Shannon Ashley "Shay" Mitchell (born April 10, 1987) is a Canadian actress and model. She stars in the ABC Family original series, Pretty Little Liars as Emily Fields.

 ··Early life

Born to a Filipino born-Cambodian mother Precious Mitchell, and Irish/Scottish father Mark Mitchell, Shay is a native of Toronto, Ontario. Mitchell is also the niece of Lea Salonga. Her mother is Ms. Lea Salonga's cousin. She has one younger sibling, a brother, Sean Mitchell. Even as a young child, Mitchell was interested in the performing arts, declaring to her parents that she would pursue such a career. Mitchell began dance lessons at the age of five, and she and several of her classmates toured the city to compete with a variety of other dance schools. She has also been swimming for awhile.

At the age of 10, Mitchell's family moved west to Vancouver, British Columbia. Within a year of their arrival, an international modeling agency held an open casting call for teen and pre-teen girls who were vying for representation. Mitchell was one of the girls selected.

 ··Career

By her late teens, Mitchell had successfully modeled for a variety of companies in cities as varied as Bangkok, Hong Kong and Barcelona, but she later returned to Toronto to study acting. After signing with her first theatrical agency, Mitchell appeared in the Canadian teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation and booked several national commercials.

Mitchell also landed a recurring role in the Disney XD series Aaron Stone. She has featured in the music video for recording artist Sean Paul's song "Hold My Hand", appeared in the Global series Rookie Blue, and modeled for the American clothing company, American Eagle Outfitters. Her most prominent role is playing Emily Fields in Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family where she had originally auditioned for the role of Spencer Hastings.

In January 2011, Mitchell signed a contract with Procter & Gamble to be the spokesperson for the Pantene Nature Fusion shampoo line.

 ··Emily Fields

Emily Fields is a very talented swimmer, being the star of Rosewood's swim team. Unfortunately, she has had a rough past being in love with her ex-best friend Ali before she died, their relationship being on and off. At times Ali would say things to put Emily at risk of being outed. Initially when Emily came out, her parents, especially her mother, struggled to handle the news, but now they seem to be accepting of her sexuality.