Carlos Roberto PenaVega
(; born August 15, 1989
) is an American actor and singer. He starred on the
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
series ''
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 ...
'' as Carlos García, and is a member of the
group
A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together.
Groups of people
* Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity
* Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...
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 ...
. He was also the host of the network's game show ''
Webheads''. He currently voices Bobby Santiago in ''
The Loud House
''The Loud House'' is an American animated television series created by Chris Savino that premiered on Nickelodeon on May 2, 2016. The series revolves around the chaotic everyday life of a boy named Lincoln Loud, who is the middle child and only s ...
.''
Early life
PenaVega was born on August 15, 1989, in
Columbia, Missouri.
His father is
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and
Venezuelan, and his mother is
Dominican. He was raised in
Weston, Florida
Weston is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, just west of Fort Lauderdale. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area, which is anchored by Miami. The population was 68,107 at the 2020 census. Weston is 30 miles northwest of Miam ...
.
He attended
Sagemont Upper School where he was a cheerleader. He appeared in local productions of ''
Grease'' and ''
Man of La Mancha''.
He also had a role in a production of ''
Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unit ...
'' by the
American Heritage School, which he attended before moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.
During his run in ''Titanic'' he fell in love with singing and dancing.
Career
2004–2013: Career beginning and Big Time Rush
![Big Time Rush Band](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Big_Time_Rush_Band.jpg)
His first acting role was a guest star at the age of 15 on ''
ER'', followed later that year by guest-starring roles on ''
Judging Amy'', ''
Summerland'', and ''
Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide
''Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide'' (sometimes shortened to ''Ned's Declassified'') is an American live action sitcom on Nickelodeon that debuted on the Nickelodeon Sunday night TEENick scheduling block on September 12, 2004. The serie ...
''.
While still in high school, PenaVega appeared in television commercials for the
Super Soaker
Super Soaker is an American brand of recreational water gun that uses manually-pressurized air to shoot water with greater power, range, and accuracy than conventional squirt pistols. The Super Soaker was invented in 1989 by engineer Lonnie Joh ...
brand recreational
water gun
A water gun (or water pistol, water blaster, or squirt gun) is a type of toy gun designed to shoot jets of water. Similar to water balloons, the primary purpose of the toy is to soak another person in a recreational game such as water fight. ...
, and his image even appeared on the toy's packaging. PenaVega was studying musical theater at the
Boston Conservatory
Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater.
Boston Conservatory was founded ...
when his manager urged him to audition for ''Big Time Rush''. Although he was reluctant to do so, he submitted an audition tape and won the role almost two years later.
PenaVega moved to
Hollywood in August 2009, The show had four seasons and was one of the most popular shows in
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
.
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 ...
is an American
pop boy band that formed in 2009. The band consists of PenaVega,
Kendall Schmidt
Kendall Francis Schmidt (born November 2, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, music producer, and actor. He played Kendall Knight in ''Big Time Rush'', and is a current member of the boyband with the same name, and has had small rol ...
,
James Maslow, and
Logan Henderson
Logan Phillip Henderson (born September 14, 1989) is an American actor and singer. He played the role of Logan Mitchell on the Nickelodeon series ''Big Time Rush'' and is a current member of the Big Time Rush band.
Early life and career
Hend ...
, all on vocals. PenaVega co-wrote the song "Oh Yeah" off of the group's first album,
BTR. On the second album, he wrote "Invisible" along with Charley Greenberg, Cody Williams, Daniel Andrew Wayne and J.R. Rotem. As of 2011, the band has released two albums,
BTR and
Elevate. They later released their third album,
24/Seven. He co-wrote "Picture This" with bandmate, James Maslow. PenaVega wrote "Lost in Love" for his wife,
Alexa PenaVega
Alexa Ellesse PenaVega (née Vega; born August 27, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Carmen Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' film series and Julie Corky in the 2004 film ''Sleepover''. In 2009, she starred as the ...
. He also wrote the song "Na Na Na" on ''
24/Seven''. In addition, BTR embarked on the Summer Break Tour, in support of the album.
