Kirsten Vangsness
| Kirsten Vangsness | |
|---|---|
 Vangsness in 2007 |
|
| Born | July 7, 1972 Pasadena, California, United States |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Partner(s) | Melanie Goldstein |
Kirsten Simone Vangsness (born 7 July 1972[1]) is an American actress. She is a supporting actress on the CBS drama series Criminal Minds as FBI Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia. She also portrayed the same character on the spin-off, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior.[2]
Early life
Kirsten was born July 7, 1972 in Pasadena, California to Errol Leroy Vangsness (born 1938 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and his wife Barbara Mary, née Marconi (born 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). All of her paternal great grandparents were Norwegians, with ancestry from Gol, Bergen and Oslo.[3] She was raised in Porterville, California and moved to Cerritos, California. She graduated from Cerritos High School in June 1990, and later attended Cypress College [4] in Cypress, California and graduated from California State University Fullerton in Fullerton, California.
Career
She got her first big break in the theater 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. She is also a writer, and her work has been published in the Los Angeles Times Magazine.
Personal life
Vangsness describes herself as "queer as a purple unicorn singing Madonna".[5] Her fiancée is film editor Melanie Goldstein. They began dating in 2006.[6] Goldstein's credits include the television series 24.[7][8] They intend to marry in 2013 "regardless whether it's legal or not by then".[5][9]
Filmography
Film
| 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 |
| 2011 | The Chicago 8 | Sketch Artist | |
| 2012 | Remember to Breathe | Vocals for Young Alice | Short film |
| 2013 | Kill Me, Deadly | Mona Livingston | Main Role |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Phil of the Future | Veronica | Season 1 Episode 16 |
| 2004 | LAX | Ticket Agent / Stephanie | Season 1 Episode 1,8+10 |
| 2005–present | Criminal Minds | Penelope Garcia | Main role Season 2–present (164 episodes)
Recurring role (Season 1) |
| 2010 | Vampire Mob | Laura Anderson | TV series |
| 2010–2012 | Pretty the Series | Meredith Champagne | Recurring role (14 episodes) |
| 2011 | Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior | Penelope Garcia | Main role (Season 1) |
| 2011 | Second City This Week | Celebrity Guest | Season 1 Episode 32 |
| 2011–2013 | Good Job, Thanks! | Therapist | Season 1 Episode 6 + Season 2 Episode 2 |
References
- ^ Vangsness, Kirsten (2007-07-24). "Kirstens Blog". CBS. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2007-10-07.
- ^ "Criminal Minds' Kirsten Vangsness Joins Spin-Off as a Series Regular". TVGuide.com.
- ^ "Kirsten Simone Vangsness ancestry profile". Geni.com.
- ^ Cypress College Public Information Office (2012-05-04). "Cypress College @Cypress Newsletter".
- ^ a b Anderson-Minshall, Diane (November 2011). "The Purple Unicorn". The Advocate: 42.
- ^ Waldon, Dave (2008-09-23). "Kirsten Vangsness Thrives on "Criminal Minds"". AfterEllen.com. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
- ^ Melanie Goldstein at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "Untitled". Criminal Minds Fanatic. 2009-09-22. Retrieved 2009-11-12.
- ^ "Gay 'Criminal Minds' Star Kirsten Vangsness To Get Married In Every Country Possible". Starpulse.com. 2010-09-24. Retrieved 2010-12-28.
External links
- Profile at CBS - Criminal Minds
- Kirsten Vangsness at the Internet Movie Database
- Kirsten Vangsness at TVGuide.com
- Family tree by Kirsten Vangsness' father
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