Shay Mitchell Answers The Web's Most Searched Questions

Shay Mitchell joins WIRED to answer her most searched questions from Google. What's her real name? Who is her partner? Does she own Béis? Can she speak Tagalog? The actor answers all these questions and more!The Max Original THIRST WITH SHAY MITCHELL debuts THURSDAY, MAY 23 on Max. New episodes of the four-episode series will debut weekly.Director: Jackie PhillipsDirector of Photography: AJ YoungEditor: Cory Stevens; Louis LalireTalent: Shay MitchellLine Producer: Joseph BuscemiAssociate Producer: Paul GulyasProduction Manager: Peter BrunetteTalent Booker: Jenna CaldwellCamera Operator: Lucas VilicichSound Mixer: Paul CornettProduction Assistant: Fernando BarajasPost Production Supervisor: Christian OlguinPost Production Coordinator: Ian BryantSupervising Editor: Doug LarsenAssistant Editor: Billy Ward

Video Transcript

- Hi guys, I'm Shay Mitchell, and this is my "WIRED Autocomplete" Interview.

[upbeat synth music] People always thought I was on "Glee," and they were like, "No, I read it in your Wikipedia."

I was like, "Okay, well, hmm, I think I would know."

[Shay laughing] [upbeat synth music] Ooh.

[Shay laughing] Where did Shay Mitchell grow up?

Okay, starting off easy.

I actually grew up in Mississauga, Ontario, outside of Toronto, Canadian girl, and I lived there until I was about 12 and then my parents moved to Vancouver.

So, west side of Canada.

The most Canadian thing about me is that every time I land in Canada, I go straight to Tim Horton's.

Timbits and a double-double.

I still say sorry.

I don't care, that's how it's spelled, and if it was said, if it was meant to be pronounced another way, it would be S-A-W-R-Y.

Sorry, okay?

But it's sorry.

Like the game, "Sorry."

When did Shay Mitchell start acting?

I actually didn't start acting until after high school.

A lot of my friends were in drama classes and they were all about it.

It wasn't something I wanted to do in high school.

I think I wanted to get my wild out and just be completely free, but I knew after that that I really wanted to get into it, and so I took acting classes as soon as I graduated high school.

Shay Mitchell, "Call Her Daddy."

This was a podcast that I recently did.

It was really fun because the key to her interviews is that she gets you tipsy prior to asking you intense questions.

So we were drinking a lot of Onda, it was very fun, and yes, a lot of people do come up to me about that podcast, which is cool.

All right, Shay Mitchell full name.

My real name is actually Shannon Ashley Mitchell, not Shay.

I changed it because when I was in school, there was another girl in my class whose name was Shannon, and so I was like, "All right, let's switch this up.

It's just getting confusing."

At that time, Jennifer Lopez was going by J.Lo, and I thought that was amazing.

I also loved J.Lo.

I wanted to go by Shay.Lo.

I just cut the Lo off, and so it became Shay, which has nothing to do with Shannon.

It's not a short-form name by any means, but I was like, "All right, let's go with Shay."

And then it actually kind of helped because when I would be auditioning, I would come into the room and they'd be like, "All right, Shay, that's an interesting name," and it got me a couple extra seconds in the room to be able to chat to the casting director, and director, and what have you.

But yeah, Shay is a made-up name.

Thank you, J.Lo.

That's it, card number one.

[Shay clapping] [Shay exhaling] Does it get a little spicier as these cards come?

Okay, who is Shay Mitchell best friend?

I have a lot of really good friends, and I feel very fortunate that I can say I have a handful of best friends.

I have some that reside in Vancouver, I have some that reside here, specifically one, I would get in trouble.

This is gonna get me in trouble, but I do have some of my closest friends.

I would say my oldest friend is probably Joanie.

We were in grade five together, so since I don't know how many years ago, we've been friends for like 20 plus years.

Joanie only calls me Shannon.

There is no Shay.

I think for her too, it would be like Shay.

Like she, no, that can't even...

I've never even heard that name come out of her mouth.

