Kirsten Vangsness (born July 7, 1972)[1] is an American actress and writer. She is best known for her portrayal of FBI Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia on the CBS drama series Criminal Minds. She portrayed the same character on the spin-off series Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior[2] and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders.
Kirsten Vangsness | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Vangsness in 2019 | |
| Born | July 7, 1972 Pasadena, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | California State University, Fullerton (BA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1998–present |
Early life
editVangsness was born in Pasadena, California, daughter of Errol Leroy Vangsness, of Norwegian descent, and wife Barbara Mary (née Marconi), of Italian descent. She was raised in Porterville, California, and later moved to Cerritos, California. She graduated from Cerritos High School in June 1990 and attended Cypress College in Cypress, California.[3] She later graduated from California State University, Fullerton in 1996.[4]
Career
editActing
editVangsness became involved in acting as a child to help overcome shyness[5] and got her first big break in the theatre, where she won several awards, including the 15 Minutes of Female Best Actress Award, the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Best Emerging Comic Actress, and the Golden Betty Award.[4]
Writing
editVangsness' work has been published in the Los Angeles Times. Since 2014, Vangsness has co-written four episodes of Criminal Minds. In 2014, she co-wrote "Nelson's Sparrow" with executive producer, Erica Messer.[6] In 2015, she co-wrote "A Beautiful Disaster" once again with Messer[7] and in 2016 she co-wrote "Spencer" with Messer. The Criminal Minds series finale was also co-written by Vangsness and Messer.[8]
Personal life
editIn a 2011 interview, Vangsness described herself "as queer as a purple unicorn singing Madonna".[9] She was in a seven-year relationship with editor Melanie Goldstein, to whom she was engaged, until 2013.[10]
In 2015, she announced her engagement to Keith Hanson. Though she has been engaged to both a man and a woman, Vangsness says she doesn't identify as bisexual. "...If I were straight, I would say I was, but I don't totally understand it myself. I don't want to have an answer to something that I don't really have an answer to."[11] Since then however, she has referred to herself as bisexual in social media posts. [12][13][14][15]
Other ventures
editVangsness serves as a spokesperson and advocate for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, an organization that encourages children to fundraise and spread awareness of pediatric cancer by running their own lemonade stands.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Sometimes Santa's Gotta Get Whacked | Tooth Fairy | Short film |
| 2006 | A-List | Blue | |
| 2008 | Tranny McGuyver | TV News Reporter | Short film |
| 2009 | Scream of the Bikini | Interior Decorator | |
| 2010 | In My Sleep | Madge | |
| 2011 | Sarina's Song | Party Guest | Short film |
| The Chicago 8 | Sketch Artist | ||
| 2012 | Remember to Breathe | Vocals for Young Alice | Short film |
| 2015 | Kill Me, Deadly | Mona Livingston | |
| 2016 | Diane & Devine Meet the Apocalypse | Fawn | |
| 2017 | Axis | Heather (voice) | |
| Dave Made a Maze | Jane | ||
| 2023 | Amish Stud: The Eli Weaver Story | Barb Raber |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Phil of the Future | Veronica | Episode: "Age Before Beauty" |
| LAX | Ticket Agent / Stephanie | 3 episodes | |
| 2005–present | Criminal Minds | Penelope Garcia | Also starring (season 1); main (seasons 2–present); 333 episodes |
| 2010 | Vampire Mob | Laura Anderson | |
| 2010–2012 | Pretty the Series | Meredith Champagne | 14 episodes |
| 2011 | Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior | Penelope Garcia | Main Cast; 13 episodes |
| Second City This Week | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 2011–2013 | Good Job, Thanks! | Therapist | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Shelf Life | Freaky Squeaky | 6 episodes, webseries |
| 2016–2017 | Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders | Penelope Garcia | Special Guest; 2 episodes |
| 2024 | Wizards Beyond Waverly Place | Bigelow McFigglehorn | Episode: "Wiz-Taken Identity" |
References
edit- ^ Vangsness, Kirsten (July 24, 2007). "Kirsten's Blog". CBS. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved October 7, 2007.
- ^ "Criminal Minds' Kirsten Vangsness Joins Spin-Off as a Series Regular". TV Guide.
- ^ Cypress College Public Information Office (May 4, 2012). "Cypress College @Cypress Newsletter" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2013. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
- ^ a b "Actress Kirsten Vangsness Helps Solve Cases on Television Show". California State University, Fullerton. April 13, 2010.
- ^ "The nerd who got heard". Matt Pomroy. March 6, 2008. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
- ^ "CRIMINAL MINDS Season 10 – 1013. Nelson's Sparrow – Press Release". Criminal Minds Round Table. January 8, 2015.
- ^ "CRIMINAL MINDS Season 11 – 1118. A Beautiful Disaster – Press Release". Criminal Minds Round Table. March 17, 2016.
- ^ Sharon, Keith (February 18, 2020). "Kirsten Vangsness goes from starring in and co-writing the 'Criminal Minds' finale to new creative ventures". Orange County Register.
- ^ Anderson-Minshall, Diane (November 2011). "The Purple Unicorn". The Advocate. p. 42.
- ^ Waldon, Dave (September 23, 2008). "Kirsten Vangsness Thrives on 'Criminal Minds'". AfterEllen. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved October 6, 2008.
- ^ "'Criminal Minds' Star Kirsten Vangsness Is Engaged: 'He's the Perfect Partner'". People.
- ^ https://x.com/Vangsness/status/1292995727472304128
- ^ https://x.com/Vangsness/status/1137949190963646464
- ^ https://www.instagram.com/kirstenvangsness/p/CyRkBfRvrW4/
- ^ https://www.instagram.com/kirstenvangsness/p/C8DBPhryb4m/
External links
edit