Alexa Ellesse Vega (born August 27, 1988) is an American actress, singer and pianist. She is best known for playing Carmen Cortez in the Spy Kids trilogy and Shilo Wallace in Repo! the Genetic Opera. In 2009, she starred as the title character Ruby Gallagher in the ABC Family series Ruby & The Rockits.
Personal background
Vega was born in Miami, Florida to a Colombian father and an American mother.1 Her sisters are actress Makenzie Vega (born February 10, 1994, starred in Saw and Sin City), Krizia Vega (born July 1, 1990) and Greylin James (born September 22, 2000), as well as two brothers named Jet James (born October 4, 2005), and Cruz Hudson (born April 24, 2009). She has one half-sister named Margaux Vega (born December 25, 1981). She lived in Florida until she was four years old when she moved with her family to California. She now lives in Los Angeles with her mother, Gina Rue (a model),2 brothers, and sisters. She enjoys freshwater fishing, can speak Spanish fluently, is an experienced gymnast, and describes herself as a Christian.3 She is engaged to producer Sean Covel.4
Career
Film and television
Vega made her first movie appearance in Little Giants, starring as the six year old daughter of Ed O'Neill. In 1996, Vega starred as young Jo Harding in Twister. She guest-starred in numerous television shows and films, including ER, Follow the Stars Home, "Ghost Whisperer", and The Bernie Mac Show. She became known worldwide in 2001 for her role as Carmen Cortez in Spy Kids. The first Spy Kids movie was a huge success, and subsequently 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 2003, she was named one of that year's hottest teen celebrities in Vanity Fair. In 2004, Vega finished filming two films: Sleepover and State's Evidence, and in the following year starred in a made-for-television drama entitled Odd Girl Out. She also filmed for another made-for-TV movie, Walkout. In June 2006, she finished filming Remember the Daze, which came out to limited theaters in April 2007. She also finished filming Repo! the Genetic Opera, which was released in 2008.5 Vega has also been confirmed as the lead role in Helix, written and directed by Aram Rappaport, which began filming in Chicago in March 2008. Vega was originally cast in Robert Rodriguez's Shorts, however, due to her being in Australia for the filming of Broken Hill, she had to be recast. She was replaced by Kat Dennings.
In 2009, she played Ruby Gallagher on the ABC Family television series Ruby & The Rockits, which also stared Patrick & David Cassidy. The series was not renewed for a second season.
Music
She recorded three songs for the soundtracks while playing Carmen Cortez in the Spy Kids films. She released her debut single, "Isle of Dreams", to coincide with the release of the second film. She also released "Game Over", for the third film. Another song, "Heart Drive" featuring Bobby W. Edner, was also recorded for Spy Kids 3. She also has recorded songs for the movie Repo! The Genetic Opera, released in 2008.
Vega is signed with Hollywood Records and working on her debut album with some songs from her show. In the songs she sings on Ruby & The Rockits she plays the piano. On June 30, 2009, her new comeback single "Lost In Your Own Life" was released to radio.6
Alexa sang the song "Christmas is the Time to Say 'I Love You'" in the ABC Family film Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe. The track appears on the compilation album Songs To Celebrate 25 Days Of Christmas, which was released on November 3, 2009 by Walt Disney Records. The music video for the song premiered during the ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas programming block in 2009.
Broadway
She made her Broadway debut in Hairspray in 2007.
Filmography
Discography
Singles
Soundtrack
Music videos
References
- ^ Vega's mother is not of Italian descent, despite reports to the contrary. In a question regarding her ancestry, Vega replied on her website's message board: "My fathers side is Colombian (bogota)... and I don't know why they said my mom was Italian. lol... She's not. My family and I were trying to figure out what my mom was, but we can only go back to 5 generations and they were all from Florida. haha. so .. Floridian? ahhah... my moms last name is French though", at "Alexa Forever". RE: Questions for Miss Alexa Vega. http://www.alexa-vega.com/forum-archive/questions-for-miss-alexa-vega.html#alexaethnicity. Retrieved 20 August 2006.
- ^ Alexa Vega Biography (1988-)
- ^ "Alexa Forever". new questions, new answers. 2005-11-18. http://www.alexa-vega.com/forum-archive/new-questions-new-answers.html#alexasreligion. Retrieved 2008-03-20. "I was not insulted on the question about my religion. I don't think it sets people aside. I think everyone on this board is mature enough to respect everyones beliefs and opinions. I am a christian to answer your question:)"
- ^ Nov. 20th story of engagement broken by HotSpringsStar.com quote=Covel managed to complete his second mission; to propose marriage to Vega. And she said, “Yes.”
- ^ Paris Hilton gets movie musical role. Retrieved August 1, 2007.
- ^ "Blog Archive » Interview with Hugh Dancy – Confessions Of A Shopaholic, Ashley Tisdale hosts Guilty Pleasure listening party, Mitchel Musso tour dates with Metro Station, Alexa Vega’s new single Lost In Your Own Life, Kristinia DeBarge new album to go by the name Exposed, Jonnie and Brookie sing Jonas, Jesse McCartney to host special afterparty". Tommy2.net. 2009-06-18. http://tommy2.net/content/?p=5704. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1436572/
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0893412/
- ^ "Tommy2.net". Tommy2.net. 2009-09-25. http://tommy2.net/content/?p=9665. Retrieved 2009-11-26.
External links