Troian Avery Bellisario (born October 28, 1985) is an American actress, writer, and debuting director. 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 starred 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
Troian Avery Bellisario was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her parents are producers Donald P. Bellisario and Deborah Pratt. Donald P. Bellisario created Magnum, P.I., Quantum Leap, and NCIS, among other TV series. She has a younger brother, 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 French descent. Her mother is of African American and Creole descent.
Bellisario attended Campbell Hall School in North Hollywood, California from kindergarten through twelfth grade, where she was the valedictorian of her class. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Southern California in 2009.
