‘Pretty Little Liars’ Shay Mitchell Opens Up About Life Before Fame, New Book

Pretty Little Liars actress Shay Mitchell recently released details on her life before acting and what she’s up to during the TV show’s hiatus.

Opening up to the Calgary Herald about what she did before Pretty Little Liars, Shay explained she was a cocktail waitress – somewhat akin to how we see Mitchell in the upcoming episode. Living in Canada, Mitchell had just broken things off with her boyfriend and was trying to decide what to do next.

#DYK: @shaymitch has a feisty alter ego?! Meet Freya! ? #PLL (via @shaymitch) pic.twitter.com/ZrWPLnegNB

— Pretty Little Liars (@PLLonMax) November 1, 2015

Shay decided to stick with acting, a move that has easily paid off. Because she stuck it out, Mitchell landed her role in Pretty Little Liars after submitting a video to producers for the show.

Going forward, Shay will be starring in movies more appropriate for the 28-year-old actress’ age when she does projects beyond her Pretty Little Liars role. Mitchell is set to star in Mother’s Day, due out in 2016, as a step-mother according to the Day Herald. In the movie – which is directed by Garry Marshall – Shay is married to Justified star Timothy Olyphant.

Mitchell is joined in the movie with the likes of Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson, Jason Sudeikis, and Jennifer Aniston. Shay was a little star-struck joining Aniston – who was recently married to beau Justin Theroux – for the movie.

“I caught myself quite a few times looking at Jennifer…. just having to pinch myself, you know, in character. It was fun and just such a dream come true.”

Starring in films that feature her in age-appropriate roles is a nice change to Shay Mitchell.

“I think you get to that certain point where at times you are very certain of where you’re wanting to head or what career you’re wanting to do, and then other times you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m 25. What am I doing?'”

In addition to the movie and Pretty Little Liars, Mitchell recently completed work on a book. Entitled Bliss, Shay and her friend Michaela Blaney wrote a story about three friends in their 20’s who are trying to find their own happiness. The idea came from a conversation Shay and her friend had. Mitchell admitted the book is “loose fiction” with the characters exaggerated and the stories made up.

“We wrote all of these different things down from our lives and we stepped away from it, looked at the board and realized this was a lot of content. We could put this in a book and share some of our stories, our life experiences and our life lessons in it.”

As for Pretty Little Liars, Shay Mitchell and her gal pals have already spilled numerous spoilers for the upcoming season, according to the Inqusitir. Among them are who’s getting married, who’s returning to Rosewood, who’s Alison’s husband, and who’s the next villain. After revealing the first four minutes of the upcoming season at the New York Comic Con, a trailer for the show was also released, providing even more details.

Fans of Pretty Little Liars and Shay Mitchell were disappointed in how the mid-season finale played out, revealing CeCe as “A” during the episode. And in creating yet another cliffhanger, show creator I. Marlene King has left fans hanging as to whether Season 7 will be the last for the girls from Rosewood.

For her part, Shay has begun to think about what life after Pretty Little Liars will look like, Buzzfeed reported. “I don’t want to just act. There’s a lot of other things I’m interested in,” Mitchell said. “And I needed to hit while the iron is hot.”

What are you looking forward to the most from Shay Mitchell and the rest of the Pretty Little Liars crew for the remainder of the season 6 episodes? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

[Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/Getty Images]