From "Pretty Little Liars" to the show's spinoff, "Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists," and the buzzy movie "To All The Boys I've Loved Before," Janel Parrish is no stranger to starring in huge projects. The Hawaii native hit yet another homerun when she joined the Hallmark family in 2020. In "Holly & Ivy," Parrish's character befriends her terminally ill neighbor and eventually adopts her two daughters. It's a tear-jerker and Parrish was proud to start her Hallmark career with such a complex and unique role. "The message of trauma, sometimes bringing about the most beautiful things if you let it, that message really stuck with me," she told PopSugar.
Another thing she's incredibly proud of is championing representation. In 2021, she starred in "Right in Front of Me" opposite Marco Grazzini. As Parrish proudly told Access, it was the first time a Hallmark film had two Asian-American leads. "It's really wonderful to be a part of that next step of inclusivity and diversity and representation," she gushed. In 2023, she starred in her first mystery, "Family History Mysteries: Buried Past." While promoting the flick, the actor was asked about Candace Cameron Bure's controversial comments on LGBTQ representation at Great American Family. Parrish responded to Access, "I am thrilled, thrilled, thrilled to be working with Hallmark, and I think that the stories that they're making are so beautiful, and inclusive, and diverse." She later enthused, "Representation matters."
She's continuing to work outside Hallmark, too. In December 2022, Deadline learned Parrish would produce and star in "Sydney vs. Sean," a drama written by her co-star Ryan Powers.
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