Top 10 Things You Didn't Know About Shay Mitchell

Like many an aspiring actress before her, Shay Mitchell felt it was necessary to use a stage name when she became part of the entertainment industry as opposed to the name on her birth certificate. However, where she differs from the rest of the pack is how she got her new name. Born Shannon Ashley Garcia Mitchell in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, her friends started calling her Shay-Lo as Mitchell was reportedly a huge J. Lo fan. The shortened nickname clearly stuck and we think it suits her just fine.

Shay Mitchell shocked fans when she revealed in 2019 that she suffered a miscarriage the year before. She broke the news on her Instagram account, articulating her appreciation for those who had supported her through what she described as one of her “darkest days”. Despite the tragedy, Mitchell remained hopeful of the future, writing “So, for 2019, let’s all try to be a little more compassionate, empathetic, patient with thoughtful with each other.” We don’t know if Mitchell believes in karma, but it would appear her words of inspiration worked, as she and her partner announced in June of 2019 that they were expecting another child- a baby girl!

Anyone who grew up in Canada will surely recognize this Canadian hunk. Matte Babel has been a mainstay on Canadian television screens for years, having started out as a VJ on MuchMusic before becoming “Entertainment Tonight Canada”’s Los Angeles correspondent. Rumors that he and Shay Mitchell were dating first began to crop up in January of 2017, and the following year ET Canada published a flirtatious interview that Babel did with Mitchell on the set of “The Possession of Hannah Grace,” which was pretty much proof that the two were an item. Well, we can officially put those rumors to rest seeing as how the two are expecting their first child together in 2019.

While filming the Hulu comedy series “Dollface” with Kat Dennings and Brenda Song, Shay Mitchell hid her baby bump in the most ingenious, if somewhat obvious, way possible: loose fitting clothes. The former “Pretty Little Liars” star wasn’t ready to share her big news with the world just yet and decided that the best thing to do was hide it beneath sweaters and other baggy clothes. Coincidentally, Stella Cole, the character Mitchell was hired to play, had a penchant for “loose and free-flowing” attire. Mitchell feels like a weight has been lifted now that the world knows she’s pregnant, quipping “it was nice to be able to not to have to be so concerned that I was showing."

Before she landed the role of Emily Fields on “Pretty Little Liars”, Shay Mitchell was still just a Canadian actress hoping for her first big break. Well, as any Canadian will surely tell you, all up and coming Canuck actors tend to end up in the same place: Degrassi. Mitchell appeared in the season eight episode “Up Where We Belong” and played a model who tried to convince Mia to drop out of school. Seeing as how Mitchell started out as a model, the role probably felt like just another modelling gig. Appearing on “Degrassi” is a rite of passage for many Canadian actors, but for Shay Mitchell, it was the catalyst for an impressive television career that’s still going strong!

Not content with simply being an actress, model, entrepreneur and YouTube personality, Shay Mitchell decided to pen a novel with her friend Michaela Blaney in 2015. Titled Bliss, the book is about a 21-year-old Toronto woman who dreams of becoming a Hollywood star. If that sounds vaguely familiar, it’s because Mitchell herself grew up in the Greater Toronto Area with aspirations of becoming an actress. In promoting the novel, Mitchell wrote that she and Blaney “wrote this for every single person out their [sic] trying to find and follow their bliss, whatever that may be."

Shay Mitchell once described travel as her “number one passion”. Combine that with the constantly-on-the-go lifestyle of a Hollywood actress and you have the perfect recipe for a successful travel-related business. In 2018, Mitchell launched BÉIS, a company that specializes in multi-functional bags and travel accessories. Mitchell’s reasoning for starting the company was simple, stating, “After countless trips and #Shaycations, I realized that I wanted to create amazing, affordable pieces for travelers like myself.” It’s always good to have a back-up plan in case your day job falls through, and it would appear Shay Mitchell has several!

We’ve already mentioned how Shay Mitchell started off as a model, but what we didn’t tell you was that she found the experience difficult to cope with – specifically, the need to fit into a certain size and look a certain way. Mitchell once said, “I'd starve myself for a day, and the next day I was hungry, tired and miserable." This was in response to the pressures of needing to be a size zero. Nowadays the actress is all about living a healthy and balanced lifestyle, claiming that she loves working out and eating right, but will never deny herself a slice of pizza if that’s what she’s craving. Looks like we do have a thing or two in common with Shay Mitchell!

Shay Mitchell has never felt the need to label her sexuality, despite the fact that she played a gay character on “Pretty Little Liars”. While she enjoyed her time playing Emily Fields, telling Cosmo, “I love the fact that the character that I play had a positive impact on a lot of people,” she has always been adamant about not allowing society to define who she is. In that same interview, Mitchell went on to say, "Right now I'm dating a guy. I don't know what it's going to be in three years. You love who you love. Black, white, polka-dot, that's what my dad always said.” If there’s one thing Mitchell has in spades, it’s a strong sense of self.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions:

She Started Modelling When She Was 11

She Loves Skydiving

She's a Spokeswoman for Pantene

She Has Her Own YouTube Channel

She’s a Dancer

Shay Mitchell originally tried out for the role of Spencer Hastings, but was ultimately cast as Emily Fields after a strong in-person audition. According to showrunner I. Marlene King, finding the right person to play Emily Fields was extremely difficult. She eventually narrowed it down to Mitchell and another actress, with King inclined to go with the latter. However, Mitchell won her over during her live audition and the rest is history. While it’s not uncommon for actors to audition for multiple parts in a production, we have a hard time picturing anyone other than Troian Bellisario and Shay Mitchell playing Spencer Hastings and Emily Fields respectively. Of course, if they were to flip-flop we think they could still pull it off.