Biography
Kirsten Vangsness is an American actress and writer. She trained at California State University, Fullerton and began her career in the Los Angeles theatre scene, appearing in numerous productions and writing short plays.
She is best known for portraying FBI technical analyst Penelope Garcia on the CBS series Criminal Minds (2005–2020), having started as a recurring character before becoming a series regular in season two. She reprised the role in the spin-offs Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior (2011) and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (2016), as well as the revival Criminal Minds: Evolution. Vangsness has also co-written five episodes of Criminal Minds, including the 2020 series finale.
