Alexa Ellesse PenaVega ( Vega; born August 27, 1988) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Carmen Cortez in the first four '' Spy Kids'' films and Julie Corky in the 2004 film ''Sleepover''. In 2009, she starred as the title character Ruby Gallagher in the

ABC Family American cable television, cable and satellite television network Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through four different owners and six different name changes dur ...

series '' Ruby & the Rockits''.

Early life

Vega's father, Baruch Vega, is a Colombian fashion photographer and former informer for the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

, De Cordoba, Jose,
"Fashion Photographer Scored Millions As an Informant, but Was Justice Served?"
, ''The Wall Street Journal'', December 7, 2000 and her mother, Gina Rue, is a former model. Vega has six siblings, including actress

Makenzie Vega Makenzie Jade Vega Norfolk (born February 10, 1994) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Grace Florrick on '' The Good Wife'' and as the 11-year-old counterpart of Nancy Callahan in ''Sin City''. Life and career Makenzie Vega w ...

. She moved with her family to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

when she was four years old. As a teenager, she was homeschooled.

Career

In 1996, at the age of 8, Vega starred as young Jo Harding in ''

Twister Twister most commonly refers to a tornado. Twister or Twisters may also refer to: Aviation * Pipistrel Twister, a Slovenian ultralight trike * Silence Twister, a German homebuilt aircraft design * Wings of Change Twister, an Austrian paragli ...

''. She guest-starred in numerous television shows and films, including '' ER'', '' Follow the Stars Home'', ''

Ghost Whisperer ''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010. The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon ( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate w ...

'', and ''

The Bernie Mac Show ''The Bernie Mac Show'' (often shortened to ''Bernie Mac'' in syndication) is an American sitcom television series created by Larry Wilmore, that aired on Fox for five seasons from November 14, 2001, to April 14, 2006. The series featured Ber ...

''. She became known worldwide in 2001 for her role as " Carmen Cortez" in '' Spy Kids''. The first ''Spy Kids'' film was a huge success, and two sequels, '' Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams'' and '' Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over'', were filmed. During the shooting of the three films she performed most of her own stunts. In 2011, Vega appeared in the sequel, '' Spy Kids: All the Time in the World'', as a grown Carmen Cortez. Alexa Vega during Repo Tour cropped

She was named one of the year's hottest teen celebrities in the July 2003 issue '' Vanity Fair''. In 2004, Vega finished filming two films: ''

Sleepover A sleepover (also known as a slumber party or pajama party) is a social occasion in which a young person stays at the home of a friend. Multiple people and/or friends may sleepover at the friend's home. Typically a younger person will partake in ...

'' and '' State's Evidence''. The following year, she starred in the Lifetime television film '' Odd Girl Out'', as a victim of

cyber-bullying Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using Electronic communication network, electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and Adolescence, a ...

. In 2006, she starred in another made-for-TV movie, ''

Walkout In labor disputes, a walkout is a labor strike, the act of employees collectively leaving the workplace and withholding labor as an act of protest. A walkout can also mean the act of leaving a place of work, school, a meeting, a company, or an ...

''; and finished filming '' Remember the Daze'', which was released in limited theaters in April 2007. She completed filming '' Repo! The Genetic Opera'', which was released in 2008. Vega was confirmed as the lead role in ''

Helix A helix (; ) is a shape like a cylindrical coil spring or the thread of a machine screw. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is for ...

'', written and directed by Aram Rappaport, which began filming in Chicago in March 2008. She was originally cast in the 2009

Robert Rodriguez Robert Anthony Rodriguez ( ; born June 20, 1968) is an American filmmaker, composer, and visual effects supervisor. He shoots, edits, produces, and scores many of his films in Mexico and in his home state of Texas. Rodriguez directed the 1992 ...

film ''

Shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ar ...

'', however, due to her being in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

for the filming of ''

Broken Hill Broken Hill is a city in the Far West (New South Wales), far west region of outback New South Wales, Australia. An inland mining city, it is near the border with South Australia on the crossing of the Barrier Highway (A32) and the Silver City Hi ...

'', she had to be recast. She was replaced by Kat Dennings. She appeared on Broadway in ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * Hairspray (1988 film), ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** Hairspray (1988 soundtrack), ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundt ...

'', as Penny. In 2009, she played Ruby Gallagher on the

television sitcom '' Ruby & the Rockits'', which also starred Patrick and

David Cassidy David Bruce Cassidy (April 12, 1950 – November 21, 2017) was an American actor and musician. He was best known for his role as Keith Partridge in the 1970s musical-sitcom ''The Partridge Family''. After completing high school, Cassidy purs ...

