Kirsten Vangsness
| Kirsten Vangsness | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
July 7, 1972 Pasadena, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress, writer |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Partner(s) | Keith Hanson (2015-present; engaged) |
Kirsten Simone Vangsness (born July 7, 1972) is an American actress and writer. She currently stars as FBI Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia on the CBS drama series Criminal Minds. She portrayed the same character on the spin-off series Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior.
Vangsness was born in Pasadena, California, the daughter of Errol Leroy Vangsness (born 1938 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and his wife Barbara Mary (née Marconi; born 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). Her paternal great-grandparents were Norwegian, with ancestry from Bergen, Gol, and Oslo. She was raised in Porterville, California, and later moved to Cerritos, California. She graduated from Cerritos High School in June 1990 and attended Cypress College. She later graduated from California State University, Fullerton in June 1995.
Vangsness got her first big break in the theatre, 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.
Vangsness' work has been published in the Los Angeles Times. Since 2014, Vangsness has co-written two episodes of Criminal Minds. In 2014 she co-wrote "Nelson's Sparrow" with Executive Producer, Erica Messer and in 2015 she co-wrote "A Beautiful Disaster" once again with Messer.
Vangsness says that she is "as queer as a purple unicorn singing Madonna". She began dating film and television editor Melanie Goldstein in 2006. They were engaged, but separated in 2013.
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