The Blue Bloods Actor You Might Have Forgotten Starred On Pretty Little Liars
"Pretty Little Liars" is a thriller series, available on Freeform — based on the book series of the same name by Sara Shepard – which focuses on the devastating effects of bullying. The series ran for seven seasons from 2010 to 2017, with the first two seasons seeing The Liars, the click originally founded by Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse), as they are terrorized by someone calling themselves "A." Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario), Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale), Hanna Martin (Ashley Benson), and Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell) believe "A" is Alison: The latter disappeared before the pilot because this person knows things only Alison would know. However, it is eventually revealed that "A" was Mona Vanderwaal (Janel Parrish), a former best friend of Alison's who became the target of extreme bullying by The Liars once Alison formed them in high school.
Mona played the "A" game for the first two seasons, playing with The Liars like dolls, blackmailing, and physically harming them constantly. However, in Season 3, the "A" game was taken over by a new player, someone the girls would be terrorized by for the remaining five seasons of the series — and the actress who played the new "A" is someone you may recognize from her role on CBS's "Blue Bloods."
Vanessa Ray played a memorable Pretty Little Liars villain
Vanessa Ray has been working since the early 2000s, appearing on series like "As the World Turns" and "Suits." But her appearance in "Pretty Little Liars" pushed the boundaries of who audiences thought she could be. She played a character who went through several identities throughout the run, and each one was more complex than the last.
On the series, Ray played CeCe Drake, also known as Charlotte DiLaurentis, Charlotte Drake, Charles DiLaurentis, and the Big A. Drake had a heartbreaking childhood that began with a struggle with gender identity. She struggled with her biologically assigned gender at birth (male) and a bigoted father refusing to accept her. The storyline itself is heartbreaking enough to watch, only to then see him "misinterpret" the young DiLaurentis' attempt at soothing her little sister as an attempt at harming her. She was sent to an institution and grew up in devastating conditions, including almost being killed by negligent doctors. Once she left the institution, she played with the Liars, calling them her dolls. She plays her games with them as a punishment for their treatment of her sister. She is eventually caught, only to return again. Finally, the tragically damaged CeCe is killed by Mona (Janel Parrish).
When compared to her "Blue Bloods" character, Officer Edit "Eddie" Janko, the two are opposites. While one is damaged from a trauma-filled upbringing and elects to murder and manipulate all those around her, the other is an optimistic woman with a bright outlook on life who elected to become a police officer to help others. Fascinatingly, Vanessa Ray played both characters simultaneously from 2013 to 2017.