Modeling and Early Career

Ashley Benson began her career in the entertainment industry as a child model. At the age of five, she started modeling for dance catalogs and quickly progressed to appear in print advertisements under Ford Modeling Agency. By the age of eight, she was performing in musicals, showcasing both her acting and dancing talents.

In 2002, she made a brief appearance in a Lil' Romeo music video, marking one of her earliest on-screen moments. She continued to build her resume with minor roles, including a guest appearance on the Nickelodeon series Zoey 101 in the episode "Quinn’s Date" in 2005. Later that year, she was cast in the NBC daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives as Abigail Deveraux, a role she played from 2004 to 2007.

Breakthrough Roles and Television Success

After her three-year stint on Days of Our Lives, Benson continued to take on new acting projects. In 2008, she starred as Brooke, the head cheerleader, in the Lifetime movie Fab Five: The Texas Cheerleader Scandal. She followed this performance by joining the main cast of the ABC fantasy comedy series Eastwick in 2009, where she played Mia Torcoletti until the show’s cancellation in 2010.

Benson's breakout role came later that year when she was cast as Hanna Marin in the hit teen mystery drama television series Pretty Little Liars. The show, based on the novels by Sara Shepard, became a cultural phenomenon. Ashley portrayed Hanna from 2010 until the series concluded in 2017, appearing in a total of 160 episodes. Her performance gained widespread recognition and established her as a prominent figure in young adult television.

In addition to her work on television, Benson co-starred in the 2012 film Spring Breakers, alongside Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens. The film, directed by Harmony Korine, showcased a darker and more mature side of her acting capabilities.

Personal Life and Relationships

Ashley Benson has generally kept her personal life out of the spotlight, though her relationships have garnered media attention. She dated singer Justin Thorne between 2008 and 2009 and briefly had a relationship with actor Chord Overstreet. From 2011 to 2016, she was in an on-and-off relationship with Ryan Good, a producer and talent manager.

Following her breakup with Good, Benson began a high-profile relationship with model and actress Cara Delevingne in 2018. The couple was frequently seen together in public and garnered significant media interest before parting ways in 2020. Ashley has not publicly identified her sexual orientation in definitive terms, and any statements regarding her coming out as a lesbian are unverified and speculative.