19 Surprising Facts About The PLL Star, Troian Bellisario

It's no secret that teen drama Pretty Little Liars was an absolutely massive hit. People tuned in week after week, and once it hit streaming services, binge-watched episode after episode, eager to learn all the juicy details of what was going on. The show has now wrapped, and all the talented actresses who were relatively unknown when they were cast are all huge stars who could probably take just about any role in the world that they wanted at this point.

Troian Bellisario, in particular, has been going through an interesting career evolution. While some of her former co-stars are moving into lighter roles, she's opting to tackle roles that are darker and more challenging and has even stepped behind the camera to direct. She's super talented and incredibly creative, just like her hubby Patrick J. Adams, and we can't wait to see what she has up her sleeve next.

Bellisario recently announced that she and Patrick J. Adams are expecting their first child, and we couldn't be happier for the adorable couple. However, don't think that she's going to take a decade off now, just as her career is heating up - we have a feeling we'll see a lot more of Troian in the years to come.

Here are 19 things you may not know about the talented actress.

19 She Kind Of Wanted Her Character, Spencer Hastings, To Be Written Off 'Pretty Little Liars'

There was a lot of dark drama on the show, and we have a feeling that all of the actresses may have worried about their character getting written off the show at some point. However, in Troian's case, she would have welcomed the plot twist. As she told W Magazine, "A, you want a death scene, and B, on our show, your character becomes infinitely more interesting when you die. I honestly felt that for this world to be truly dangerous, one of the Liars would have to die. Otherwise 'A' is just always putting them in danger and still saving them." Well, we're happy with the way things turned out!

18 She Was Neighbours With Mary-Kate And Ashley Olsen Growing Up

Unlike many actors and actresses who come to Los Angeles from far away, Troian was born and bred in Hollywood - and even lived next door to the famous Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen for a while. In fact, she even snagged a role in their movie Billboard Dad - you can see a young Troian on the right, sitting with the two twins at a table in a scene. Perhaps having that connection to them and seeing how they struggled with fame helped her learn the best way to navigate her own stardom as she went from a relative unknown to a total A-Lister.

17 Her Childhood Dream Was To Work With The Ones Who Have Left Us (Seriously)

Troian may have been exposed to the entertainment industry at a young age, but being an actress wasn't her first goal - she had a slightly more macabre career path in mind. As she told Buddy TV, "when I was younger, I was fascinated by forensic scientists and morticians." We're glad she didn't choose that career path, because we would have missed seeing her on the screen, but who knows - perhaps she'll get the chance to live out her childhood career ambitions one day by playing a character with one of those occupations in a role. Stranger things have certainly happened!

16 Her Now Hubby Won Her Back By Auditioning For A Guest Role On PLL

It seems like Troian and Patrick J. Adams have been together forever, and they have - but it hasn't always been smooth sailing. Back when they first started dating, they actually split up for a while because they were having trouble making it work and balancing both their schedules. However, Adams wasn't about to give up the love of his life that easily! As Fame 10 reports, Adams said that "we had broken up at that point, and I decided to audition for the guest role [on Pretty Little Liars] which I normally wouldn't have, and got it." He got some time with her to win her back, and the rest is history!

15 Her Amazing Skin Is Thanks To Clarins, Origins, And Rituals

One of the things we love most about Troian is that she's a total natural beauty. She's certainly rocked more dramatic looks on the red carpet from time to time, but on her own time, she tends to have a pretty minimal make-up look. And, part of the reason she still looks so gorgeous is because she has absolutely amazing skin. If you want her secrets, they're easy to find - she shared them with Racked, admitting that she uses a cleanser, exfoliant and toner from the brand Clarins, and also uses some products from Origins and Rituals. We love her natural, simple approach to beauty.

14 She Hates Designer Price Tags And Rarely Buys Designer Clothes

You might assume that, now that she's a huge star, Troian would be going on shopping sprees on the regular at the most expensive boutiques in Beverly Hills. It turns out, that's totally not her style. As she admitted to Racked, "I wish I could shop designer, but I can't. When I look at some of those price tags they make me want to throw up. I love designer clothes, but I couldn't ever spend that kind of money; the bang for the buck just isn't there." Who knew the stylish superstar was so frugal! We'd love to get the 411 on where she does shop.

13 She Has A Total Obsession With Black Boots

She may avoid designer brands, but there's one thing that Troian just can't resist when she spots in a store - black boots. "They're my obsession," she told Racked. "I own way too many of them." We have to admit, we totally don't blame her - a great black boot is incredibly versatile, and can be paired with everything from jeans to a funky dress. You can get different heel heights and styles to mix things up, but black pretty much goes with everything, which makes them a total wardrobe staple. We'd love to get a glimpse at her black boot collection someday!

12 Her Biggest Confidence Booster Is A Good Night's Sleep

When it comes to tips for boosting your confidence, Troian has a bit of an unconventional solution - sleep. She admitted to Nylon that sleeping is essential to her confidence, saying that "we all have these sorts of voices in our heads, whether they're judgment or harsh on us, and I think that for me, the voices get really loud whenever I'm running on a small amount of sleep. I can't quite combat them with a lot of confidence in the way that I usually would, so I think a really good thing is when you get a full night's sleep." We couldn't agree more! Sleep is so essential.

