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"Don't get me wrong, I'm going to play the young role as long as I can because once that ship has sailed, there's no getting back on it." Those are wise words, especially for someone in Hollywood. And Alexa Vega is right. Once she's no longer able to be easily cast in young roles, she'll never be cast in them again. That doesn't mean she won't have plenty of work, but only that a part of that work will be closed to her for the rest of her career. In order to avoid that happening too quickly, she wants to take advantage of all the younger roles she can play. But where did she get her start, and where's she going now that she's built an established career where she can really continue to grow? Read on to find out more about the talented actress and singer.

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Growing Up in Florida and California

Vega was born in Miami, Florida, and she spent her very early years in Ocala. Until she was four she lived on a ranch. Her mother was a former model, and her father was a fashion photographer and a DEA informant. She has six siblings, one of which is the actress Makenzie Vega. When she was four, the family left Florida and moved all the way across the country to California. During her teenage years, Vega was homeschooled. That made it easier for her to get into acting, because she could learn at home and be tutored on set, instead of attending a more traditional model of schooling. She started acting in 1996, when she was cast in Twister. From that point she got a lot of roles, including appearances on ER, The Bernie Mac Show, and Ghost Whisperer.

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All those roles kept her working as a child actress, but it was her role as Carmen Cortez in Spy Kids (2001) that got her known on a worldwide level. That film was a major success, and after it did so well there were two sequels made. While the sequels weren't quite as popular as the original, they did well enough to keep people interested in the films and the stars, including Vega. In 2011, Vega played a grown-up version of Cortez in another Spy Kids sequel. Most of the stunts Vega's character had to do in the first three films were actually done by her, with a stunt double used on rare occasions for anything that was overly dangerous or that Vega chose not to do or wasn't comforable with. But Vega had much more to offer to the entertainment industry than her role as Carmen Cortez

Life After the Spy Kids Movies

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In 2003, Vega was among the most notable teenage celebrities. She made two movies in 2004, and then a couple of TV movies in the following two years. She really enjoyed the attention her fame brought her, but she also said, "When you have people catering to you non-stop, you lose it. You need someone to kick you in the butt every now and then!" As a teen star she needed some of that to make sure she stayed on track and didn't let fame go to her head. Vega was pretty well grounded, and she took her acting seriously. In 2008, she was in Repo! The Genetic Opera, and appeared on Broadway, as well. She was also in some independent movies in 2012 and beyond, and took on additional movie roles in 2013 and 2014.

In 2015, Vega was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. Her husband, Carlos PenaVega, was also on the show that year. The couple married in 2014. It was Vega's second marriage. During her time on Spy Kids, she also recorded three songs that went on the movie soundtracks. Since then she has released other music. In addition to being an actress, singer, and wife, Vega is also the mother of two children with her current husband. When she married singer and actor Carlos Pena Jr., both took PenaVega as their last name. But she is often still known professionaly under the last name Vega.

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Where will she go next in the acting or singing world? That remains to be seen. Now that she has children it's possible she won't take on as many acting roles, because she'll want to spend more time at home. But Vega clearly enjoys acting and understands the value she can bring to the various roles she plays. With that in mind, she likely has much more to offer to her fans in the future. Both fans and critics can eagerly await the next song, movie, or TV appearance of such a talented entertainer.