. Vega played Wick in the 2012 film '' The Devil's Carnival'', a film from director

Darren Lynn Bousman Darren Lynn Bousman (; born January 11, 1979) is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in horror films. He has directed four of the ''Saw (franchise), Saw'' films: ''Saw II'', ''Saw III'', ''Saw IV'', and ''Spiral ( ...

and screenwriter Terrance Zdunich, who previously worked with Vega in ''Repo! The Genetic Opera''. Vega also sang two songs on the soundtrack for the film. Throughout 2012, Vega starred in the independent thriller, ''2br/1ba'', directed by Rob Margolies and co-stars with

Spencer Grammer Spencer Karen Grammer (born October 9, 1983) is an American actress best known for her roles as the voice of Summer Smith in the Adult Swim animated science-fiction series ''Rick and Morty'' and as Casey Cartwright in the Freeform (TV channel), A ...

and Kathryn Morris. Vega also starred in the Lifetime Channel movie ''The Pregnancy Project'' and her animated film '' The Clockwork Girl'' was completed. Vega's film, ''The Mine'', which was filmed in 2010 got a limited release/screening. Vega also voiced Christina in the animated series '' Unsupervised'' and had a guest role on ''

Royal Pains ''Royal Pains'' is an American comedy-drama television series that ran on the USA Network from 2009 to 2016. The series is based in part on contemporary concierge medicine practices of independent doctors and companies and follows Hank Lawson, ...

''. Vega played the young heroine in

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

's music video " Legendary Child". Throughout 2013 and 2014, Vega appeared in the films ''23 Blast'', '' Machete Kills'', ''Bounty Killer'', '' Wicked Blood'', ''The Remaining'', and '' The Hunters''. She guest starred on the ''

Big Time Rush ''Big Time Rush'' is an American musical sitcom television series created by Scott Fellows that originally aired on Nickelodeon from November 28, 2009, to July 25, 2013, featuring the band Big Time Rush portrayed as a fictional version of th ...

'' series finale "Big Time Dreams", playing herself. In 2015, Vega appeared in '' Do You Believe?'' as Lacey. In the fall of 2015, Vega competed on the 21st season of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

''; Vega was paired with professional dancer Mark Ballas. On November 9, Vega and Ballas were eliminated in Week 9 and finished the competition in 6th place. Her husband,

Carlos PenaVega Carlos Roberto PenaVega (; born August 15, 1989) is an American actor and singer. He starred on the Nickelodeon series ''Big Time Rush'' as Carlos García, and is a member of the group Big Time Rush (group), Big Time Rush. He was also the host o ...

, also competed in that season; he and his partner were eliminated in Week 11. In 2016, she began starring in a series of Hallmark made for television films, such as ''Ms. Matched'', ''Destination Wedding'', and ''Christmas Made to Order''. In 2019, Vega and her husband Carlos PenaVega starred in the

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Hallmark Mystery (formerly known as Hallmark Movie Channel (HMC) and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (HMM)) is an American digital cable and satellite television channel owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel was spun ...

TV movie ''Picture Perfect Mysteries: Newlywed and Dead'', and in 2020 the follow-up ''Picture Perfect Mysteries: Dead over Diamonds''. She also starred in ''The Power Couple'', a Pure Flix original series.

Personal life

Vega married American film producer Sean Covel on October 10, 2010 in a ceremony held in his hometown of

Lead, South Dakota Lead ( ) is a city in Lawrence County, South Dakota, Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,982 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Lead is located in western South Dakota, in the Black Hills near the Wyom ...

walked her down the aisle. In July 2012, Vega announced on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

that she had divorced Covel. In late 2012, Vega started dating American actor and singer Carlos Pena Jr., star of

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

series ''

'' and member of

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

boy band A boy band is a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their Teenage, teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many boy bands ...

by the same name, after meeting him at a

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

study. She guest appeared in the series finale episode of ''Big Time Rush'', aired in July 2013, where she played the on-screen new girlfriend of Pena's character Carlos Garcia. The couple got engaged in August 2013, and were married on January 4, 2014 in

Puerto Vallarta Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican resort city near the Bahía de Banderas on the Pacific coast of the Mexico, Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadalajara ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, both taking PenaVega as their married name. The couple shares a YouTube channel, La Vida PenaVega (formerly LexLovesLos). The couple have three children – two sons born in December 2016 and June 2019, and a daughter born in May 2021. Vega gave birth to a

stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can often result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. T ...

daughter in April 2024. As of 2025, the family lives in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. They previously lived in

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

. Vega was the maid of honor at

Nikki Reed Nikki Reed is an American former actress and entrepreneur best known for her role as Rosalie Hale in ''The Twilight Saga (film series), The Twilight Saga'' (2008–12). Reed rose to prominence when she co-wrote and starred in the psychological ...

's wedding to Paul McDonald. Vega is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

and has said that her faith is the most important thing in her life.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Penavega, Alexa 1988 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers Actresses from California American child actresses American Christians American film actresses American people of Colombian descent American television actresses American voice actresses Hispanic and Latino American actresses Hollywood Records artists Living people YouTubers from California YouTubers from Miami