Alexa Ellesse PenaVega (née Vega; born August 27, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as

Carmen Cortez Carmen Elizabeth Juanita Echo Sky Brava Cortez is a fictional character and the female protagonist of the ''Spy Kids'' franchise, portrayed by Alexa Vega in the film series, and voiced by Ashley Bornancin in the television series. Biography For ...

in the ''

Spy Kids ''Spy Kids'' is an American spy family action-adventure comedy franchise created by Robert Rodriguez. The plot follows adventures of Carmen and Juni Cortez, two children who become involved in their parents' espionage organization. The films i ...

'' film series and Julie Corky in the 2004 film ''Sleepover''. In 2009, she starred as the title character Ruby Gallagher in the

ABC Family The American cable television, cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and s ...

series '' Ruby & the Rockits''.

Early life

Vega was born in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. She spent some of her childhood years on a ranch in Ocala, Florida. Her father, Baruch Vega, is a Colombian fashion photographer and student informer for the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

,De Cordoba, Jose,
"Fashion Photographer Scored Millions As an Informant, but Was Justice Served?"
''The Wall Street Journal'', December 7, 2000 and her mother, Gina Rue, is a former model. Vega has six siblings, including actress

Makenzie Vega Makenzie Jade Vega Norfolk (born February 10, 1994), known professionally as Makenzie Vega, is an American actress. She is known for her role as Grace Florrick on ''The Good Wife'' and as the 11-year-old counterpart of Nancy Callahan in ''Sin Ci ...

. She moved with her family to

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

when she was four years old. As a teenager she was homeschooled.

Career

Acting

In 1996, Vega starred as young Jo Harding in ''

Twister Twister may refer to: Weather * Tornado Aviation * Pipistrel Twister, a Slovenian ultralight trike * Silence Twister, a German homebuilt aircraft design * Wings of Change Twister, an Austrian paraglider design Entertainment * ''Twister'' (1989 ...

''. She guest-starred in numerous television shows and films, including '' ER'', '' Follow the Stars Home'', '' Ghost Whisperer'', and ''

The Bernie Mac Show ''The Bernie Mac Show'' (often shortened to ''Bernie Mac'' in syndication) is an American sitcom television series created by Larry Wilmore, that aired on Fox for five seasons from November 14, 2001 to April 14, 2006. The series featured Bernie ...

''. She became known worldwide in 2001 for her role as "

" in ''

''. The first ''Spy Kids'' film was a huge success, and two sequels, '' Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams'' and '' Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over'' were filmed. During the shooting of the three films she performed most of her own stunts. In 2011, Vega appeared in the sequel, '' Spy Kids: All the Time in the World'', as a grown Carmen Cortez. Alexa Vega during Repo Tour cropped

She was named one of the year's hottest teen celebrities in the July 2003 issue '' Vanity Fair''. In 2004, Vega finished filming two films: ''

Sleepover A sleepover is a social occasion where a young person stays at the home of a friend. Multiple people and/or friends may sleepover at the friend's home, typically a younger person will partake in a sleepover, however an adult or older person may s ...

'' and ''

State's Evidence A criminal turns state's evidence by admitting guilt and testifying as a witness for the state against their associate(s) or accomplice(s), often in exchange for leniency in sentencing or immunity from prosecution.Howard Abadinsky, ''Organized C ...

''. The following year, she starred in the Lifetime television film ''

Odd Girl Out ''Odd Girl Out'' is a 2005 drama telefilm starring Alexa Vega, Lisa Vidal, Elizabeth Rice, Alicia Morton, Leah Pipes, Shari Dyon Perry, Joey Nappo, and Chad Biagini. First aired April 4, 2005 on Lifetime, the film is based on the book ''Odd Gi ...

'', as a victim of

cyber-bullying Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Cyberbullying and cyberharassment are also known as online bullying. It has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers, as the digital ...

. In 2006, she starred in another made-for-TV movie, ''

Walkout In labor disputes, a walkout is a labor strike, the act of employees collectively leaving the workplace and withholding labor as an act of protest. A walkout can also mean the act of leaving a place of work, school, a meeting, a company, or an ...

''; and finished filming ''

Remember the Daze ''Remember the Daze,'' originally titled ''The Beautiful Ordinary,'' is a 2007 drama film released in theaters in April 2008. The film was directed by Jess Manafort. The plot of the movie has been described as "a glimpse into the teenage wastelan ...

'', which was released in limited theaters in April 2007. She completed filming ''

Repo! The Genetic Opera ''Repo! The Genetic Opera'' is a 2008 American rock opera horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman. Based on the 2002 musical of the same name, written and composed by Darren Smith and Terrance Zdunich, the film stars Alexa Vega, Paul Sorvin ...

