'Pretty Little Liars' Star Determined to Succeed on Her Own Terms

Fans of ABC Family's addictive teen mystery, 'Pretty Little Liars' can expect things to head south for wealthy Spencer Hastings in coming weeks -- but in real life things are getting better and better for the actress who brings Spencer to life, Troian Bellisario.

Series creator Marlene King has indicated that the storyline is heating up for the mysterious Ian (Ryan Merriman), who up and eloped with Spencer's cruel older sister Melissa (Torrey DeVitto) in the series' winter premiere -- even though Ian had already kissed Spencer and interacted in an unfaithful kind of way with Alison, the murder victim at the heart of 'Liars.'

"For someone who prides herself on being in control so much of her life, Spencer gets to be the person with the least amount of control, especially with what happens as the season continues," Troian tells PopEater. "Really fun things happen to Spencer."

Really fun things have been happening for 'PLL,' what with ratings doubling and a second season already ordered for the show, which has been described as a sort of "Desperate Housewives" for the younger set.

"The great thing is, each of the girls have something about them that you can relate to – Aria (Lucy Hale), Hanna (Ashley Benson), Emily (Shay Mitchell) and Spencer," notes Troian.

She clearly favors her own role. "I cannot even tell you how much I love Spencer. She's so close to my heart, personally," says the 25-year-old beauty, whose father, Don, is the long-time industry powerhouse producer behind shows including 'NCIS,' 'JAG,' 'Magnum P.I.' and 'Quantum Leap' -- and whose mother is actress Deborah Pratt.

"We have very kindred spirits in that we're type A superachievers. We have the same kind of drive. She's the same place I was at one point, trapped in the expectations of the community and her parents, their ideals of what perfect is supposed to be. She's sort of so reined in – she needs to be shaken up."

That country club worker Spencer has been making out with, Diego (Diego Boneta) certainly seems like a shaker upper.

How did Troian herself shake out of that place?

"A lot of failing," she responds, "a lot of falling on my face. Truthfully, I didn't get out of it until I got out of high school and went to college."

Troian pushed herself hard while a student at L.A.'s tony Campbell Hall prep school, aiming to excel in all departments. "My whole life, I joined everything I could -- every club, every sports team. I was really unhappy through a lot of it, there was just so much pressure," she admits.

"The school was the sort of environment that, when they see that someone wants to be the best, they will absolutely push you. It wasn't just getting into an Ivy League, it how many Ivy League schools accepted you. It was becoming valedictorian of the class." Which she was.

"I was applying to schools I didn't even know if I wanted to be in – except I 'should' want to be in them," recalls Troian, who excelled in history, math and other subjects.

She wanted to pursue acting, but recalls being told, "'Oh, you're so smart, too smart to be an actress.'" She laughs slightly.

Having grown up in the Hollywood world, she says she felt like responding, "'You have no idea how hard it is to be an actress.'

"I had an awareness of how tough it really is from my parents. To me, it's never been, 'You get to be a star!' It's been things like putting on a brave face when they ask you to reshoot a scene at the end of a hard day's work."

How did her parents feel about her acting aspirations?

"My parents were pretty supportive. I don't know how much my dad wanted me to be an actress all my life, but he never denied me of it." Indeed, Troian was able to get her feet wet doing guest roles on 'Quantum Leap,' 'JAG,' 'NCIS' and other Bellisario productions.

"I had the opportunities and I took them for the experience. I was always aware of the nepotism. I didn't feel respect on the set," she continues with a strikingly matter-of-fact candor. "I didn't focus on what I was doing. I focused on, 'These people think I'm only here for one reason, because of my dad.' I didn't like it."

Things got better once she found a home at USC, studying theater. By then, she was firmly committed to her decision that "not only do I want to be an actress, I want to be one on my own and be good at it on my own."

It wasn't until her junior year that her father finally told her she had become the real thing.

"He came to see me in a play – he at that point had seen me in a couple of plays – and he took me to dinner afterward and told me how much he liked my performance. It was pretty cool."

The play was The Crucible, and Spencer had the lead role of that 1690's bad girl, Abigail, the scorned woman who touches off the Salem witch hunt with her twisted accusations. By that point, "I'd had to learn to let go of the need for his, or anyone's approval. But I'm grateful to have it."

As for her personal life, Troian is "absolutely looking forward to having my own family" one day -- "but personally, I have a lot of things to work out before I get there," she says with a smile. "Right now I'm in this blessed period of having a family that I choose to run with in this kind of pack of friends."

She enjoys hanging out with her 'PLL' pack as well, she says, though their time together is pretty much limited to the set. "You know what, it's that we work together Monday through Friday, sunup past sundown," she notes, "and I think the girls want to be with their boyfriends and families when they finish work."

