Lucy Hale Almost Didn't Take Her Role on Pretty Little Liars

Lucy Hale was coming off a canceled TV project when she was offered a role in the Pretty Little Liars pilot. That pilot ended up turning into the series that lasted seven seasons and launched Hale and her costars to super stardom, but at the time, Hale almost didn't take the offer.

"I was offered another pilot, but my gut kept telling me to go towards Pretty Little Liars," she says. "There was just something about that name that kept replaying in my head and I knew that that was probably the right decision to make."

The other project had bigger stars, a bigger studio, and more well-known producers. Everything about it seemed like the better decision — at least on paper.

"It's very easy to get excited about the glitz and glam of something, or how much you're getting paid for something, or get distracted by who else is involved," Lucy says. "But I think the reason I made the choice for PLL was that creatively it really excited me."

Looking back, she doesn't even know if the other project ended up getting made, but she's glad she listened to her instincts. She's been able to do the same thing with different opportunities since, like when Avon asked her to be a brand ambassador in 2013.

"That is something I never could, I couldn't ever imagine that. It's been so great," she says.

Her biggest advice for girls is that even with the help and guidance of others, the best person to trust is yourself.

"You can be advised by really great people, family, friends, agents, managers, publicists, hairstylists, whatever it is. It's always great to surround yourself with wonderful people, but at the end of the day you're left with yourself," she says. "And I think that inner voice that you have is the strongest and most important."

You can read more about Avon and how they inspire women to be their own boss here.

Senior video producer: Jason Ikeler.

Shot and edited by Gigi Pena.