'', which was released in 2008. Vega was confirmed as the lead role in ''

Helix A helix () is a shape like a corkscrew or spiral staircase. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is formed as two intertwined helic ...

'', written and directed by Aram Rappaport, which began filming in Chicago in March 2008. She was originally cast in the 2009

Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez (; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ac ...

film ''

Shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ...

'', however, due to her being in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

for the filming of ''

Broken Hill Broken Hill is an inland mining city in the far west of outback New South Wales, Australia. It is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Highway (B79), in the Barrier Range. It is ...

'', she had to be recast. She was replaced by

Kat Dennings Katherine Victoria Litwack (born June 13, 1986), known professionally as Kat Dennings, is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Max Black in the CBS sitcom ''2 Broke Girls'' (2011–2017) and as Darcy Lewis in the Marvel ...

. She appeared on Broadway in ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

'', as Penny. In 2009, she played Ruby Gallagher on the

television sitcom '' Ruby & the Rockits'', which also starred

Patrick Patrick may refer to: * Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People * Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint *Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

and

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor, singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge, the son of Shirley Partridge (played by his stepmother, Shirley Jones), in t ...

. Vega played Wick in the 2012 film ''

The Devil's Carnival ''The Devil's Carnival'' is a 2012 American musical horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Briana Evigan, Jessica Lowndes, Paul Sorvino, Emilie Autumn and Terrance Zdunich. The film marks the second collab ...

'', a film from director

Darren Lynn Bousman Darren Lynn Bousman (; born January 11, 1979) is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in horror films. He has directed four of the ''Saw'' films: ''Saw II'', ''Saw III'', ''Saw IV'', and '' Spiral''. He also direct ...

and screenwriter

Terrance Zdunich Terrance Zdunich (; born July 23, 1976) is an American artist, singer, actor, writer, composer, producer, illustrator and storyboard artist. He is most known for his role as GraveRobber in ''Repo! The Genetic Opera'', as Lucifer in '' The Dev ...

, who previously worked with Vega in ''Repo! The Genetic Opera''. Throughout 2012, Vega starred in the independent thriller, ''2br/1ba'', directed by Rob Margolies and co-stars with

Spencer Grammer Spencer Karen Grammer (born October 9, 1983) is an American actress best known for her roles as the voice of Summer Smith in the Adult Swim animated science-fiction series ''Rick and Morty'' and as Casey Cartwright in the ABC Family college come ...

and

Kathryn Morris Kathryn Morris is an American actress, best known for her lead role as Detective Lilly Rush in the CBS series ''Cold Case''. Career Morris's first role was a minor one in the 1991 tele-movie ''Long Road Home''. Several other small parts follo ...

. Vega also starred in the Lifetime Channel movie ''The Pregnancy Project'' and her animated film ''

The Clockwork Girl ''The Clockwork Girl'' is an all-ages/science fiction/fantasy comic series created by Sean O'Reilly and Kevin Hanna, that ran for five issues and was published in a collected edition for the first time in 2008. ''Clockwork Girl'' tells the ta ...

'' was completed. Vega's film, ''The Mine'', which was filmed in 2010 got a limited release/screening. Vega also voiced Christina in the animated series ''

Unsupervised ''Unsupervised'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by David Hornsby, Rob Rosell, and Scott Marder which ran on FX from January 19 to December 20, 2012. The show was created, and for the most part, written by David Hornsby, Scott Marder ...

'' and had a guest role on ''

Royal Pains ''Royal Pains'' (stylized ℞oyalPains) is an American comedy-drama television series that ran on the USA Network from 2009 to 2016. The series was based in part on actual concierge medicine practices of independent doctors and companies. The ca ...

''. Vega played the young heroine in

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

's music video " Legendary Child". Throughout 2013 and 2014, Vega appeared in the films ''23 Blast'', ''

Machete Kills ''Machete Kills'' (also known as ''Robert Rodriguez's Machete Kills'') is a 2013 American action exploitation film directed by Robert Rodriguez, with a screenplay by Kyle Ward, from a story by Robert and Marcel Rodriguez. Based on the eponymo ...

'', ''Bounty Killer'', ''

Wicked Blood ''Wicked Blood'' is a 2014 action thriller film written and directed by Mark Young and starring Abigail Breslin, Alexa Vega, and Sean Bean. It was released on March 4, 2014, in the United States. Premise Hannah Lee Baker (Abigail Breslin) and A ...

'', ''The Remaining'', and '' The Hunters''. She guest starred on the ''

Big Time Rush ''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013 and is currently available in Paramount+. It focuses on the Hollywood misa ...