Awards & Nominations
For his performance in
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 ...
, he receive a nomination for
ALMA Award
The American Latino Media Arts Award or ALMA Award, formerly known as Latin Oscars Award, is an award highlighting the best American Latino contributions to music, television, and film. The awards promote fair and accurate portrayals of Latino ...
and
Imagen Awards
The Imagen Awards are administered by the Imagen Foundation, an organization dedicated to "encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry." To be considered for an Imagen Award, a media piece or person ...
, and three consecutive
NAACP Image Awards
The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...
, but he didn't win any of those awards.
He and his partners of
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 ...
were honored in 2010 in the category "One to Watch" at the
Young Hollywood Awards
The Young Hollywood Awards was awards presented annually which honored the year's biggest achievements in pop music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, as voted on by teenagers aged 13–19 and young adults. The award ceremonies also hon ...
.
2014–2017: Solo career
He released his first solo single in Spanish on February 4, 2014, titled "Electrico". The song charted in the top 10 of the Latin iTunes songs charts. He was presented for the first time at the first annual
Nickelodeon Colombia Kids' Choice Awards
The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Colombia was the Colombian edition of Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards, held in Bogotá. In 2017 the awards took place on September 30th, nominees were announced on July 19, 2017.
Hosts
Editions
;Colombia ...
given in
Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
. PenaVega competed on the
21st season of ''
Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
'' in Fall 2015. His wife was also a contestant that season. His professional partner was
Witney Carson
Witney Capri Carson McAllister (née Carson; born October 17, 1993) is an American professional Latin ballroom dancer and choreographer. She first gained attention in 2012, when the 18-year-old finished ladies' second runner-up in season nine o ...
. PenaVega and Carson reached the finals but were eliminated on the week's performance night and ended the competition in fourth place. In 2017 he released the single Bésame featuring MAFFiO.
2017–present: Hallmark, BTR Reunion & Book
In 2017 he starred alongside his wife in the Hallmark movie ''Enchanted Christmas'' and alongside Adelaide Kane in ''A Midnight Kiss''. In 2018 he starred alongside his wife again in the Hallmark movie ''Love at Sea.'' He was a series regular in the one season CW series ''Life Sentence.'' In 2019 PenaVega and his wife starred in the Hallmark movie series ''Picture Perfect Mysteries''.
In 2021 Big Time Rush announced they would be reuniting for shows in New York and Chicago. The band also made an appearance at several Jingle Ball concerts in December 2021. In 2022 they announced the Forever Tour that would take them around the U.S. and Mexico. His family has travelled on the tour with him.
Carlos and Alexa PenaVega released a book in 2022 called ''What If Love is the Point.''
Personal life
In 2012, PenaVega began dating actress
Alexa Vega
Alexa Ellesse PenaVega (née Vega; born August 27, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She is known for her roles as Carmen Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' film series and Julie Corky in the 2004 film ''Sleepover''. In 2009, she starred as the ...
after meeting her at a bible study. She guest appeared in the series finale episode of Big Time Rush, aired in July 2013, where she played the on-screen girlfriend of his character. The couple became engaged in August 2013, and were 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, both taking PenaVega as their married name. They are both devout
Christians
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 ...
. The couple shares a YouTube channel, La Vida PenaVega (formerly LexLovesLos). The couple have two sons, one born in December 2016 and the other in June 2019. In December 2020, they announced they were expecting their third child, a daughter, born in May 2021.
Filmography
Film
Television
Discography
Singles
Other appearances
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:PenaVega, Carlos
1989 births
Living people
American male child actors
American child singers
American male television actors
American game show hosts
American baritones
Male actors from Florida
American Christians
American YouTubers
Big Time Rush (band) members
American people of Dominican Republic descent
American people of Venezuelan descent
American people of Spanish descent
People from Weston, Florida
Male actors from Missouri
21st-century American male actors
Actors from Columbia, Missouri
Singers from Columbia, Missouri
21st-century American singers
American Heritage School (Florida) alumni