Shelley Hennig Biography

While Shelley Hennig had always been interested in the fine arts, she wasn’t really thinking about a career in the glam world. A brilliant student in school, she loved her English classes and even used to write poetry. She was the fastest typist in her school and was obsessively keen about spelling and grammar. The life of this “just another” girl-next-door changed dramatically when she entered the Miss Louisiana Teen USA 2004 and won the title. She went on to win the national Miss Teen USA title as well, and it was this win that catapulted Shelley from being a normal high school girl to a glamorous diva. As a beauty queen she was exposed to the world of television and films where she began her career in cameos and guest appearances. Even though she relinquished her crown in 2005, she remained associated with the television world and participated in reality shows. It was in 2007 that her acting career actually took off. Cast in the role of Stephanie Johnson in the series ‘Days of Our Lives,’ she embarked on what would become a highly successful television career. She was twice nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award in the category Outstanding Younger Actress for her role in this series. Later on, she appeared in the series ‘The Secret Circle’ as Diane Meade and in ‘Teen Wolf’ as Malia Tate. Her portrayal of Malia was much loved by both the audience and the critics and it won her the Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer TV Star: Female in 2016. In addition to her acting career, Shelley has also appeared in a music video ‘Gentle On My Mind’ by the Band Perry. Apart from acting, she is also a good dancer and loves to write. She has even had two of her poems published in the’ Young Authors Book of Poetry.’

Shelley Hennig was born on January 2, 1987 in Metairie, Louisiana, to Cathy Distefano Gosset and Glenn H. Hennig, Sr. Her father has German, Swiss-German, Scottish, and English ancestry while her mother is of Italian descent. The youngest of three siblings, she grew up with two elder brothers who completely doted on her. One of her elder brothers, Brad Joseph, died in a drunk-driving incident in Destrehan, Louisiana on August 9, 2001. He was just 18 and his untimely death shattered the hearts of the entire family. This explains why the young lady chose to become an advocate against under-age drinking. She has worked with 'C.A.D.A' (Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse), a local Louisiana non-profit organization to build awareness about the impacts, and consequences of drug and alcohol abuse. In addition to this, the actress cum model has also been involved with a number of other non-profit organizations, including Seeds of Peace, D.A.R.E., Sparrow Clubs and SHiNE.