Happy 28th birthday Emily Fields! November 19th marks the birthday of ⅕ of the iconic Pretty Little Liars’ main protagonists. Played by actress Shay Mitchell, Emily is the “jock” of the group as she’s the star of the swim team. She has a charming smile which adds to her character and she has an athletic appearance both in body type and fashion. Emily is an only child and the center of her parents’ world, and comes from a very conservative family, which causes some issues later in the show. She also has a strong compassion for outcasts and is the most sensitive out of the four girls. She would do anything to keep her friends safe, and she remains strong even through the many challenges she faces. According to “A,” she is the weakest link out of the friend group. Arguably, Emily is the character that has shown the most growth throughout the show. Emily is shy, caring, loyal, and of course; she has many secrets. 

So what are Emily’s big dark secrets? Well for starters, she’s in love with Alison. And she realizes she likes girls, but doesn’t tell anyone. She doesn’t even really accept it herself. Oh, and she was secretly dating Paige which The Liars (the nickname of the famous besties’ group) don’t find out about until later. Of course, when “A” shows up and starts writing letters and sharing secrets with everyone, Emily finds it difficult to keep her sexuality a secret. Later when Emily does finally come out as a lesbian, her parents, especially her mom, doesn’t handle it well. But soon her sexuality is accepted by everyone, and she has multiple different girlfriends throughout the show. 

Other Emily secrets? Well, she was present the night Bethany Young’s body was stolen. Emily was with Holden at the diner the night she went missing after drinking from the drugged flask. She also killed Lyndon James. She’s full of secrets which of course The Liars always find out about. 

Here’s some extra fun trivia about Emily!

• Emily comes face to face with “A” during Season 2, although she does not see A’s identity
• Emily has received 25 individual messages from “A,” plus 21 messages sent to all 4 girls
• Emily is Filipina, Korean, Irish and Scottish as mentioned in the episode Gamma Zeta Die!

And Emily’s birthday was the only birthday that was celebrated during the show! And now we get to celebrate her birthday too!