marlene King told Variety, "she was coming off of 'Privileged' and everybody wanted to do a TV Show with her. I grabbed a coffee with her and she had read the script and she loved it." Hale originally wanted to play Hanna, but King offered her the role of Aria instead - and she took it, no audition needed.

18 Meeting Dolly Parton Was On Her Bucket List - And She Did It This Year!

Even though they're constantly rubbing shoulders with other celebrities, it doesn't mean celebs are immune to fangirling.

In fact, most celebs have one or two people that still completely cause them to lose their cool, no matter how famous they are.

And, for Lucy Hale, that person is Dolly Parton.

She mentioned to Us Magazine that meeting the country legend is at the top of her bucket list. In April of this year, she had the opportunity to do just that! She adorably captioned it: "honestly a little speechless about this. Thank you Dolly for being everything I had dreamt you to be… OMG YOU GUYS."

17 A Former Crush On A PLL Castmate Inspired Her Song "Lie A Little Better"

It's always fun to learn about what inspired certain songs - or, even better, who inspired them. I mean, it's practically what Taylor Swift has made her career on! And, it seems Lucy Hale has her own fascinating songwriting story.

Her song "Lie A Little Better" is, as she told Us Magazine, inspired by a crush she used to have on one of her Pretty Little Liars cast mates. She's kept the actual object of her former affections secret, but we can't help but be curious as to who inspired the song! Maybe one day she'll shout out to him in the liner notes of her album.

16 She's Really, Really Into Teeth

There's no denying that Lucy Hale has an absolutely gorgeous smile, and it turns out, that smile took a lot of work! She had braces for three years and Invisalign for a year as well, according to Seventeen, so her flawless smile definitely took some time to achieve.

And, as a result, she's majorly into teeth. She spilled to Seventeen: "I'm obsessed with teeth, I have teeth crushes on people."

Well, it's a good thing she's working in Hollywood, where almost every single person has a picture-perfect smile that's just ready for a close-up!

Plenty of teeth crush-worthy smiles there.

15 She's Obsessed With Ranch Dressing

Most people have the perception that actresses survive solely on lean meats and steamed vegetables, and while Hale likely has a healthy diet for the most part, she does have one guilty pleasure - ranch dressing.

She discussed her obsession with Us Magazine, saying: "I swear, ranch dressing was my secret weapon when I was recording my album, Road Between. Ranch is always the right answer."

Hey, we love her willingness to declare her love for the creamy condiment - who doesn't like a side of ranch with a crisp veggie plate or order of wings? Maybe she'll use her star power to endorse her favorite brand one day.

14 Her Real Name Isn't Even Lucy…

There are definitely plenty of people in the entertainment industry who have changed their names, but Lucy Hale isn't the first that comes to mind because, well, her name sounds so normal! However, it turns out she did change it - although not too dramatically.

Her actual birth name is Karen Lucille Hale (with her middle name coming from her great-grandmother).

When she started striving for stardom, she decided to begin going by Lucy Kate Hale, according to Seventeen. We just can't picture her as a Karen, to be honest - Lucy just seems to fit her sometimes sweet, sometimes sassy personality.

13 She Was Home Schooled As A Teen

When she was younger and still living in Tennessee, Lucy Hale went to Cordova Optional School, according to Seventeen. However, she realized things needed to change if she wanted to truly pursue her dream of making it in the entertainment industry.

So, when she moved to Los Angeles to focus on her budding career, she switched to being homeschooled so that she'd be able to make time in her days for lessons, auditions and more. Obviously, it worked out for her, so it was definitely the right choice to make! There are quite a few celebs who decided to switch their schooling up to make time for their thriving careers.

12 She Came Up With The Show's Iconic "Shhh" Gesture

The 'shhh' gesture is without a question one of the most iconic parts of the show - I mean, the entire cast got matching finger tattoos after the finale, of their characters' initial inked on their 'shhh' fingers.

However, we bet you didn't know it was actually Lucy who came up with the gesture in the first place.

As she told Seventeen, "shushing the camera was actually a spur-of-the-moment idea that happened to make the final cut." And the final poster. And countless other promotional materials highlighting the show. Hey, if she ever wants to give up the whole acting thing, she could become a marketing maven!

11 Her Nickname On Set Is Goose

It's no secret that the cast of the show became really close over their seasons together - they were all young, on the way to stardom, and just really connected with one another. And, that included giving each other nicknames.

According to Bustle, Hale was referred to by many of her co-stars on set as "Goose."

We have a feeling it's a simple sound nickname - Goose sounds like the first syllable of her first name, so it was probably a switch from Lucy to Luc to Goose. However, it's still pretty cute - we totally love that they were close enough to come up with adorable nicknames for one another.

10 She Never Intended To Become An Actress Because Singing Was Her True Passion

The entertainment industry is very competitive, and there are tons of aspiring actresses who never get their big break. So, it's not as if you just fall into the industry by accident, right? Well, not unless you're Lucy Hale.

Apparently, the superstar's first dream was to be a singer, and she just ended up attending an audition sometime in her younger years, and getting an acting role, and getting another role, and adding 'acting' to her resume.

She's been trying to take some time to focus on her music career lately.

