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Kirsten Vangsness, The Quiet One on Criminal Minds

11/10/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Born in 1972, Kirsten Vangsness is most famous for her role on the CBS television show Criminal Minds. On the show, she plays geeky Penelope Garcia, the Behavioral Analysis Unit‘s computer specialist. As a former hacker, Garcia is in charge of tracking down records regarding a variety of different criminals no matter how obscure the person or the records are. The character, of course, is very different from the actress. Recently, Vangsness announced her engagement to her long time girlfriend Melanie Goldstein, an assistant editor at the FOX show 24. The couple decided to get married in Texas even though the state does not recognize marriages between two women. This is largely due to the fact that Ms Goldstein’s family is from Texas. It is unclear if the wedding, which was announced for spring, has occurred.

Vangsness has been out since 2007, when she came out to the broader audience on a blog relating to the series.

Ms Vangsness, according to the IMDB, first broke into acting in a Dr. Pepper commercial. She later went on to other roles, of course, but had a lot of different day jobs before even then. She spent time as a child councilor, a substitute teacher, a grant writer and a murder mystery theater actress. She is a member of the NOTE theater in Los Angeles. She continues to perform there.

Now in its fifth season, Criminal Minds has had a few nail biters with Vangsness’ character Penelope Garcia. In a two part episode, Garcia was shot and almost died after a predator thought that she had stumbled upon a series of crimes that the man had been committing. In that episode, Garcia met someone who paralleled her own life in a character played by Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Nicholas Brendon.

Over all, Ms Vangsness gives the impression of a very private person. Of course, we in the LGBT Community are always happy to have one of our own who is open about their sexuality. We wish her the best in her career and in her marriage.