Kirsten Vangsness: Things You Never Knew About The Criminal Minds Star

Kirsten Vangsness is widely recognized for her quirky and lovable portrayal of Penelope Garcia on the hit TV show Criminal Minds. Behind the camera, however, she is an equally intriguing individual with a rich personal life and a fascinating journey in the entertainment industry. As we dive deeper into her life, we uncover not just her professional milestones but also her personal experiences and beliefs that have shaped her into the person she is today.

The actress has emphasized that her character, Garcia, is a product of collaborative creativity. She expressed in an interview with CBS, "I’m always learning new stuff about her because she is a creation born entirely from a community of people, including me." This statement highlights the dynamic nature of her role and the collaborative effort that goes into character development in television. Interestingly, Vangsness has also shared the importance of separating her own identity from that of Garcia, stating, "There is a big difference between Kirsten and Garcia." This reflects her understanding of the acting profession and the necessity of maintaining a balance between personal and professional identities.

As we explore the remarkable facets of Kirsten Vangsness's life and career, it becomes evident that she is not only a talented actress but also an advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and a passionate supporter of animal welfare. Join us as we take a closer look at the lesser-known aspects of her life, from her sexual identity to her friendships with co-stars, and discover why she continues to be a beloved figure both on and off the screen.

Biography

Table of Contents

• Shemar Moore helped her understand her sexuality
• She’s 'as queer as a purple unicorn singing Madonna'
• She was engaged to a woman
• Then she got engaged to a man
• She’s definitely a cat lady
• Her role was originally meant for someone much different
• She’s tight with Pauley Perrette
• She enlisted A-list help to save her co-stars' jobs
• She’s obsessed with Simon Le Bon and Duran Duran
• She’s BFFs with her co-stars
• Acting helped her overcome bullying
• She fought for wage parity
• She’s multi-talented

Shemar Moore helped her understand her sexuality

When Vangsness realized she wasn't attracted to universal heartthrob Adonis Shemar Moore, she had an awakening. She was, as she called it, "super queer." "Season 1 was right when I was coming out," Vangsness told the Advocate. "We got along famously and he was flirting with me and I remember thinking, 'I must be queer. I should be reacting differently to what he’s doing.'" Still, that doesn't mean she doesn't think Moore is a hunk, because, well, she has eyes. She laughed, "I believe myself when I’m flirting with Shemar."

Moore has also dished on his "chemistry" with Vangsness, making it clear that there was strictly platonic friendship, no matter how hard fans try to ship it. Though Vangsness and Moore are often spotted smooching one another on red carpets and via social media, those dating rumors are simply not true (despite the fact that he calls her "baby girl" all the time).

She’s 'as queer as a purple unicorn singing Madonna'

Vangsness has described herself as "as queer as a purple unicorn singing Madonna," but she wasn't always open about it. She came out quietly at the 2006 People's Choice Awards when she took a woman as her date. However, she made it clear to said woman that being her plus-one was more of an "arrangement" than a romantic outing.

Vangsness also discussed her relaxed views on her sexuality with People, "I guess I never understood the term of being bisexual because once I let myself come out ten or 12 years ago, I was like, 'Oh, okay I’m gay,' and I was perfectly okay with that, but then I was like, 'Wait, nothing changed in me.'" She has since used her experiences as an activist for GLSEN, GLAAD, and the Trevor Project.

She was engaged to a woman

Kirsten Vangsness dated Melanie Goldstein, an assistant editor on the TV show 24, for nearly three years before getting engaged in 2009, which was a few years before same-sex marriage became legal. At the time, Vangsness told People, "I never thought I would want to [get married]. Then when you meet the person, you’re like, 'I want to marry you. I don’t care if there’s a law against it!'"

The couple split before they made it down the aisle. "I was so in love with her, but in terms of life growth, what we were both doing separately was just pulling us apart," Vangsness shared. "Growth takes people in weird paths and all of a sudden our relationship wasn’t able to sustain what I wanted to do and in terms of what she wanted to do, so we kind of had to call it."

Then she got engaged to a man

Vangsness announced her engagement to actor and writer Keith Hanson in November 2015. "He’s the perfect partner for me and I feel like we evolve," she told People. "When you’re so into somebody and you get to just mush up next to them — that’s the best part of it." As for her sexual fluidity, she explained, "The person I’m with, I can tell you, is very, very special and the right person for me. I was not expecting it to be a guy, but everyone has his or her own intricate stories."

It looks like it’s a really long engagement, however. As of July 2018, Vangsness and Hanson have yet to take that trip down the aisle.

She’s definitely a cat lady

Vangsness loves her four-legged friends. The starlet has been a vegetarian for more than 20 years, though she admitted to sometimes "cheating" with fish, technically making her a pescatarian. Vangsness is active in numerous animal rights causes, loves posting photos of cats, and even worked as an animal feeder in a zoo before she hit it big as an actress.

Need more examples of her fondness for felines? How about this faux "Caturday" tattoo or her frequent tweets and Instagram snaps of her cats, Friggy and Gus Gus? The actress told BuzzFeed that one of the very first things she does every morning is care for the neighborhood cats. "There’s a group of fixed-and-then-released super feral cats in my hood and they have some sort of network between themselves and the local possum and raccoon community," she said. "They all collectively show up at my house for proper breakfast."

Her role was originally meant for someone much different

Vangsness told The Advocate that she only auditioned for the Garcia role in Criminal Minds as a favor to a pal, because on paper, it seemed like she didn't fit the part of the technical analyst of the Behavioral Analyst Unit, which was originally written for a Latino male. "I knew I wasn’t going to get