Carlos Roberto PenaVega (; born August 15, 1989) is an American actor and singer. He starred on the

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 ''

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 ...

'' as Carlos García, and is a member of the group

. He was also the host of the network's game show '' Webheads''. He currently voices Bobby Santiago in ''The Loud House'' franchise.

Early life

PenaVega was born on August 15, 1989, in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

. His father is of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and

Venezuelan Venezuelans (Spanish language, Spanish: ''venezolanos'') are the Citizenship, citizens identified with the country of Venezuela. This connection may be through citizenship, descent or cultural. For most Venezuelans, many or all of these connect ...

descent, and his mother is Dominican. He was raised in

Weston, Florida Weston is a master-planned City (Florida), city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County, Florida, United States. The population was 68,107 at the time of the 2020 census. Located just west of Fort Lauderdale and to the northwest of Miami, th ...

. He attended Sagemont Upper School where he was a cheerleader. He appeared in local productions of '' Grease'' and ''

Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay '' I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervan ...

''. He also had a role in a production of ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'' by the American Heritage School, which he attended before moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. During his run in ''Titanic'' he fell in love with singing and dancing.

Career

2004–2013: Career beginning and Big Time Rush

His first acting role was a guest star at the age of 15 on '' ER'', followed later that year by guest-starring roles on ''

Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This television series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves ...

'', '' Summerland'', and ''

Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide ''Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide'' (sometimes shortened to ''Ned's Declassified'') is an American live action sitcom on Nickelodeon that debuted on the Nickelodeon Sunday night TEENick scheduling block on September 12, 2004. The serie ...

''. While still in high school, PenaVega appeared in television commercials for the

Super Soaker Super Soaker is an American brand of recreational water gun that uses manually-pressurized air to shoot water with greater power, range, and accuracy than conventional squirt pistols. The Super Soaker was invented in 1989 by engineer Lonnie John ...

brand recreational

water gun A water gun (or water pistol, water blaster, or squirt gun) is a type of toy gun designed to shoot jets of water. Similar to water balloons, the primary purpose of the toy is to soak another person in a recreational game such as a water figh ...

, and his image even appeared on the toy's packaging. PenaVega was studying musical theater at the

Boston Conservatory Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founded o ...

when his manager urged him to audition for ''Big Time Rush''. Although he was reluctant to do so, he submitted an audition tape and won the role almost two years later. PenaVega moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

in August 2009, The show had four seasons and was one of the most popular shows on

is an American pop boy band that formed in 2009. The band consists of PenaVega,

Kendall Schmidt Kendall Francis Schmidt (born November 2, 1990) is an American singer, songwriter, music producer and actor. He played Kendall Knight in '' Big Time Rush'', participated in a boy band with the same name, and has had small roles on TV shows such as ...

James Maslow James David Maslow (born July 16, 1990) is an American actor, singer, dancer and model. He played the role of James Diamond on Nickelodeon's ''Big Time Rush'', had roles in ''The Frozen Ground'' and '' Seeds of Yesterday'', and is a member of the ...

, and Logan Henderson, all on vocals. PenaVega co-wrote the song "Oh Yeah" off of the group's first album,

BTR BTR may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * B.T.R. (band), a Bulgarian rock band * Bad Trip Records, an American record label * Beyond Therapy Records, an American industrial music record label * Big Tent Revival, a Christian rock band * Big T ...

. On the second album, he wrote "Invisible" along with Charley Greenberg, Cody Williams, Daniel Andrew Wayne and J.R. Rotem. As of 2011, the band has released two albums,

and Elevate. They later released their third album, 24/Seven. He co-wrote "Picture This" with bandmate, James Maslow. PenaVega wrote "Lost in Love" for his wife,

Alexa PenaVega 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 cha ...

. He also wrote the song "Na Na Na" on '' 24/Seven''. In addition, BTR embarked on the Summer Break Tour, in support of the album.

2014–2017: Solo career

He released his first solo single in Spanish on February 4, 2014, titled "Electrico". The song charted in the top 10 of the Latin iTunes songs charts. He was presented for the first time at the first annual

Nickelodeon Colombia Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Colombia was the Colombian edition of Nickelodeon's Kids Choice Awards, held in Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa ...

given in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

. PenaVega 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) ...

'' in Fall 2015. His wife was also a contestant that season. His professional partner was

Witney Carson Witney Capri Carson McAllister (née Carson; born October 17, 1993) is an American professional Latin dance, Latin ballroom dancer and choreographer. She first gained attention in 2012, when the then-18-year-old as the last female contestant in ...

. PenaVega and Carson reached the finals but were eliminated on the week's performance night and ended the competition in fourth place. In 2017 he released the single Bésame featuring MAFFiO.

2017–present: Hallmark, BTR Reunion & Book, ANGELS + KINGS

In 2017 he starred alongside his wife in the Hallmark movie ''Enchanted Christmas'' and alongside Adelaide Kane in ''A Midnight Kiss''. In 2018 he starred alongside his wife again in the Hallmark movie ''Love at Sea.'' He was a series regular in the one season CW series ''Life Sentence.'' In 2019 PenaVega and his wife starred in the Hallmark movie series ''Picture Perfect Mysteries''. In 2021 Big Time Rush announced they would be reuniting for shows in New York and Chicago. The band also made an appearance at several Jingle Ball concerts in December 2021. In 2022 they announced the Forever Tour that would take them around the U.S. and Mexico. His family has travelled on the tour with him. Carlos and Alexa PenaVega released a book in 2022 called ''What If Love is the Point.'' On October 4, 2024, Carlos announced via Instagram his new band (in addition to BTR) ANGELS + KINGS with friend Alex Marshall. The bands first song 'Lightning' came out on October 25, 2024.

Personal life

In 2012, PenaVega began dating American actress

Alexa Vega 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 cha ...

after meeting her at a Bible study. She guest appeared in the series finale episode of ''Big Time Rush'', where she played the on-screen new girlfriend of his character. The couple became 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, both taking PenaVega as their married name. They are both devout Christians. 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 respectively, and a daughter born in May 2021. The couple announced in November 2023 that they were expecting their fourth child; in April 2024, Alexa 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 2023, the couple moved to

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 ...

after having 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 ...

since 2017.

Awards and nominations

PenaVega and his partners of

were honored in 2010 in the category "One to Watch" at the

Young Hollywood Awards The Young Hollywood Awards were awards presented annually which honored the year's biggest achievements in pop music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, as voted on by teenagers aged 13–19 and young adults. The award ceremonies also h ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Singles

Other appearances

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:PenaVega, Carlos 1989 births Living people American male child actors American child singers American male television actors American game show hosts American baritones Male actors from Florida American Christians Hispanic and Latino American singers Big Time Rush (band) members American people of Dominican Republic descent American people of Venezuelan descent American people of Spanish descent Nickelodeon people People from Weston, Florida Male actors from Missouri 21st-century American male actors Hispanic and Latino American male actors Actors from Columbia, Missouri Singers from Columbia, Missouri 21st-century American singers American Heritage School (Florida) alumni YouTubers from Missouri YouTubers from Florida