20 Little-Known Details About Pretty Little Liars Actress Shay Mitchell

Shay Mitchell became a household name after starring as Emily Fields for seven seasons on the hit Freefrom drama series, Pretty Little Liars. During her time on the series, Shay Mitchell's fame grew tremendously as well as her fan base. Pretty Little Liars was one of Shay's first major roles in the acting world. It helped launch her career and ultimately changed Shay's life forever.

Now when fans take a glance at Shay's lifestyle it's been interesting to see how far she has grown since her Pretty Little Liars debut. Shay has starred in a few films, she's become a brand ambassador for various makeup and skin care lines, she's even been able to turn her everyday adventures into a lifestyle brand. It seems like there is nothing that Shay Mitchell can't do or accomplish.

Most recently, fans said goodbye to her character Peach Salinger on the new Lifetime hit series, YOU. That character was able to help fans see the growth in Shay's acting, and it made them eager to see her in more roles.

As Shay's career continues to grow, there are a lot of little things about her that are interesting, that many of her fans might not be aware of. Here are 20 little-known facts about former Pretty Little Liars star, Shay Mitchell.

20  She Initially Auditioned For The Role Of Spencer Hastings

Shay Mitchell was able to break down a lot of barriers as her role as Emily Fields, but initially, she didn't try out for the role. When Shay first heard about the casting of Pretty Little Liars, she originally auditioned for the role of Spencer Hastings.

After sending in her audition tape to the casting panel, they suggested that Shay should try out for the role of Emily Fields instead.

When showrunner, Marlene King saw Shay's auditioned tape for Emily, Marlene just knew they that Shay Mitchell was perfect for the role and they had to book her for the job.

19 Before Moving To Acting, She Was A Model

Before snagging the occupation of being an actress, Shay Mitchell got her start in the entertainment industry as a model. This can ultimately explain Shay's flawless Instagram photos and how she effortlessly knows which angles are best to capture her selfies to get those great photos.

At the age of 11, Shay was able to win a casting call for a model agency.

The agency was an international modelling agency that allowed Shay to travel all over the world doing ad campaigns and photo shoots.

18 You Can Add Author To Her Resumé

Before her hit show, Pretty Little Liars ended, Shay Mitchell decided to add author to her extremely growing resumé. Shay Mitchell and one of her closest best friends and video blogger, Michaela Blaney joined forces to co-write a novel together called Bliss. According to Shay, the novel was based on the various experiences she and Michaela individually had that helped shaped them into the two women they are today. The two main characters in the Bliss novel represents both Shay and Michalea, respectively. Shay Mitchell was even able to embark on a bark tour across the U.S. to meet fans and promote the novel.

17 She's Quite The Globetrotter

After taking a glimpse of Shay's social media pages, you can obviously see how much she loves to travel. Shay loves to give fans an insight into whatever part of the world she's currently visiting, and her pictures are beyond amazing each time she shares a photo of her destination. Shay has considered herself a wanderlust; she just loves to be in different parts of the world at all times.

Shay loves traveling so much, she even has her own hashtag on social media,

which is appropriately titled, #Shaycation, that will help fans keep up with her various trips around the globe.

16 She Has Her Own YouTube Channel

One unique way that Shay has decided to continue her connection with her fans was to create her very own YouTube page. Shay's YouTube page first started as a way to give fans a glimpse into her life while she was working on the set of Pretty Little Liars. She also loves to showcase her various trips around the world, her humanitarian works, Q & A's with some of her famous friends, and shows off her family trips. Shay also loves to give her fans makeup tutorials, hair tips, and recipes of her favorite meals.

15 She Has Her Own Line Of Sunglasses

Shay Mitchell is quite the fashionista. Many of Shay's fans can't wait to see what look she will pull off next. So, of course with Shay being such a fashionable woman, it was only right for her to dip into the fashion world for a little bit. Shay partnered up with popular sunglasses brand, Quay Australia to develop her own line of sunglasses. Quay by Shay Mitchell sunglasses featured a variety of cool sunglasses that were all designed by Shay Mitchell. The sunglasses were inspired by Shay's impeccable style.

14 Her Obsession With Pizza Reached A Whole Other Level

Everyone has that one dish that they absolutely wouldn't mind eating no matter what time it might be. It's that one meal that's at the top of your favorite foods list. Well, for Shay Mitchell, that one meal is none other than pizza. Who doesn't love a good slice of pizza? Shay has confessed her love for pizza on various occasions. She often shares photos of herself on Instagram enjoying large slices of pizza, her pizza phone case, and she even owns a pair of pizza pyjamas as well as a pizza blanket.

13 Ashley Benson Is One Of Her BFFs

While filming a television series for a long time, cast-mates often grow an unbreakable bond with one another. They've been on a long yet entertaining journey together that no one but the only the cast-mates could possibly understand. That's definitely the case with Ashely Benson and Shay Mitchell. Fellow Pretty Little Liars star, Ashley Benson is one Shay Micthell's closets and best friends. The two would often share some fun being the scenes photos of their bestie shenanigans while they were filming the Freeform series. The BFF duo even has their very own nickname they go by; ButtahBenzo.

12 She's An Advocate For Rescue Dogs

Shay Mitchell has always been pretty vocal about her love for animals. In 2014, Shay shared on Twitter about how she was so excited about bringing in a new addition to her family; she had adopted a dog. Shay said she went to her local went to her local where she immediately fell in love with a German Shepherd/Labrador mixed dog.

Shay adopted the dog and affectionately named her Angel. Since adopting Angel, Shay became an advocate for rescue dogs.

She encourages people to go to their local shelters to adopt a new furry friend because stray animals need love too.

