Troian Bellisario
I'm not a teen anymore, but growing up, some of my favorite things were, like, 'Twin Peaks,' which wasn't even really my time, and this is one of the things, like a weird, quirky, small town mystery.Collection: Teen
As I got older, I had a bunch of friends that were various teen stars. I've always known people in the spotlight and people who just grew up in L.A. and had nothing to do with the industry. It's not a glamorous thing to me. It's just a different type of business.Collection: Teen
Seeing my friends succeed, find love, or just feeling content makes me feel unconditionally happy.
Being a teenager is chaotic because you're kind of coming into your own, but you're not an adult; you're fighting with your parents over responsibilities and freedom.
I was definitely a tomboy. My mother liked to dress me differently, but it was her loss when I came home with mud in my hair every day. I've always been more comfortable with guys; I don't know why.
The minute I'm off that stage, I try to get as 'me' as possible. I do that by piling on my black eyeliner, and I put on my ripped tights. Dressing like myself again helps.
I love being natural. I never feel more beautiful then after I've been to the beach and my hair's just a crazy mess of salt curls, or when I've just been outside all day hiking.
My high school was a private school where you went to an Ivy League. That's just what was expected of you and nothing less. So I grew up never being okay with a 'B' because a 'B' was not good enough.
I grew up with brothers. Girls terrified me.
My dad is a successful television producer, director and writer and my mom's a director and writer.
Even when I was young I wanted to be an actress.
It's a very wonderful yet difficult thing to be given a lot of really good opportunities and the world is at your fingertips.
I hate nothing more than having my nails painted. I feel like I'm in time out.
When I was 5 years old, my best friends were Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen because we lived across the street from each other.
Hollywood is a challenging place; it's very easy for people to lose their heads. Fortunately, I grew up on it and I think I have a little bit of a head start.
What Hollywood truly wants is for people to be themselves. I think what it's designed for is to kind of turn people into something and just make them saleable. But what it really stands for, what it really loves, are people who are unafraid to be themselves, and as you can see, these are people who are excelling in their careers.
My dad is a successful television producer, director and writer, and my mom's a director and writer. Even when I was young, I wanted to be an actress.
I'm not a glamorous girl. I don't know how to do my hair. I'm very bad with makeup.
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.
I was born here and I was raised here in Los Angeles. And when I was five years old, my best friends were Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen because we lived across the street from each other.
You have to remember what's most important in life. I am loved by so many people and have a wonderful job. I know I'm incredibly blessed. I am a completely lucky human being.
I love to operate in a world that values things outside of beauty. It's just more what I feel comfortable doing.
I grew up in Hollywood. My father always told me that this is a job. These events are filled with people you work with; it's not like glam-schmooze time. That's why I only like events that celebrate people I have a connection to; otherwise, it's someone else's night, and I don't need to show up in a dress to try and steal their attention.
I was going to move to New York after college and had no interest in pilot season. I'd seen what happened on TV shows because of my dad, and I didn't want to open myself up to that. But 'Pretty Little Liars' had a very early audition, and my agents encouraged me to go even though I didn't think it would be my thing.
When I was in high school, there was a lot of pressure on me. I felt like I had to be perfect.
I like a lot of Ralph Lauren and classic styles... My style has changed in that I'm willing to try more things.
In college, that was when I felt that acting is the one I really wanted because I got to be my true self; this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.
I can tell if I'm being lied to or manipulated a little better than most. It's definitely an advantage for me.
My only non-acting job was being a barista at Coffee Bean. While I was in college, and I had a blast! I loved making drinks because I got to be like a mad scientist.
If I could be living anywhere now, it would be in New York. My heart is in that city.
I'm mostly pretty quiet on the weekends. I either read or visit friends or go hiking or something like that.
If I'm going to try and find something, I stick to the flea markets, or I pull hand-me-downs from my family because I like pieces to have stories.
I like wearing my dad's sweaters because I knew that he wore them when he held me when I was a baby.
I've had a lot of girls reach out to me about struggling with body image. I've only been able to write back to a few of them, but I've been able to write and have correspondence with a few of them and really talk about what I think they should do or if I think they should ask for help.
On my Instagram, my boyfriend will take pictures of me, or someone else will take a picture of me, and they're like, 'What is wrong with her? She looks sick.' And I'm like, 'No I just don't have two hours of hair and makeup, you guys.'
I was a 2-year-old baby on something, but it's not like I had lines. But I actually had my first lines when I was 4. And then I finished school, and I went to USC for their BFA program in acting.
Falling is scary but good practice for life. We must fall. In love. Out of love. Into new experiences. Out of old habits. Deeper and further into ourselves. We must fall, life is falling over forward. The only choice we have is how we let go.Collection: Letting Go
Just remembering that they [people with eating disorder] are young, beautiful and unique and that is worth everything in this world.Collection: Beautiful
I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. So you asked, ‘When things get really, really difficult in your life, what keeps you going?’ For me, it’s always that the most difficult moments in my life, the moments in which I believe I’ve completely failed or hit bottom, I can actually directly link them to something later that is either a true success or a dream come true. So, I do believe that if you can maintain that everything happens for a reason, you can find the strength and the lesson in those difficult moments and grow stronger.Collection: Dream
My friends and my family - the people who I love and who love me back. Whenever I get down, when I want to crawl under a rock, I just look around at them and I see how rich my life is. You have to remember what’s most important in life. I am loved by so many people and have a wonderful job. I know I’m incredibly blessed. I am a completely lucky human being.Collection: Jobs
I love being natural. I never feel more beautiful then after I’ve been to the beach and my hair’s just a crazy mess of salt curls, or when I’ve just been outside all day hiking. I feel like my skin is at its most beautiful during those times, too - so I try not to do a lot.Collection: Beautiful
My parents telling me that if there is a story you feel compelled to share, then you are responsible for doing that. You can't ask someone else to take on that story - or you can, but you have to deal with whatever the fallout is. If the story doesn't end up being told the way you originally heard it or that you feel it needs to be expressed, that's on you.Collection: Parent
Its a very wonderful yet difficult thing to be given a lot of really good opportunities and the world is at your fingertips.Collection: Opportunity
You can have a disordered relationship with food, but to have an eating disorder is indicative of a mental illness, which I think needs treatment and recognition in a different way.Collection: Thinking
I like wearing my dads sweaters because I knew that he wore them when he held me when I was a baby.Collection: Baby
Even when I was young I wanted to be an actress. I knew the actors and the paparazzi. It was just kind of always in my landscape. It was never directed at me, but it was always somewhere so I could see how it operated and I could see it from afar and go 'Wow, that's not really glamorous, it's kind of exhausting not having any privacy.' So it was never something I pursued. The first time I saw the billboard for Pretty Little Liars I almost got into a car accident!Collection: Liars
In high school I was a nerd and very academic. On the weekends, instead of going out and partying, I’d close myself in my room and read Shakespeare. I hid from boys. I didn’t know what a boyfriend was, although I think I wanted one.Collection: Party
As I got older, I had a bunch of friends that were various teen stars. I've always known people in the spotlight and people who just grew up in LA and had nothing to do with the industry.Collection: Stars
I remember when I first wanted to act my parents were supportive, but it was that they were like please, if you can find something else in the world, don't do this. So it wasn't even they're like 'Oh we've been waiting for you to arrive, welcome to the family business' kind of thing.Collection: Waiting