In high school I was a nerd and very acad­emic. On the weekends, instead of going out and partying, I’d close myself in my room and read Shakespeare. I hid from boys. I didn’t know what a boyfriend was, although I think I wanted one.

My friends and my family - the people who I love and who love me back. Whenever I get down, when I want to crawl under a rock, I just look around at them and I see how rich my life is. You have to remember what’s most important in life. I am loved by so many people and have a wonderful job. I know I’m incredibly blessed. I am a completely lucky human being.

Even when I was young I wanted to be an actress.

Even when I was young I wanted to be an actress. I knew the actors and the paparazzi. It was just kind of always in my landscape. It was never directed at me, but it was always somewhere so I could see how it operated and I could see it from afar and go 'Wow, that's not really glamorous, it's kind of exhausting not having any privacy.' So it was never something I pursued. The first time I saw the billboard for Pretty Little Liars I almost got into a car accident!

I remember when I first wanted to act my parents were supportive, but it was that they were like please, if you can find something else in the world, don't do this. So it wasn't even they're like 'Oh we've been waiting for you to arrive, welcome to the family business' kind of thing.

Falling is scary but good practice for life. We must fall. In love. Out of love. Into new experiences. Out of old habits. Deeper and further into ourselves. We must fall, life is falling over forward. The only choice we have is how we let go.

I love being natural. I never feel more beautiful then after I’ve been to the beach and my hair’s just a crazy mess of salt curls, or when I’ve just been outside all day hiking. I feel like my skin is at its most beautiful during those times, too - so I try not to do a lot.