By  Published Jun 2, 2026, 5:00 PM EDT Zach Moser is a Philadelphia native who writes about film and television news. Zach has been published in Points In Case, Business Insider, Slackjaw, ROCA Travel, and McSweeney's Internet Tendency. follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap

Summary

• Vangsness fought for fair pay on Criminal Minds, increasing her net worth to $3 million.
• Cancer sign Kirsten Vangsness also writes for the show and is a playwright.
• Vangsness hosts a popular YouTube channel with social media earnings contributing to her wealth.

A major role on the long-running Criminal Minds ,as well as a career performing and writing, has earned Kirsten Vangsness a very respectable net worth. Kirsten Vangsness is probably best known for playing , the technical analyst at the BAU, and a flamboyant and free-spirited member of the team who's always ready with a joke or a shoulder to cry on. Nearly , Penelope became a fan favorite on the show, appearing in Criminal Minds: Suspect Behaviors and Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders as well.

Vangsness has also appeared in other television shows, most notably, LAX as Stephanie and Pretty the Series as Meredith Champagne. In film, the actor has had parts in Kill Me, Deadly as Mona Livingston, Axis as the voice of Heather, and Dave Made a Maze as Jane. Vangsness has been engaged twice, first to Melanie Goldstein until 2013, via , then to actor/writer Keith Hanson in 2015, via . Although Vangsness has been previously quoted as saying that she did not identify as bisexual, in more recent posts, she has come out as a proud queer bisexual woman.

Related

Gia Mantegna is the daughter of Criminal Minds star Joe Mantegna, and she also appeared on the police procedural for a short but memorable unsub arc.

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Kirsten Vangsness' Net Worth Is At Least 3 Million

Vangsness Fought For Her Money On Criminal Minds

According to , Kirsten Vangsness has a net worth of $3 million. It's unknown exactly how much Vangsness earned per episode of Criminal Minds, but in 2013, Vangsness and her female co-star A.J. Cook took a stand for more pay to better match their male co-stars, via . Then in 2017, they had a similar fight, threatening to walk. Seeing as neither did end up going, it's possible they once again earned a substantial pay bump.

Criminal Minds co-star Joe Mantegna earned an average of $130,000/episode, via .

Vangsness also has a popular channel and an following of over 1.4 million people. Her television and movie roles have been small and likely not substantially profitable compared to Criminal Minds, but advertising money on her social media and podcast/YouTube channel could be quite large, contributing to her $3 million net worth.

Kirsten Vangsness' Age & Height

Vangsness Is A Cancer

Kirsten Vangsness is listed as 5' 7" on and 5' 6" on , putting her somewhere in the middle of those two. She was born on July 7, 1972, and, so, is 51 in June 2026. This July 7 birthday means her zodiac sign is Cancer, a water sign represented by a crab.

Cancers are highly sensitive to their environments and very self-protective, self-protective like someone threatening to walk from a show unless they receive fair pay.

Cancers are highly sensitive to their environments and very self-protective, self-protective like someone threatening to walk from a show unless they receive fair pay. These signs also enjoy personal sanctuaries and make great hosts. As someone who hosts a YouTube channel from the confines of a cozy-looking room, this description is quite accurate.

Kirsten Vangsness Has Written Episodes Of Criminal Minds

Vangsness Is Also A Playwright

Joe Mantegna as Rossi, Kirsten Vangsness as Garcia, and Paget Brewster as Prentiss in Criminal Minds: Evolution

As well as being an actor, Kirsten is a talented writer. She's even written five episodes of Criminal Minds and a short film, Curtains, in 2026. She also wrote a play, Cleo, Theo & Wu, which premiered at in 2018, a theater in Los Angeles, California. CTW, as she referred to it, was reviewed in the .

Criminal Minds Episodes Written by Kirsten Vangsness

Episode

Title

Air Date

S10 E13

Nelson's Sparrow

Jan 28, 2015

S11 E18

A Beautiful Disaster

Mar 23, 2016

S12 E13

Spencer

Feb 15, 2017

S13 E11

Full-Tilt Boogie

Jan 10, 2018

S15 E10

And in the End

Feb 19, 2026

As mentioned, Kirsten also hosts her YouTube channel, Kirsten's Agenda w/ Me, Kirsten where she speaks with guests, talks about what's on her mind, and goes over the news of the day. Kirsten Vangsness is a busy woman who seems to enjoy having as many plates spinning as possible.

123 8.6/10 8/10 10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-MA Release Date September 22, 2005 Network , Paramount+ Showrunner Erica Messer Directors Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Rob Bailey, Matthew Gray Gubler, Joe Mantegna, John Gallagher, Douglas Aarniokoski, Guy Norman Bee, Larry Teng, Nelson McCormick, Alec Smight, Charles S. Carroll, Rob Spera, Charles Haid, Diana Valentine, Rob Hardy, Tawnia McKiernan, Bethany Rooney, Karen Gaviola, Sharat Raju, Thomas Gibson, , Anna Foerster, Gloria Muzio, John Terlesky Writers Bruce Zimmerman, Virgil Williams, Edward Allen Bernero, Janine Sherman Barrois, Chris Mundy, Simon Mirren, Debra J. Fisher, Kimberly A. Harrison, Jay Beattie, Dan Dworkin, Karen Maser, Oanh Ly, Stephanie Sengupta, Aaron Zelman, Kirsten Vangsness, Erica Meredith, Andi Bushell, Holly Harold, Alicia Kirk, Jeff Davis, Randy Huggins, Edward Napier, Jayne A. Archer, Chikodili Agwuna Franchise(s)

Cast

• Kirsten Vangsness Penelope Garcia
• Matthew Gray Gubler Dr. Spencer Reid

Criminal Minds follows an elite team of FBI profilers from the Behavioral Analysis Unit as they analyze the nation's most complex criminal minds, led by experienced agent David Rossi.

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