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Troian Avery Bellisario (/ˈtrɔɪən bɛlɪˈsɑːrɪ/; born October 28, 1985) is an American actress. She is the daughter of producers Donald P. Bellisario and Deborah Pratt. Born in Los Angeles, California. Bellisario made her acting debut in her father's 1988 film Last Rites at the age of three. She continued to have roles produced by her father, mainly in television shows such as Quantum Leap, First Monday, and NCIS, and in 1998, she acted in the direct-to-video comedy film Billboard Dad.

Bellisario received praise for her leading performance in the 2010 film Consent for which she won the Vision Fest Award for Best Acting by a Female Lead and the FirstGlance Philadelphia Award for Best Actress. In 2009, she landed the lead role of Spencer Hastings in the Freeform series Pretty Little Liars (2010–present). For her performance, she has won two Teen Choice Awards out of five nominations. In addition to her work on Pretty Little Liars, Bellisario also starred in the WIGS episode series Lauren, for which she received critical acclaim and won the New York Film Festival Award for Best Performance by an Actress and was nominated for the Streamy Award for Best Female Performance - Drama.

Early life[]

Troia Avery Bellisario was born and raised in Los Angeles. Her parents are producers Donald P. Bellisario and Deborah Pratt.[1] Donald P. Bellisario created Magnum, P.I., Quantum Leap, and NCIS, among other TV series. She has a younger brother,[2] three half-sisters, two half-brothers, and is a step-sister of actor Sean Murray and producer Chad W. Murray. Her father is of Italian and Serbian descent. Her mother is of African-American and Creole descent.[3][4][5]

Bellisario attended Campbell Hall School in North Hollywood, California from kindergarten through twelfth grade,[6] where she was the valedictorian of her class.[7] She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Southern California in 2009.[8]

Career[]

Bellisario made her acting debut in the 1988 film Last Rites at the age of three.[9] From 1990 to 2007, she guest starred on such television series as Quantum Leap, Tequila and Bonetti, JAG, First Monday and NCIS, television series that were produced by her father Donald P. Bellisario. In NCIS, she played Sarah McGee, sister of Special Agent Timothy McGee, played by her real-life stepbrother Sean Murray.

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. 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.[10] 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.[11]

In August 2012, Bellisario appeared alongside Jennifer Beals in the WIGS web episode series, Lauren.[12] Lauren returned on May 3, 2013 for a twelve episode run.[13][14] In 2015, she was cast in a leading role in the American remake of the French-Canadian film Martyrs.[15][16] In 2015, Bellisario and fiancée Patrick J. Adams filmed short film We Are Here in Haida Gwaii, which Bellisario wrote and starred in. Bellisario starred in her feature film, Feed, a semi-autobiographical movie, which she also wrote and produced.

On April 7, 2016, it was announced that Bellisario would be directing Season 7, Episode 15 of Pretty Little Liars.[17] This made her one of the first in the cast, alongside Chad Lowe, to direct an episode on the series.

Personal life[]

Bellisario started dating Suits star Patrick J. Adams after they met on the set of the play Equivocation in 2009.[18] The couple briefly split, but after Adams' guest appearance on Pretty Little Liars in 2010, the two got back together.[19][20] Since working on Equivocation and Pretty Little Liars, the couple have also worked together on the 2012 short film The Come Up, Suits, and We Are Here. On February 14, 2014, Bellisario and Adams were engaged under the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.[21] They married on December 10, 2016 in Santa Barbara, California.[22][23]

Bellisario revealed in early January 2014 that she went through personal problems through high school, resulting in an eating disorder and self-harming problems. "I was the youngest daughter, the perfect little girl," she said. "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."[24]

Filmography[]

Film[]

Year Title Role Notes
1988 Last Rites Justin's daughter
1998 Billboard Dad Kristen
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 Come Up, TheThe Come Up Jessica Short film
2012 Joyful Girl Belle Short film
2013 C.O.G. Jennifer
2013 Exiles Juliet Short film; writer and executive producer
2013 Immediately Afterlife Bennett Short film
2015 Surf Noir Lacey Short film
2015 Martyrs Lucie
2015 Still a Rose Juliet Short film
2015 Amy Amy Short film
2016 Chuck Hank and the San Diego Twins Claire
2016 We Are Here N/A Post-production; writer
2016 Feed Olivia Grey Post-production; writer and producer
2016 Sister Cities Baltimore

Television[]

Year Title Role Notes
1990 Quantum Leap Teresa Bruckner Episode: "Another Mother"
1992 Tequila and Bonetti Teresa Garcia 2 episodes
1998 JAG Erin Terry Episode: "Tiger, Tiger"
2002 First Monday Kimberly Baron 2 episodes
2005–2006 NCIS Sarah McGee 2 episodes
2010–present Pretty Little Liars Spencer Hastings Lead role
2014–2015 Suits Claire Bowden 2 episodes
2016 Sister Cities Baltimore Baxter Television film

Web[]

Year Title Role Notes
2012–2013 Lauren Sergeant Lauren Weil Main role
2014 "Pa-gents with Chris Pine" Cathryn Crest
2015 "Instagram Intervention with Troian Bellisario" Herself

As a director[]

Year Title Notes
2017 Pretty Little Liars "In the Eye Abides the Heart" (Season 7, episode 15)

Awards and nominations[]

Year Award Category Title Result
2010 Vison Fest Best Acting (Female Lead) Consent Won
FirstGlance Philadelphia Best Actress Won
2011 Young Hollywood Awards Cast to Watch (shared with Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale and Shay Mitchell) Pretty Little Liars Won
Teen Choice Awards Choice Summer TV Star: Female Nominated
2012 Teen Choice Awards Won
2013 IAWTV Award Best Female Performance (Drama) Lauren Nominated
New York Festivals Best Performance by an Actress Won
Streamy Award Best Female Performance (Drama) Nominated
Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress: Drama Pretty Little Liars Won
2014 Teen Choice Awards Nominated
2015 Teen Choice Awards Choice Summer TV Star: Female Nominated
2016 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress: Drama Nominated

References[]

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  8. Troain Bellisario biography, ABC Family.com
  9. Troian Bellisario on Pretty Little Liars By Fred Topel Published June 10, 2010 – Canmag.com
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  19. Suits Star Patrick Adams Talks Love, Lawyers, and His Stroke of Luck on YouTube
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  21. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2566942/Pretty-Little-Liars-Troian-Bellisario-gets-engaged-Suits-star-Patrick-J-Adams-three-years-dating.html
  22. http://people.com/tv/patrick-j-adams-troian-bellisario-wedding-married-photos/
  23. http://www.eonline.com/news/815010/troian-bellisario-patrick-j-adams-are-married-inside-their-rustic-wedding-weekend
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