Troian Bellisario | |
|---|---|
 Bellisario in 2013 | |
| Born | (1985-10-28)October 28, 1985 (age 40)[3] |
| Alma mater | University of Southern California(BFA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent(s) | Donald P. Bellisario Deborah Pratt |
| Relatives | Michael Bellisario (half-brother) Sean Murray (stepbrother) |
Troian Avery Bellisario (born October 28, 1985) is an American actress and filmmaker. The daughter of producerDonald P. Bellisario and actressDeborah Pratt, she gained international attention for her portrayal ofSpencer Hastings in theFreeform drama seriesPretty Little Liars (2010–2017), for which she receivedvarious accolades.
In film, Bellisario has received recognition for her performances inC.O.G. (2013),Feed (2017)—which she also wrote and produced—Clara (2018), andWhere'd You Go, Bernadette (2019). On television, Bellisario appeared in the television drama filmSister Cities (2016), the web seriesLauren (2012–2013), and thepolice procedural seriesOn Call (2025). Since 2016, she has been married to actorPatrick J. Adams, with whom she has two daughters. The birth of couple’s third child was announced on January 28, 2026. The couple appear together inPretty Little Liars,Suits andClara.
Troian Avery Bellisario was born and raised in Los Angeles. Her parents are producersDeborah Pratt andDonald P. Bellisario;[1] her father createdMagnum, P.I.,Quantum Leap, andNCIS, among other TV series. She has a younger brother,[4] three half-sisters, two half-brothers, and two stepbrothers, actorSean Murray and producer Chad W. Murray. Her father is of Italian and Serbian descent,[5] and her mother is of African American descent.[6]
AttendingCampbell Hall School inStudio City, California, from kindergarten through twelfth grade,[7] Bellisario was top of her class.[8] After high school, she attendedVassar College for several months before taking a break for the sake of her mental health, feeling that the institution aggravated her perfectionist tendencies.[9] She graduated with aBachelor of Fine Arts degree from theUniversity of Southern California in 2009.[10]
Bellisario made her acting debut in the 1988 filmLast Rites at the age of three,[11] which was directed, written and produced by her father,Donald P. Bellisario. In 1990, she guest-starred in an episode of her father's seriesQuantum Leap. In 1998, she co-starred withMary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in the filmBillboard Dad. Beginning in 2006, Bellisario began appearing in a number of independent short films namely,Unspoken,Archer House andIntersect.
In November 2009, Bellisario was cast asSpencer Hastings in the TV seriesPretty Little Liars based on thebook series of the same name bySara Shepard.[12] In October 2011, Bellisario announced she was in the process of writing and creating her own film, which was successfully funded throughKickstarter on November 16, 2011. Filming ended in December 2011 and the film was officially completed by August 2012.[13]
In 2014, she starred in the music video forThe Head and the Heart's song "Another Story".[14] Bellisario also starred inImmediately Afterlife, a short film about two cult members who are the only survivors of their group's mass suicide, playing Bennett, alongside herPretty Little Liars co-starsShay Mitchell (Emily),Ian Harding (Ezra Fitz) andNolan North (Peter Hastings).[15] In 2015, she was cast in a leading role in the Americanremake of the French-Canadian filmMartyrs.[16][17] In 2015, Bellisario and fiancée Patrick J. Adams filmed the short filmWe Are Here in Haida Gwaii, which Bellisario wrote and starred in.[18] In 2017, Bellisario starred in her feature film,Feed, which she also wrote and produced. The film was written based on Bellisario's own experiences with an eating disorder.[19]
On April 7, 2016, it was announced that Bellisario would be directing season 7, episode 15 ofPretty Little Liars.[20] This made her one of the first in the cast, alongsideChad Lowe, to direct an episode on the series. In 2020, Bellisario appeared as the bride character Jenna Marshall from the episode "Til Dex Do Us Part" inStumptown.[21]
Further in television, she costarred with Australian actressJacki Weaver in the television drama filmSister Cities (2016), and oppositeBradley Whitford in theMe Too dramaLauren (2012–2013). In film, Bellisario has received recognition for her performances inC.O.G. (2013),Feed (2017),Clara (2018) andWhere'd You Go, Bernadette (2019).
In March 2020, Bellisario played the lead role of Claire in theCBS political drama pilotWays & Means, written by Mike Murphy andEd Redlich.[22] The pilot, which also starredPatrick Dempsey, focused on a secret alliance between a disillusioned career politician and an idealist up-and-comer in the gridlocked American system. The show was not picked up.[23]
In 2022, she appeared in the comedyDoula alongside Arron Shiver (who also wrote the film) and Will Greenberg.[24] The film, produced byChris Pine and directed by Cheryl Nichols, deals with Bellisario's character hiring hermidwife's son as the latter's replacement when she passes away.
