Kirsten Simone Vangsness (born July 7, 1972^[1]) is an American actress. She graduated from Cerritos High School in Cerritos, California in June 1990, and later attended Cypress College ^[2] in Cypress, California and graduated from California State University Fullerton in Fullerton, California. She is currently appearing on the CBS drama series Criminal Minds as FBI Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia. She also portrayed the same character on the spin-off, Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior.^[3]

Early life[link]

Vangsness was born in Pasadena, CA to parents Errol Leroy Vangsness (born 5 Feb. 1938 in Milwaukee, WI) and wife Barbara Mary, née Marconi (born 1 Dec. 1942 in Philadelphia, PA). Her father is of Norwegian descent with roots in Gol and Sogn.

Career[link]

She got her first big break in the theater where she won several awards, including the 15 Minutes of Female Best Actress Award, the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Best Emerging Comic Actress and the Golden Betty Award. She is also a writer, and her work has been published in the Los Angeles Times Magazine.

Personal life[link]

Vangsness describes herself as "queer as a purple unicorn singing Madonna".^[4] Her fiancée is film editor Melanie Goldstein, who Vangsness began dating in 2006, and whose credits include the television series 24.^[5][6] They intend to marry in 2013 "regardless whether it's legal or not by then".^[7][4]

References[link]

1. ^ Kirsten Vangsness (2007-07-24). "Kirstens Blog". CBS. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. http://web.archive.org/web/20071012101952/http://cbs.com/primetime/criminal_minds/blog2.php?id=10. Retrieved 2007-10-07. 
2. ^ Cypress College Public Information Office (2012-05-04). "Cypress College @Cypress Newsletter". http://cypresscollege.edu/news/@Cypress-2012-05-04.pdf. 
3. ^ "Criminal Minds' Kirsten Vangsness Joins Spin-Off as a Series Regular". TVGuide.com. http://www.tvguide.com/News/Criminal-Minds-Kirsten-Vangsness-1020701.aspx. 
4. ^ ^{a b} Anderson-Minshall, Diane (November 2011). "The Purple Unicorn". The Advocate: 42. 
5. ^ Waldon, Dave (2008-09-23). "Kirsten Vangsness Thrives on "Criminal Minds"". AfterEllen.com. http://www.afterellen.com/people/2008/9/kristen_vangsness. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
6. ^ "Untitled". Criminal Minds Fanatic. 2009-09-22. http://criminalmindsfanatic.blogspot.com/2009/09/criminal-minds-kirsten-vangsness.html. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 
7. ^ "Gay 'Criminal Minds' Star Kirsten Vangsness To Get Married In Every Country Possible". Starpulse.com. 2010-09-24. http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2010/09/24/gay_criminal_minds_star_kirsten_vangsn. Retrieved 2010-12-28. 

External links[link]

• Kirsten Vangsness Bio at CBS - Criminal Minds
• Kirsten Vangsness at the Internet Movie Database
• Kirsten Vangsness at TV Guide
• Family tree by Kirsten Vangsness' father

Jeanne Tripplehorn
Tripplehorn at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival
Born	Jeanne Marie Tripplehorn (1963-06-10) June 10, 1963 (age 49) Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1991–present
Spouse	Leland Orser (2000–present), 1 son

Jeanne Marie Tripplehorn (born June 10, 1963) is an American film and television actress. She became famous through her supporting role in the 1992 erotic thriller Basic Instinct,^[1], and went on to star in films such as The Firm (1993) and Waterworld (1995). More recently she starred opposite Bill Paxton in the HBO drama Big Love from 2006 to 2011.

Early life and education[link]

Tripplehorn was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Suzanne (née Ferguson) and Tom Tripplehorn, who was once a guitarist with Gary Lewis & the Playboys. When she was two years old her parents were divorced. She graduated from Edison High School in 1981 and spent one semester studying at Tulsa University.^[2] Tripplehorn then attended the Juilliard School's Drama Division as a member of Group 19 (1986–1990), which also included Laura Linney.^[3]

Career[link]

This section requires expansion.

Tripplehorn is best known for her roles starring opposite Michael Douglas in Basic Instinct, Tom Cruise in The Firm, and Kevin Costner in Waterworld. Tripplehorn held a leading role as Barbara Henrickson in the HBO drama Big Love, and is also remembered as Lydia in Sliding Doors.

She has also been on Broadway in Anton Chekov's Three Sisters opposite Amy Irving and Lili Taylor. Prior to this, she appeared off-Broadway in John Patrick Shanley's The Big Funk in 1990, then co-starred with Val Kilmer in a 1993 production of John Ford's 1630s play 'Tis Pity She's a Whore.

Personal life[link]

Tripplehorn was engaged to actor Ben Stiller for a time.^[1] She is now married to actor Leland Orser, and the couple have a son August Tripplehorn Orser born in 2002. Tripplehorn's grandmother, Jean Neely, appeared in the film Reality Bites, in which Tripplehorn also had a role.^[1]

Filmography[link]