11 She Has Her Own Production Company

When Pretty Little Liars wrapped up its final season, the cast and crew were able to book various projects for the upcoming year. Shay Mitchell was able to create her own production company under Warner Bros. TV, which is the same company that helped produce the hit series she was just finishing up. Her production company, Amore and Vita Productions, was a multi-year deal that would allow Shay and her producing partner, David Dean Portelli to create and develop new ideas for a variety of non-scripted and scripted programming for all forms of media such as streaming, cable, and broadcast.

10 Her Grandma Is One Of Her Biggest Supporters

Some of the biggest support systems celebrities have are their family members. It's always nice to see celebrities showing off photos of their families supporting them through some of the biggest accomplishments of their careers. Shay has considered her grandma to be one her best friends and one of her biggest supporters. She loves to show off adorable photos of her grandma supporting her. Shay's grandma has graced the red carpet with Shay for her movie premiere, she's worn some of Shay's merchandise, and has just been all around supportive of Shay.

9 She Celebrates Her Social Media Milestones

Social media is without a doubt one of the biggest ways to connect with people from all over the world. Fans love to follow their favorite celebrities' social media accounts so that they can be up to date with their new projects, adventures, and just to see what cool photos their faves would post next. It's always a milestone whenever a celebrity reaches a certain follower number on their social media pages. Whenever Shay Micthell hits a new milestone on social media, she loves to celebrate it by posting cool photos. These photos were shared on her Instagram page when she reached over 19 million followers on Instagram.

8 She's A Member Of The BeyHive

It's always cool to see your favorite celebrity fan out over their favorite celebrities. It reminds you that celebrities are just like everyday people, and love to see as well as support their favorite actors or singers just like any other normal person. Shay lets it be known that she is definitely a member of the Beyhive. Shay considers the one and only, Beyoncé to be one of her favorite performers of all time.

Shay has gone to plenty of Beyoncé concerts, she has dressed up as Beyoncé for Halloween once, and she loves to show off her collection of Beyoncé merchandise.

Shay even has a doormat that is a subtle ode to Beyoncé.

7 Her Real Name Isn't Shay

While she's professionally known as Shay Mitchell, Shay isn't actually her first name. Shay Mitchell was actually born Shannon Ashley Mitchell. She got her nickname, Shay during high school. In high school, Shay was a huge fan of Jennifer Lopez.

Jennifer Lopez' nickname was J. Lo, so to be like Jennifer Lopez, Shay started calling herself Shay Lo. Eventually, she dropped the Lo part of her name and just started going by Shay.

The name ultimately stuck and she continues to use the nickname professionally.

6 Her Personal Clothes Were Incorporated With Her Character, Peach

After watching Shay star as Peach Salinger on Lifetime's new hit mystery drama, YOU, it's easy to see how much her new character differs from her other famous character, Emily Fields. One big difference is the style of clothing Peach Salinger wears on the show. Shay was able to incorporate some of her own personal style of dressing into her new character. Shay stated that she was able to work with the YOU costume designer to help give Peach Salinger a bit of Shay Mitchell style.

5 She Just Launched A Brand Of Travel Accessories

Shay Mitchell loves to travel in style, and she wants all of her fans to be able to do so as well. So, Shay decided to create her own brand of travel accessories, and make them affordable so that everyone would be able to have the opportunity to be fashionable while vacationing. Shay launched BEIS, which consists of backpacks, cosmetic bags, passport holders, duffle bags, and so much more all for under $100.

BEIS was created after Shay realized there weren't any affordable travel accessory luggage on the market.

Shay wants every traveler to be able to carry their necessities at all times while they're on the go without breaking the bank.

4 She Loves Boxing

Shay tries her best to stay fit and healthy at all times. She's been very vocal about trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle while juggling constantly with a hectic work and traveling schedule. One of the ways Shay has found to keep up with her healthy and active lifestyle was to incorporating boxing into her daily routine. Shay says boxing is a way for her to stay in shape and it's one of her favorite ways to get in some great exercise.

She credits boxing with a way of helping her focus and to try her best at being stress-free.

Shay has shared many of her boxing techniques on her Instagram page.

3 One Of Her First Acting Gigs Was On Degrassi

After traveling the world thanks to her modelling agency, Shay decided she wanted to try acting professionally. One of Shay's very first professional acting jobs was on Degrassi: The Next Generation.

Shay co-starred alongside Nina Dobrev in an episode where she played a young model who dropped out of high school.

Shay's character work alongside Nina Dobrev's character, Mia, on a photo shoot. After her brief role on Degrassi, Shay auditioned for and got her next acting role on Pretty Little Liars, the show that help catapult her career to the next level.

2 Her Boxing Gloves Are Monogrammed With Her Nickname

Since Shay loves to spend some of her downtime boxing, it's only right that she has a set of her own boxing gloves. Shay doesn't have just an ordinary pair of boxing gloves, her boxing gloves her actually monogrammed. Shay's golden boxing gloves have one of her famous nicknames monogrammed on the front of them. Shay Buttah is one of Shay's nicknames. It's a play on the term, shea butter, which is a product used to make your hair and body smooth. Shay definitely knows how to work out in style.

1 She's Very Different From Her Character Emily Fields

Shay Mitchell is very different from her beloved Pretty Little Liars' character, Emily Fields. Emily Fields is known for having more of a laid back kind of style. Fans of the show would always see Emily Fields dressed down in a T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Sometimes, Emily would wear little to no makeup. Overall, Emily's style was pretty comfortable. Shay's personal style is very different. Shay loves to be dressed up. She's most likely seen wearing high heels,  makeup, and it seems like she's always glamoured up, ready to walk the red carpet or ready for a photo shoot.

References: people.com, bustle.com, teenvogue.com, thisisinsider.com