Kirsten Vangsness has had various roles in both theater and television, but her most famous role is Penelope Garcia in “Criminal Minds.” The actress who likes to spend her free time reading, making soup, partying or writing her journal has carved a successful career out of an audition in which she never believed she would book the role. Her start was not that glamorous; she was a starving artist working as a substitute teacher, in theaters as well as at a nature center. She is currently worth $3 million thanks to her taking a risk. Here are a few more facts about Kirsten you might be interested to know.
1. She began theater as a child
Kirsten now loves being in the theater, whether she is in a play or writing one. Her love for drama began when she was a child, thanks to her father being involved in theater too. Kirsten’s father always played the lead while Kirsten barely spoke a word. The actress’s older sister would play a young girl while Kirsten played an old lady in the background; hence there was no need for her to speak much. The role of an elderly woman was probably because, as Kirsten admits, she looked weird and was constantly ridiculed by her peers.
2. She did not talk to anyone in her entire eighth grade
Kirsten revealed to Long Island Weekly that she was painfully shy as a child. Her shy nature ensured that when she got to eighth grade, she spent the entire year never speaking a word to anyone hence failed in class miserably. Her mother, however, wanted Kirsten to be a bit more confident, thus suggested she should take up drama. In high school, Kirsten enrolled in drama, and the first two assignments did not require them to speak. With her ability to be silent, Kirsten got an A and imagined that she could make a career out of it.
3. She created her character, Penelope Garcia
Once you create something, it is only natural that you hold it close to your heart, and that is what Kirsten did with her Penelope character. When she started her act on “Criminal Minds,” there was no wardrobe that catered to Penelope; hence Kirsten had to bring her own clothes. Unfortunately, the producers were expecting Kirsten to dress Penelope up with formal wear which she did not have; hence they make-did with what the actress wore. Furthermore, Penelope’s workstation was empty, but Kirsten filled it up with whatever she thought Penelope would like; first on the list was a candy dish that belonged to Kirsten’s grandmother.
4. She and Shemar Moore hit it off immediately they met on the set of “Criminal Minds.”
Kirsten believes that the speed at which she and Shemar connected was proof that they knew each other in another lifetime. In the first episode, she only talks to him on the phone, but they got to meet as they did the table read for the second episode, which was about sexual harassment. They began joking in what would be considered as sexually harassing each other and to her surprise what they said became the script for the filming of the scene. The liking they had for each other was not just for show because Shemar supports Kirsten in her theatric endeavors by going to watch her plays and always sits on the front row.
5. She knew she was bisexual in high school
Kirsten was not sure about her sexuality until in high school when she found herself crushing on a guy called Ben and then secretly being in love with a girl named Amy. By then she did not know what to make of her feelings until when she turned 30 and thought she had found her soulmate in Meanie Goldstein. The two even got engaged but later broke up, and Kirsten got engaged to Keith Hanson in 2015. However, she still does not identify as bisexual since coming out.
6. She was supposed to be in only one episode of “Criminal Minds.”
It is strange the lack of faith people have in their abilities, yet Kirsten auditioned for the role of Penelope without thinking she would get it. She however did, and her character had only two lines; therefore, even production did not bother with her wardrobe. Kirsten became a fan favorite with her two lines, and she went on to be included in the second episode until the series’ finale.
7. Writing the season finale of “Criminal Minds” was frustrating for her
Kirsten enjoys writing and was given a chance to put her passion into practice by co-writing a few episodes of the series. In her interview with Parade, Kirsten said she found it hard writing a regular episode. However, the final episode was exciting as they wrapped up the season. She got to co-write after Erica requested her to, but even if Kirsten were offered the chance to direct, she would have turned it down; she is not comfortable telling people what to do.
8. She has been in at least two plays per year since she was 13
The actress knew from the time that she got an A in a drama class that she would be in theater. However, since she already was aware that she was shy, she never expected to turn it into a profitable career. Truth be told Kirsten knew she would never make a coin from acting and thought that she would forever live on cat food. Her determination saw her get involved in two plays at least every year. She never was paid for writing plays but was happy that it was her craft and it could never be taken away from her.
9. She is a businesswoman
In 2016, Kirsten became a business partner of a distillery, Blinking Owl Distillery, based in Santa Ana. The business was founded by two of her friends, and the actress refers to it as her favorite side project. Therefore in her free time, Kirsten likes to visit it during the weekends where she washes dishes, hangs out and enjoys seeing everyone having a good time.
10. She does not mind being pigeonholed for her Penelope role
Most actors will avoid playing a character they have ever played before so that they are not pigeonholed but not Kirsten. She got comfortable playing Penelope. Consequently, even if she got to play the queer character for life, she told Pride she would not mind. The funny thing is that being on the series was purely by accident because Kirsten only went to audition as a favor to her friend who never thought she would get the part.
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