So far, Troian has been rolling along with new-found fan attention just fine. "Everyone I've talked to has been really sweet, telling me they love the show. It's so awesome."

But she's one TV starlet who is not going to allow the sweet taste of success to carry her away. "Everybody's really been positive about the show, and I'm really grateful and want people to enjoy it. But I don't know how much I'm really into celebrating. What you have to love is the work, not the success," she explains.

"My dad told me that night after seeing me in The Crucible that I had done a great job, but the next day one of my favorite teachers told me I had ruined the play for her – that in so many ways I could have gone further. So it's like, I can't attach myself to a negative position, or a positive position. I just take them in."

'Real Housewives' Careers: Ranking the Most and Least Likely to Succeed

Andy Warhol was right -- in the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. For some, those minutes sustain longer than expected. In the world of Bravo TV, the 'Real Housewives' franchise has proven a huge success, establishing its stars -- from the ladies of Orange County and Beverly Hills to their cohorts on the East Coast and in between -- as household names and frequent tabloid fodder.

Though several fulfill the more traditional "housewife" title, others like Vicki Gunvalson, Phaedra Parks and Kandi Burruss were established career women from the get-go. Now the tremendous exposure and popularity of the series has allowed a number of the 'Housewives' to bank on their celebrity and embark on careers more suited to established Hollywood glitterati, which begs the question: How long will their post-'Housewives' endeavors actually last? After the jump, see our predictions of the most and least likely to succeed.

From authors to songstresses, the 'Housewives' have traveled down gilded career paths, but once they depart their respective series or if Bravo cancels a show, will their careers endure? We took a look at some of the 'Housewives' post-show endeavors and rank them from 'most likely' to 'least likely' to last.

Most Likely to Suceed: Bethenny Frankel (chef/author)

One of the smartest, most successful 'Housewives,' Bethenny had already fashioned herself as the "natural food chef" when the first season of 'The Real Housewives of New York City' began. But as her popularity soared, so did her talents at marketing herself into a successful brand -- Skinnygirl margarita, anyone? She parlayed that growing popularity into her own spinoff show, two best-selling books and a workout DVD.

Bethenny still needs Bravo exposure, but it's likely she'll continue her career high because she stuck to what she knows.

Second Most Likely to Succeed: Sheree Whitfield (fashion designer/aspiring actress)

After much ado, sassy Atlanta 'Housewives' star Sheree managed to pull off a successful fashion show featuring her line, She by Sheree, which debuted at Fashion Week. This season, however, Sheree has been focusing on her budding acting career.

Given her sense of style and sophistication, Sheree proved she has the vision to become a successful fashion designer -- if only she nips this puzzling acting bug in the bud. She claimed, however, to be done with fashion on the current season of 'Real Housewives of Atlanta.'

May or May Not Succeed: Alex McCord and fellow 'Housewives' authors

Several 'Housewives' have published books, including Alex McCord and LuAnn deLesseps of New York and Teresa Giudice of New Jersey. Ranging from etiquette rules (deLessep's 'Class With the Countess') to parenting advice (Alex and hubby's tome), these 'Housewives' have managed to succumb to the most predictable path of celebrities: becoming flash-in-the-pan authors.

It's safe to say McCord and co. won't embark on literary careers, and that this phase shall also pass.

Not So Likely to Succeed: Kim Zolciak (singer)

The only professional songstress in the 'Housewives' family is Atlanta's Kandi, who managed to catapult Kim's career. (Even Orange County's Gretchen Rossi got into the singing mix with a song out last year.) The butt of many jokes on the show, Kim seems determined to continue singing; her website declares, "The pop music scene is one that Kim Zolciak plans to conquer" -- no doubt with a lot of help from Bravo and Kandi.

One can't help but wonder if Bravo eventually feels the need to replace the housewives with a host of new characters, whether Kim will continue to ride Kandi's coattails or retire from the music world with the last laugh.

Least Likely to Succeed: NeNe Leakes (author and TV journalist)

NeNe, possibly the most gregarious of the Atlanta housewives, penned a tell-all memoir, 'Never Make the Same Mistake Twice: Lessons on Love and Life Learned the Hard Way.' This season, she has been hired by a TV station in Atlanta for entertainment segments. No doubt Leakes was hired for the appearance on her hit show and connections to Atlanta's who's-who, but a knack for hard-hitting, in-depth interviews is not a natural talent, but acquired through years of on-the-job practice.

We love NeNe, but even Larry King couldn't master the TV thing after decades on air. We sadly predict NeNe's current position will last as long as Kim's singing career.