All right, who is Shay Mitchell... Who is Shay Mitchell?

[Shay laughing] Oh, I'm sure that's Googled quite a bit.

I don't know, I guess people... What do people say when you have that?

Who am I?

I'm human who is curious about a lot of things in this life and is trying to live every day like it's my last, right?

What a weird...

I mean, I guess.

Yeah, that's how I'd say it.

Just a human being living this game called life.

Who is Shay Mitchell's partner?

Well, today... No, I'm kidding.

My partner is my good friend Matte Babel, who is also Canadian, and he is the father to my two beautiful girls.

And we have known each other since I was, I don't know, 17, 18, living in Toronto?

I was doing bottle service, that's how we met.

So I've known him for a very long time, and I was gonna say does he call me Shannon?

No, he calls me Shay.

I like the name partner, so I'm actually happy that that's Googled.

What has Shay Mitchell been in?

I've been in a lot of houses, I've been in quite a few apartments, a lot of offices.

No, been in...

I don't know, I've acted on the show called "Pretty Little Liars."

That was one of my first things.

I was in one episode of "Degrassi," and I have to say that 'cause I'm Canadian, so I feel like that legitimizes my Canadian passport.

I was in a movie called "Mother's Day" with Jennifer Aniston, no big deal.

I don't know.

I guess Google, right?

[Shay clapping] [board thudding] Does Shay Mitchell own BEIS?

Yes, all 100% of it.

No, I'm kidding.

I wish.

No.

I do, I started a company called BEIS, and it is a travel-on-the-go luggage and accessories brand.

Started it out of my love of traveling and just being an on-the-go human who needed incredible bags to carry all of her belongings.

I was at a certain point where I was purchasing my own luggage and I didn't see anything that was out there that kind of checked off all of the boxes of being a good-looking bag, functional, and affordable that didn't cost more than the plane ticket.

I started this company, and it's my first born is kind of how I describe it.

Active in every single way, from choosing the zippers to the models that we use on photo shoots.

I just had a call about it right when I walked in and I absolutely love it.

And so I feel very fortunate to be able to call this job career just passion, all the things.

And I have an incredible team.

Does Shay Mitchell speak Tagalog?

No.

But, I can say some nasty words if I get angry.

[Shay laughing] I think from growing up and just hearing my mom's side just go at it, and I was like, "What are you even saying?"

So I learned a few sentences.

I will not be saying out loud, but yes, a lot of bad words, but that's about it.

Does Shay Mitchell own Onda?

I have a part in Onda, I'm one of the co-founders, and this, again, started from a passion of mine, that passion being drinking.

I love a RTD, which is short-form for a ready-to-drink.

This one is tequila-based, I'm a tequila girl.

Actually, no, I'm a beverage girl.

I'm like an all-spirit kind of girl.

However, top spirit, tequila.

Three, four years back, there just wasn't a tequila seltzer out there on the market.

And all the ones that I were trying were a malt base.

They had a lot of sugar, they had a lot of artificial coloring and flavor, which isn't my jam.

So I wanted to create a drink that could be sessionable without the hangover from sugar the next day.

And that is sort of how Onda came together.

And yes, so we just dropped our new Blanco, a Reposado coming soon, and it is very fun to be in those taste testing meetings.

Did Shay Mitchell go to college?

No, I didn't.

And you know what?

I had a lot of real-life experience after high school.

I actually traveled to Thailand and I lived there for a bit.

And that, for me, was the best kind of experience that I could have had.

[board thudding] Is Shay Mitchell a dancer?

I can... dance in the club.

You know, I'm not a professional dancer.

I love watching dancing videos, I love professional dancers, I could watch dance videos the whole day.

But no, I'm not a professional dancer.

I do take class every once in a while.

I feel like it's so fun and it's good to like get your body moving in an uncomfortable way.

[tape ripping] Is Shay Mitchell in "You"?

Yes.

I was.

I was the one that... Oh, for those of you who haven't seen it, you should check out "You" Season 1.

That was actually a really, really fun show.

A, the book was incredible.