Bellisario began datingSuits starPatrick J. Adams after they met on the set of the playEquivocation in 2009.[25] The couple briefly separated before Adams' guest appearance as Hardy inPretty Little Liars but reunited in 2010.[26] Since working onEquivocation andPretty Little Liars, the couple also worked together on the 2012 short filmThe Come Up,Suits, and the short filmWe Are Here. Bellisario and Adams were married on December 10, 2016, inSanta Barbara, California.[27][28] They have two daughters, Aurora[29] and Elliot.[30] On November 4, 2025, Adams announced the third pregnancy of Bellisario on his Instagram page.[31]
In an episode of actressKatie Lowes' podcast,Katie's Crib, Bellisario and Adams said their second child was born in the backseat of their car at the hospital parking lot due to an accelerated labour, with Adams delivering the baby. Hospital staff assisted within minutes of the delivery, and Bellisario and the baby were found healthy.[32][33]
Bellisario said in January 2014 that she endured personal problems during high school, resulting in self-harm and an eating disorder. "I was the youngest daughter, the perfect little girl. 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."[34]
In 2014, Bellisario returned to her alma mater,USC School of Dramatic Arts, delivering thecommencement speech.[35]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Last Rites | Nuzo's daughter | |
| 1998 | Billboard Dad | Kristen Bulut | |
| 2006 | Unspoken | Jani | Short film |
| 2007 | Archer House | Tatum | |
| 2009 | Intersect | Victoria | |
| Before the Cabin Burned Down | Meg | ||
| 2010 | Consent | Amanda | |
| Peep World | Film set P.A. | ||
| 2011 | A November | Girlfriend | Short film |
| Pleased to Meet You | Carson | ||
| 2012 | The Come Up | Jessica | Short film |
| Joyful Girl | Belle | ||
| 2013 | C.O.G. | Jennifer | |
| Exiles | Juliet | Short film; also writer and executive producer | |
| 2014 | Immediately Afterlife | Bennett | Short film |
| 2015 | Surf Noir | Lacey | |
| Martyrs | Lucie Jurin | ||
| Still a Rose | Juliet | Short film | |
| Amy | Amy | ||
| 2016 | In the Shadows of the Rainbow | ||
| 2017 | Chuck Hank and the San Diego Twins | Claire | |
| Feed | Olivia Grey | Also writer and producer | |
| 2018 | We Are Here | Woman | Short film; also producer and writer |
| Clara | Clara | ||
| 2019 | Where'd You Go Bernadette | Becky | |
| Like Turtles | Molly | Short film; also producer | |
| 2020 | Life on Mars | Stella | Short film; also writer |
| 2021 | Poppet | Maeve | Short film; also producer and writer |
| 2022 | Doula | Deb |
| 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 | |
| 2010–2017 | Pretty Little Liars | Spencer Hastings | Main role |
| Alex Drake | Recurring role | ||
| 2015 | Suits | Claire Bowden | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Sister Cities | Baltimore Baxter | Television film |
| 2020 | Stumptown | Jenna Marshall | Episode: "Til Dex Do Us Part" |
| 2022 | Celebrity Jeopardy! | Herself | Contestant |
| 2023 | Plan B | Miranda Delano | Miniseries |
| 2025 | On Call | Officer Traci Harmon | Main role |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | The Adventures of Superman | Girl | DC FanDome | [36] |
| 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 |
| Year | Title | Role | Artist | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "Another Story" | Girl | The Head and the Heart | [14] |
| 2018 | "Fading Light" | Woman | Nights & Weekends | [37] |
| Year | Title | Episode(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Pretty Little Liars | "In the Eye Abides the Heart" | Directorial debut |
| 2018 | Famous in Love | "Guess Who's (Not) Coming to Sundance?" | |
| 2019–2023 | Good Trouble | 6 episodes | |
| 2020 | Life on Mars | N/a | Short film |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Vision Fest | Best Acting – Female Lead | Consent | Won | [38][39] |
| Philadelphia First Glance Film Festival | Best Actress | [39] | |||
| 2011 | Young Hollywood Awards | Cast to Watch(shared withAshley Benson,Lucy Hale andShay Mitchell) | Pretty Little Liars | [40] | |
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Summer TV Star: Female | Nominated | [41] | ||
| 2012 | Teen Choice Awards | Won | [42] | ||
| 2013 | New York Festivals | Best Performance by an Actress | Lauren | [43] | |
| Streamy Awards | Best Female Performance – Drama | Nominated | [44] | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress: Drama | Pretty Little Liars | Won | [45] | |
| 2014 | IAWTV Awards | Best Female Performance – Drama | Lauren | Nominated | [46] |
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress: Drama | Pretty Little Liars | [47] | ||
| 2015 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Summer TV Star: Female | [48] | ||
| 2016 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Actress: Drama | [49] | ||
| 2017 | Teen Choice Awards | [50] | |||
| 2018 | Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award | Best Actress in a Canadian Film | Clara | [39] | |
| 2020 | Northeast Film Festival | Best Actress in a Short Film | Like Turtles | Won | [39] |
Says Deborah, 'I love producing because it allows me to utilize all my skills from music to acting to writing and the other fulfilling moments in my life is [sic] spending time with Don and their [sic] 4 year-old daughter Troian Avery Bellisario.
actor Troian Bellisario in 1985 (age 35)
her mother is actually African-American actress and TV producer Deborah Pratt.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