'' series finale "Big Time Dreams", playing herself. In 2015, Vega appeared in '' Do You Believe?'' as Lacey. In 2016, she began starring in a series of Hallmark made for television films, such as ''Ms. Matched'', ''Destination Wedding'', and ''Christmas Made to Order''. In 2019 she began starring in the

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (formerly known as Hallmark Movie Channel, and also known as HMM) is an American digital cable and satellite television channel owned by Crown Media Holdings. The channel was spun off from sister network Hallmark Chan ...

series ''Picture Perfect Mysteries''.

Dancing

In the fall of 2015, Vega competed on the 21st season of '' Dancing with the Stars''. Her husband,

Carlos PenaVega Carlos Roberto PenaVega (; born August 15, 1989) is an American actor and singer. He starred on the Nickelodeon series ''Big Time Rush'' as Carlos García, and is a member of the group Big Time Rush. He was also the host of the network's game sh ...

also competed in that season; he and his partner were eliminated in Week 11. Vega was paired with professional dancer

Mark Ballas Mark Alexander Ballas Jr. (born May 24, 1986) is an American dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, musician, and actor. Ballas is a professional ballroom dancer on the ABC program ''Dancing with the Stars''. He began competing on the show ...

. On November 9, Vega and Ballas were eliminated in Week 9 and finished the competition in 6th place. In 2019, Vega and her husband Carlos PenaVega starred in the

TV movie ''Picture Perfect Mysteries: Newlywed and Dead'', and in 2020 the follow-up ''Picture Perfect Mysteries: Dead over Diamonds''.

Singing

Vega recorded three songs for the soundtracks while playing Carmen Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' films. She released her debut single, "Isle of Dreams" helping to promote the release of the second film; "Game Over" and "Heart Drive" featuring

Bobby Edner Robert Charles Edner (born October 5, 1988) is an American actor, singer, dancer, and rapper. He was a member of the boy band called Varsity Fan Club. Early life Edner was born in Downey, California to Robert and Cindy (née Halverson) Edner. ...

were released during promotions for the third film. She recorded songs for the movie ''Repo! The Genetic Opera'' which was released in 2008. Vega sang the song " Christmas is the Time to Say 'I Love You'" in the ABC Family film '' Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe''. The track appears on the compilation album ''Songs to Celebrate 25 Days of Christmas'', which was released on November 3, 2009 by

Walt Disney Records Walt Disney Records is an American record label of the Disney Music Group. The label releases soundtrack albums from The Walt Disney Company's motion picture studios, television series, theme parks, and traditional studio albums produced by its ...

. The music video for the song premiered during ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas. She performed several songs for her role on ''Ruby & The Rockits'' in 2009. Vega also sang two songs on the soundtrack for the film ''The Devil's Carnival'' which was released in 2012.

Personal life

Vega married film producer

Sean Covel Sean Covel is an American film producer best known for being a producer of ''Napoleon Dynamite''. Early life Covel grew up in Edgemont, South Dakotaand attended college at the University of Nebraska, Kearney, majoring in Broadcast Management ...

on October 10, 2010 in a ceremony held in his hometown of

Lead, South Dakota Lead ( ) is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,982 at the 2020 census. Lead is located in western South Dakota, in the Black Hills near the Wyoming state line. History The city was officially founded ...

walked her down the aisle. In July 2012, Vega announced on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that she had divorced Covel. PenaVega is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and she has said that her faith is the most important thing in her life. Vega was the maid of honor at

Nikki Reed Nicole Houston Reed (born May 17, 1988) is an American actress known for her portrayal of vampire Rosalie Hale in '' The Twilight Saga'' (2008–2012). She became known in 2003, after the release of the film ''Thirteen'', directed by Catherine ...

's wedding to Paul McDonald. In August 2013, Vega became engaged to former ''

'' actor and singer

Carlos Pena Jr. Carlos Roberto PenaVega (; born August 15, 1989) is an American actor and singer. He starred on the Nickelodeon series ''Big Time Rush'' as Carlos García, and is a member of the group Big Time Rush. He was also the host of the network's game sh ...

, whom she had been dating since late 2012. The couple married on January 4, 2014, in

Puerto Vallarta Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican beach resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadala ...

, Mexico, taking PenaVega as their married name. The couple shares a YouTube channel, La Vida PenaVega (formerly LexLovesLos). The couple have three children – two sons born in December 2016 and June 2019, and a daughter born in May 2021.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Penavega, Alexa 1988 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Miami American child actresses American YouTubers American film actresses American people of Colombian descent American television actresses American voice actresses American Christians Hispanic and Latino American actresses Hollywood Records artists Living people 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers American female YouTubers