And then finding out and being able to work with Penn Badgley was also so incredible.

He is amazing, and I say that in every single interview, but we had so much fun shooting that.

I got to live in New York, bucket list crossed off, for three months.

A great experience all around.

And yeah, that show is, I think, still filming, so I'm really happy to have been a part of it.

Is Shay Mitchell in "Barbie"?

I wish.

No, I wasn't.

I was in a "Barbie" campaign.

I think I wanted to be in the movie so bad I created luggage for that and then put myself as a Barbie in my own campaign.

We ended up doing a "Barbie" collab with BEIS, so I had a hot pink luggage and accessories, and we did this really fun photo shoot.

So I got a little taste of what it maybe could have been like in a "Barbie" pink world, but I wasn't actually in the movie.

Do you think they'll do a Part 2?

Maybe.

Can we get Margot's team on phone?

Is Shay Mitchell really a swimmer?

No.

No, I'm not.

I got a lot of swim lessons when I was on a little show called "Pretty Little Liars."

I played a swimmer.

They gave me incredible coaches.

But there's only so much that you can do.

It is kind of like you can't teach an old dog new tricks and I don't really know if you could teach me to be that great of a swimmer.

It was fine, and I got by.

It's a lot of work.

It's a lot of... Yeah, but no, I'm not actually a swimmer.

I can swim, but I'm not a real swimmer.

Maybe I made it look like I was, I'm just gonna take everything as a compliment.

Shay Mitchell.

Wow, there's not an is, that, is, does.

Okay, Shay Mitchell Peach.

That was the character that I played in "You."

Again, very fortunate to be a part of that.

It was really fun to be able to play a bitch.

Can I say that?

I just did, bitch.

I'd like to say that I'm really not in real life.

So like having to say these lines to people after I would be saying this line as Peach and be like, "Cut."

"I'm really sorry, like, I didn't mean... Like, we're good."

I don't know, but I had a lot of fun playing Peach, so very thankful for that.

Shay Mitchell TikTok.

You know, I try my hand at it.

It's fun.

I feel like TikTok is kind of that platform where I go on scrolling late night.

I learned a lot of things.

I've also done a lot of embarrassing things now when I look back.

I don't know how to scrub it from the internet, so I think I just have to leave it on there, you know?

But do I have regrets about some of the videos I shot on TikTok during that time?

Absolutely.

Shay Mitchell kitchen.

Does that mean people look up the kitchen, my kitchen?

Funny story about my kitchen, actually, since we're on this topic.

When I moved to LA and was shooting the show, I was revamping my current vision board, and so I was looking at houses and things to kind of pin to my desktop at the time, and I came across this kitchen that I absolutely loved and I was like, "Oh, my gosh, this is amazing.

Let's pin this to the the vision board desktop."

Four or five years after, I was doing a open house of this one house I was looking at, had never seen the kitchen, walked in, looked around, and then just felt like very interesting vibes, like deja vu.

And I was like, "I feel like I've been here.

Do I know who lived here before?

This is really weird."

And then it clicked in.

That was the kitchen that was on my vision board.

I still have that photo saved of the kitchen like years, years, years back, like 15 years now.

So kind of crazy.

Shay Mitchell new show.

Ooh.

Wow.

A little show called "Thirst," which combines my love of travel and drinking.

And I'd always thought to myself, "There are 1,000,001 shows on food, but there weren't any shows on the beverages that accompany those meals.

Or I could learn more about where all of my favorite drinks were created."

Bada bing, bada boom.

"Thirst" was created about four years ago now, and we went to South America.

We shot four episodes in four incredible countries, and I got to learn about all the different beverages that are consumed in these different places.

It was really, really fun.

And now, you guys also get to see it and discover and learn about these beverages because it is coming out May 23rd.

So, yes, I'm very excited about this new show, and I hope you guys enjoy it too.

These weren't that spicy, I'm not gonna lie.

I was prepared to get some spice.

That was really fun.

Hopefully, you guys got to learn a few new things.

Catch you guys on the next one.

[lips smacking] [upbeat synth music]