---
name: "Kirsten Vangsness"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/kirsten-vangsness"
fi1m_id: "kirsten-vangsness"
imdb_id: "nm1494536"
tmdb_id: 123727
wikidata_id: "Q275920"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "7 July 1972"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-23T13:21:57.543448+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Kirsten Vangsness

## Identity

Kirsten Vangsness

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/kirsten-vangsness
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** kirsten-vangsness
- **IMDb ID:** nm1494536
- **TMDB ID:** 123727
- **Wikidata ID:** Q275920
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirsten_Vangsness, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q275920, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1494536/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/123727

Actor. Born 7 July 1972 in Pasadena, California, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 7 July 1972, Pasadena, California, USA
- **Also known as:** 克里斯汀·范奈絲
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirsten_Vangsness, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q275920, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1494536/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/123727

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Criminal Minds*](https://film.one/tv/criminal-minds.md) (60)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## 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.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, kirstenvangsness.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Criminal Minds* (2005), Fi1m 60, as Penelope Garcia — [page](https://film.one/tv/criminal-minds.md)

## Complete filmography (17)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Scrubs* (2026), series, as Pauline
- *Wizards Beyond Waverly Place* (2024), series, as Bigelow McFigglehorn
- *Amish Stud: The Eli Weaver Story* (2023), as Barb Raber
- *Stuck* (2018), as Sunny
- *Dave Made a Maze* (2017), as Jane
- *Axis* (2017), as Heather (voice)
- *Diani and Devine Meet the Apocalypse* (2016), as Fawn
- *Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders* (2016), series, as Penelope Garcia
- *Kill Me, Deadly* (2015), as Mona Livingston
- *The Chicago 8* (2011), as Sketch Artist
- *Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior* (2011), series, as Penelope Garcia
- *In My Sleep* (2010), as Madge
- *Scream of the Bikini* (2010), as Interior Decorator
- *Tranny McGuyver* (2008), as TV News Reporter
- *Criminal Minds* (2005), series, as Garcia, Penelope Garcia · Writer — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/tv/criminal-minds.md)
- *LAX* (2004), series, as Ticket Agent
- *Phil of the Future* (2004), series, Actor

## Gallery

- ![Kirsten Vangsness](https://film.one/media/person/1334233/gallery-7383e82c5869.jpg) Kirsten Vangsness — nrkbeta, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Kirsten_Vangsness_%40_SXSW_2019_%2847300390192%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Kirsten_Vangsness_%40_SXSW_2019_%2847300390192%29_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![The cast of Criminal Minds at the Paley Centre. Back row (left to right): Jayne Atkinson, Ed Bernero (producer), A. J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness. Front row: Matth (2008)](https://film.one/media/person/1334233/gallery-4eb03a5289f4.jpg) The cast of Criminal Minds at the Paley Centre. Back row (left to right): Jayne Atkinson, Ed Bernero (producer), A. J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness. Front row: Matth (2008) — etrainer, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Criminal_Minds_at_Paley.jpg/1280px-Criminal_Minds_at_Paley.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Kirsten Vangsness on November 10, 2007](https://film.one/media/person/1334233/gallery-87eed8286cf0.jpg) Kirsten Vangsness on November 10, 2007 — Danny Casillas, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Kirsten_Vangsness.jpg/1280px-Kirsten_Vangsness.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Photo: Ståle Grut / <a href="https://nrkbeta.no" rel="noreferrer nofollow">NRKbeta</a> (2019)](https://film.one/media/person/1334233/gallery-6bdbe1ea60ac.jpg) Photo: Ståle Grut / <a href="https://nrkbeta.no" rel="noreferrer nofollow">NRKbeta</a> (2019) — nrkbeta, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Kirsten_Vangsness_%40_SXSW_2019_%2840387755123%29.jpg/1280px-Kirsten_Vangsness_%40_SXSW_2019_%2840387755123%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Kirsten Vangsness](https://film.one/media/person/1334233/gallery-d1de793e5c6f.jpg) Kirsten Vangsness — Image via TMDB
- ![Photo: Ståle Grut / <a href="https://nrkbeta.no" rel="noreferrer nofollow">NRKbeta</a> (2019)](https://film.one/media/person/1334233/gallery-c2602cbc54be.jpg) Photo: Ståle Grut / <a href="https://nrkbeta.no" rel="noreferrer nofollow">NRKbeta</a> (2019) — nrkbeta, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Kirsten_Vangsness_%40_SXSW_2019_%2840387769433%29.jpg/1280px-Kirsten_Vangsness_%40_SXSW_2019_%2840387769433%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Photo: Ståle Grut / <a href="https://nrkbeta.no" rel="noreferrer nofollow">NRKbeta</a> (2019)](https://film.one/media/person/1334233/gallery-bc5cde960352.jpg) Photo: Ståle Grut / <a href="https://nrkbeta.no" rel="noreferrer nofollow">NRKbeta</a> (2019) — nrkbeta, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Kirsten_Vangsness_%40_SXSW_2019_%2847300390192%29.jpg/1280px-Kirsten_Vangsness_%40_SXSW_2019_%2847300390192%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/kirsten-vangsness