Alexa Vega Biography

ALEXA VEGA

Date of Birth: August 27, 1988

Alexa Vega moved with her family to California from her birthplace of Miami, Florida when she was four years old. Her mother began working for an acting agency and soon after, sent Alexa to her first audition. It was for a television series called Evening Shade, and the five-year-old won the recurring role of Emily Newton. When the series was cancelled, she immediately landed a small role in the kids' flick Little Giants (1994), followed by a larger role in Nine Months(1995). She also made guest appearances on the hit television shows E.R. and Chicago Hope that year.

In 1996, although she was almost eight years old, the tiny blonde played the five-year-old version of Helen Hunt's character, JoAnne, in the blockbuster, Twister. Roles followed in other major features such as The Glimmer Man (1996), playing Steven Seagal's daughter, and Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) alongside Alec Baldwin. In 1996 she returned to the small screen with a recurring role on the short-lived series Life's Work, for which she received an NCLR Bravo Award nomination. In 1998, she donned a bonnet and dress for a guest shot in the western television series The Magnificent Seven, followed by a small part in the kids' video Dennis the Menace Strikes Again (1998) and a role as Michelle Pfeiffer's youngest child in the tearjerker The Deep End of the Ocean(1999).

Vega returned again to series television with a starring role in Ladies Man. While on hiatus from the show, Vega managed to fit in another starring role in the family film Run The Wild Fields (2000), shot in Canada. When Ladies Man was cancelled in 2001, Vega was chosen to play Carmen Cortez in the blockbuster film, Spy Kids (2001). Her blonde hair was died dark brown for the role. Before the film was released, she made an appearance in a TV movie called Follow the Stars Home(2001). The quiet drama was a huge contrast from the action-filled Spy Kids and gave her a wonderful opportunity to stretch her acting ability, playing a compassionate girl who befriends a disabled younger girl. Shortly after Spy Kids opened, it was announced that the film would be the first in a trilogy because of its enormous success at the box office, and two more Spy Kid films followed in 2002 and 2003.

She's since played starring roles in films such as Sleepover (2004), Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008) with Paris Hilton and From Prada to Nada, co-starring Camilla Belle.

Vega has received numerous accolades for her roles, including a YoungStar Award nomination for her role in Ladies Man, and five nominations for Young Artist Awards, including one for her role in Spy Kids.

Vega has three younger sisters—Greylin (b.2001), Krizia (b.1991), and Makenzie (b.1994), who is also a television and film actress. On October 10, 2010, she married producer Sean Covel, over 12 years her senior. They separated in March 2012 and fourth months later, she filed for divorce.