11 She Prefers A More Masculine Attire

If you're a fan of Troian and have seen snaps the paparazzi have taken of her out and about, you've probably noticed that she doesn't tend to wear a lot of frilly, super feminine dresses. It's because that's just not her preferred style. As she told IMDB, "I'm partial to slouchier, more free clothing. My icon is Patti Smith, so the more rips, the more punk, the more comfortable I feel." We have to admit - knowing her style icon, we totally want to see her tackle a role where she plays a rock star. I mean, how amazing would that be?

10 She Doesn't Even Own Makeup Brushes

Troian definitely knows how to bring her A-Game on the red carpet, but for appearances like that, celebrities usually have a glam squad to help get them ready for the cameras. On a daily basis, Troian's make-up routine is a lot more relaxed - in fact, she doesn't even own make-up brushes! She confessed her beauty secret to Nylon, saying "I don't even own a set of brushes. My make-up artist is laughing at me right now. But I do the best I can and try to keep it super minimal and super light so that I can give my skin a break when I'm living off set."

9 She Used To Suffer From Food Issues

Everyone knows that the culture in Hollywood when it comes to body size can be pretty toxic - and there are many starlets who have struggled with food in some way or another. Troian herself had issues when she was younger, and she admitted that it was a really tough battle to fight to get back to a healthy place. As she wrote in her brave essay for Lenny Letter, "there is a part of my brain that defies logic. Even though I have lived in recovery for ten years now, it still finds loads of fun, insidious ways to thwart me to this day. It was a difficult journey finding my way back to health."

8 She's Married To 'Suits' Star Patrick J. Adams - And They've Been Together Nearly A Decade

If you watched the latest Royal wedding, you may have noticed Troian Bellisario as one of the celebrities invited to attend - and it's because she's married to Patrick J. Adams, who starred alongside the bride, Meghan Markle, in Suits. Though the two only got married in 2016, they actually have been dating (with a brief split) since about 2009. In Hollywood, that's quite an accomplishment! Both of them like to protect their privacy as much as possible, but they do share adorable photos of one another on social media that show they truly do have an incredible, strong relationship that makes them both really happy.

7 She Has A Big Blended Family

When it comes to family dinners during the holidays, the Bellisario family may have to pull up a few extra chairs - there's quite a few of them! Troian has a younger brother as well as a step-brother, three half-sisters and two half-brothers. Talk about a super-sized family! She hasn't said too much about her family to the press since she likes to keep her private life away from the public eye, but we'd love to be a fly on the wall at her family gatherings - with that many personalities there's bound to be some interesting conversations taking place at the table!

6 She Snagged Her First Acting Role At Just Three Years Old

Troian didn't become a household name until she got the role on Pretty Little Liars in her '20s, but she had been in the entertainment industry for decades at that point. In fact, she got her first acting role when she was just three years old, in the movie Last Rites. Given how many child actors end up having tumultuous lives as adults, it's so fantastic that she's been able to emerge as a strong, successful person. And come on, how adorable is a young Troian? You can totally tell that she has some major star power after seeing her on screen.

5 She Doesn't Use Her Real Name On Social Media

While the majority of celebrities use their real names (or some version of them) on social media, partially so their fans will be able to easily find them, Troian takes a bit of a different approach. You won't find her real account online using her real name - on most social platforms she actually goes by @sleepinthegardn. It just proves how she's not afraid to march to the beat of her own drum - she does what she wants and what she feels allows her to express herself best, which we totally love. She's definitely a one of a kind individual, that's for sure!

4 She's Not Just An Actress - She's Also Written Several Films

Even though she's still young, Troian isn't content to just act - she's always looking to acquire more skills and develop as an artist in the industry. So, in addition to all the acting roles she's taken on over the years, she's also written several films. The one that most people will know about is the movie Feed, where she stars alongside Tom Felton a.k.a. Draco Malfoy. And we're not just talking about a romantic comedy - it's a dark, meaningful film that we have a feeling took a lot of time and effort to write. Talk about a multi-talented actress with a ton of ambition!

3 Her Parents Are Both In The Entertainment Industry

Troian got a really good idea of what the entertainment industry was all about - and what some of the things to watch out for were - at a young age, thanks to her parents' experiences. Her mother Deborah Pratt was an actress, and her father Donald Bellisario a producer and screenwriter. However, they showed her from the beginning that it wasn't just all glamour. As she told W Magazine, "I saw my mom and dad go to work every single day. I saw them come home late at night and they were exhausted. I knew I was going to have to work my [tail] off."

2 She Was Valedictorian In High School - Just As Brainy As Spencer!

While she may not have gone through the same crazy drama as the Liars did throughout the course of the show, Troian does have one thing in common with her character Spencer - they're both super brainy high achievers. Troian was actually the valedictorian in high school, and is open about how she always pushed herself to do her best. However, it wasn't always the easiest - she admitted to Buddy TV that "my academics meant everything to me. My family put a lot of pressure on me to do well, but it was also mostly coming from myself. I felt that I had to be the best and brightest at everything."

1 She Has A Ton Of Silly Nicknames

Troian may seem fairly serious a lot of the time, but she's got a silly side as well - and she's got quite a few silly nicknames that people have come up with over the years. It's no surprise that many people mispronounce her name because, well, Troian isn't exactly the kind of name you see every day. As she told Buddy TV, "people call me T, one of my friends calls me T-Rizzle. Anything with a T. T-Bones, T-Bird, T-Rex." She's not the kind of actress who takes herself too seriously - and we'd love to know what nicknames some of her co-stars come up with in the future!

References: seventeen.com, wmagazine.com, gurl.com