She just released her debut album, and we can't wait to see what's next - we'd love to see her play a serious musician on screen.

9 She's A Petite 5'2"

It can be tough to gauge how tall or petite actresses are because, well, a lot of the individuals in the entertainment industry are quite petite. You'd be surprised at the height of many of your favorite male celebs!

However, even with the highest of sky-high heels, Lucy Hale is never going to tower above any supermodels because she's only 5'2 in height.

Her petite stature is probably one of the reasons she was able to so convincingly play a high school student, even though she was several years older - it definitely gives her a bit of a youthful vibe that comes in handy for roles.

8 A Recent Trip Helped Her Realize The Importance Of Self-Care

Lucy Hale's schedule is probably jam-packed with appointments and events and auditions and things like that.

So, it would be easy to just focus all her efforts on clearing that schedule and not take time for herself - but she came to a realization on a recent trip to Arizona.

She discussed the trip on Instagram, saying: "I spent my days hiking, meditating and spending time with myself. I've never done this before because I used to feel that putting myself first was selfish. It's not. Not only is it healthy, but it's necessary so that you can be the best for everyone else around you." We love that perspective!

7 No Wonder She's So Gorgeous - She's Obsessed With Skincare, Too

Lucy Hale is naturally gorgeous, but it also helps that she has the flawless, milky skin of a porcelain doll. And, it's not just great make-up - that's her actual skin!

She chatted with Shape about her skincare obsession, saying: "I always say I'd love to be an esthetician if I weren't an actress. I love everything about it [skincare]. Right now, the skin-care product I can't live without is micellar water. It's easy to travel with, and it's handy on those nights when you're too tired to do your skin-care routine."

Be right back, just grabbing some micellar water so we, too, can look like Lucy Hale.

6 She Used To Have An Unhealthy Relationship With Food

Hale and her former co-stars probably bonded over a ton of things, given that they were roughly the same age and having the same kinds of life experiences. But, she and co-star Troian Bellisario may have bonded over something a bit more serious.

Fortunately, Lucy advocates for a healthy lifestyle, but this wasn't always the case.

Hale confessed to Cosmopolitan that early on in her career she had a seriously unhealthy relationship with food, often not eating for days on end in an attempt to get the kind of body she thought actresses should have. Luckily, she realized she was actually struggling and got the help she needed to get her health back on track.

5 She's A Total Coffee Lover Who Dreams Of Her Morning Cup Of Joe

There may be a few actresses out there who prefer matcha or herbal tea over a steaming cup of morning joe, but Lucy Hale isn't one of them. She confessed to Us Magazine that she's a huge coffee lover.

In her words: "I go to sleep thinking about my morning coffee."

So, now you know the way to Lucy Hale's heart - an amazing cup of coffee. Given how often she travels, and how awful most hotel room coffee is, we have a feeling Lucy Hale is constantly searching for the best coffee shop in every city she visits. I mean, that sounds like the perfect way to mix things up and keep press tours interesting!

4 Despite Being Based In Los Angeles, She Admits She's A Bad Driver

Lucy Hale has lived in Los Angeles for well over a decade now, though she obviously hasn't been able to drive for quite that long. However, even though she knows how to drive - it's pretty much impossible to function in Los Angeles if you don't - she admitted to Us Magazine that she's an absolutely terrible driver.

We're not sure if she's just a nervous driver, or if she's constantly switching lanes without warning, but it's kind of endearing that there's something she's not perfect at.

Plus, who cares - she's a big enough name now that she can hire someone to drive her where she needs to go!

3 Apparently, Her Southern Accent Comes Out When She Sings

Usually, Lucy Hale really doesn't have much of a distinctive accent. She just sounds like every other starlet with a fairly generic voice. However, apparently, if she gets singing and loosens up a little bit, you can definitely hear her Tennessee accent peeking through.

Maybe she'll play it up in a future role as a country star - we'd love to see that. She may not have had the chance to star on Nashville, but who knows, maybe they'll create a similar show or movie and set it in Memphis, picking Hale to star as the lead character. We'd be the first in line to see that!

2 She Auditioned For The 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Franchise

Aria Montgomery definitely got up to some scandalous stuff, so at this point, there's probably nothing Lucy hasn't contemplating portraying on camera. And, it seems, that includes some pretty steamy material. Apparently, in between her time starring on a hugely successful teen drama, Hale managed to audition for Fifty Shades of Grey.

We're not sure how the movie would have been if she played the lead role rather than Dakota Johnson.

But obviously things worked out - and we're kind of glad she didn't get that part because there are far more interesting characters we'd love to see her tackle on the big screen.

1 She Recently Fulfilled Her Dream Of Dying Her Hair A Wild Color

When you're a cast member on a television show, you can't really change up your look in a major way without the approval of the show. After all, you're portraying a certain character - unless your character is known to be a beauty chameleon, you can't just mix things up episode to episode.

So, Hale had her trademark brunette locks for quite some time, and she admitted to Us Magazine a few years ago that "I want to dye my hair a crazy color, maybe during filming hiatus." She recently had the opportunity to do just that and opted for a rose gold hue that suits her perfectly.

References: seventeen.com, usmagazine.com, shape.com, womenshealth.com, bustle.com