Criminal Minds
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$3 Million
"I like writing about what to me are like questions that I have about myself and the human condition. I find quantum physics fascinating, so I like to write about that, and I like things that make me laugh." A self-proclaimed "nerdy girl," Kirsten Vangsness is best known for playing Penelope Garcia on Criminal Minds. Her portrayal of an FBI Technical Analyst has gained her a lot of fame and a big fan base. She also writes, as she's interested in doing more than just acting in the future. She was born in Pasadena, California, and raised in the San Joaquin Valley.
Later the family moved to Cerritos, and she graduated from Cerritos High School in 1990. Then she went to college in Cypress and to California State University in Fullerton. She graduated from that university in 1995. She started acting to get away from being so shy, never thinking that it would turn into a career that she loved so much. She stared out with theater, and she got a big break early on that she won awards for. But what happened after that? Here's what you need to know about Vangsness and everything she has to offer to the acting world.
California Girl Makes It Big
It's not a surprising headline, but it's one to be proud of when you're focused on acting. But Vangsness has done more than that, mostly out of necessity early on and then out of joy at a later date. "I started writing because it was hard to find acting jobs. I didn't like any monologues in auditions, so I started to write my own things. Since then, I have written a couple of shows. I was nominated for playwright of the year for a play I wrote called 'Potential Space'," she says. Now her writing is a big part of things, just like her acting. When she started out she was very nervous, but that's faded over time and with talent.
In the theater she won the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award, the Golden Betty Award, and the 15 Minutes of Female Best Actress Award, among others. She had her work published in the Los Angeles Times. Since 2014, Vangsness has begun writing episodes of Criminal Minds, and has completed three of them. Whether she'll write more episodes of the show is unknown. But it's clear that Vangsness will continue to write and act, as both of those are her passions. She is outspoken and funny, and has won comedy awards in the past, as well.
More Than Just Criminal Minds
About her character on the show and the way she feels in real life, she has said, "I'm really proud of being part of that whole geek/chic, girl nerds, glasses are sexy and all of that because I think it's true. In America, I don't know about in other places, but there is this mythology about the way a woman is supposed to be and look and act and that's what makes them sexy. And I love being the alternative to that." She is also a part of the LGBTQ+ community and was engaged to writer and actor Keith Hanson in 2015. It's unknown whether the couple married, but Vangsness has not publicly said anything about a wedding or about the end of her relationship. It is assumed that she is still engaged to Hanson. Vangsness has no known children.
In 2004, while at a party with her boyfriend at the time, Vangsness met Melanie Goldstein. Goldstein was a film and television editor, and the two began dating in 2006. They got engaged, but due to the legalities of same-sex relationships at the time they were not able to marry. In 2013, they ended their relationship. Vangsness continued to act and write during that time, and eventually met her current fiance, Hanson. Vangsness keeps most of her personal life quiet and very personal, and much of that level of her life is unknown to fans and the general public.
Her desire to write and act started at an early age, when she found that acting made her feel less shy and she could do a lot more out in the world when she had more confidence. Combating shyness is not always an easy thing to do, but Vangsness tackled it the same way she tackles everything in life. It's likely that fans haven't seen the last of her, even if she moves into writing more than acting and does a lot of her future work behind the scenes. Fans will just have to wait and see what Vangsness does next.
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