Carlos PenaVega

Biography

Carlos Roberto PenaVega (né Pena Jr.; Spanish: Peña; born August 15, 1989) is an American actor and singer. He starred on the Nickelodeon series Big Time Rush as Carlos García, and is a member of the namesake group Big Time Rush. He was also the host of the network's game show Webheads. He currently voices Bobby Santiago in The Loud House franchise.

Early life

PenaVega was born on August 15, 1989, in Columbia, Missouri. His father is of Spanish and Venezuelan descent, and his mother is Dominican. He was raised in Weston, Florida. He attended Sagemont Upper School where he was a cheerleader. He appeared in local productions of Grease and Man of La Mancha. He also had a role in a production of Titanic by the American Heritage School, which he attended before moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. During his run in Titanic he fell in love with singing and dancing.

2004–2013: Career beginning and Big Time Rush

His first acting role was a guest star at the age of 15 on ER, followed later that year by guest-starring roles on Judging Amy, Summerland, and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. While still in high school, PenaVega appeared in television commercials for the Super Soaker brand recreational water gun, and his image even appeared on the toy's packaging. PenaVega was studying musical theater at the Boston Conservatory when his manager urged him to audition for Big Time Rush. Although he was reluctant to do so, he submitted an audition tape and won the role almost two years later. PenaVega moved to Hollywood in August 2009, The show had four seasons and was one of the most popular shows on Nickelodeon.
Big Time Rush is an American pop boy band that formed in 2009. The band consists of PenaVega, Kendall Schmidt, James Maslow, and Logan Henderson, all on vocals. PenaVega co-wrote the song "Oh Yeah" off of the group's first album, BTR. On the second album, he wrote "Invisible" along with Charley Greenberg, Cody Williams, Daniel Andrew Wayne and J.R. Rotem. As of 2011, the band has released two albums, BTR and Elevate. They later released their third album, 24/Seven. He co-wrote "Picture This" with bandmate, James Maslow. PenaVega wrote "Lost in Love" for his wife, Alexa PenaVega. He also wrote the song "Na Na Na" on 24/Seven. In addition, BTR embarked on the Summer Break Tour, in support of the album.

2014–2017: Solo career

He released his first solo single in Spanish on February 4, 2014, titled "Electrico". The song charted in the top 10 of the Latin iTunes songs charts. He was presented for the first time at the first annual Nickelodeon Colombia Kids' Choice Awards given in Bogotá. PenaVega competed on the 21st season of Dancing with the Stars in Fall 2015. His wife was also a contestant that season. His professional partner was Witney Carson. PenaVega and Carson reached the finals but were eliminated on the week's performance night and ended the competition in fourth place. In 2017 he released the single "Bésame" featuring MAFFiO.

2017–present: Hallmark, BTR Reunion & Book, ANGELS + KINGS

In 2017 he starred alongside his wife in the Hallmark movie Enchanted Christmas and alongside Adelaide Kane in A Midnight Kiss. In 2018 he starred alongside his wife again in the Hallmark movie Love at Sea. He was a series regular in the one season CW series Life Sentence. In 2019 PenaVega and his wife starred in the Hallmark movie series Picture Perfect Mysteries.
In 2021 Big Time Rush announced they would be reuniting for shows in New York and Chicago. The band also made an appearance at several Jingle Ball concerts in December 2021. In 2022 they announced the Forever Tour that would take them around the U.S. and Mexico. His family has traveled on the tour with him.
Carlos and Alexa PenaVega released a book in 2022 called What If Love is the Point.
On October 4, 2024, Carlos announced via Instagram his new band (in addition to BTR) Angels + Kings with friend Alex Marshall. The bands first song "Lightning" came out on October 25, 2024.

Personal life

In 2012, PenaVega began dating American actress Alexa Vega after meeting her at a Bible study. She made a guest appearance on the final episode of Big Time Rush, playing the on-screen new girlfriend of his character. The couple became engaged in August 2013, and were married on January 4, 2014, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, both taking PenaVega as their married name. They are both devout Christians.
The couple shares a YouTube channel, La Vida PenaVega (formerly LexLovesLos). The couple have three children, two sons born in 2016 and 2019, and a daughter born in 2021. The couple announced in November 2023 that they were expecting their fourth child; in April 2024, Alexa gave birth to a stillborn daughter. In 2023, the couple moved to Nashville, Tennessee after having lived in Maui since 2017.