In 2001, a 12-year-old Alexa PenaVega strapped on a jetpack, outsmarted villains, and became Carmen Cortez in Robert Rodriguez’s Spy Kids. Now, 23 years later, she’s 36, a mom of three, a producer, an author-in-progress, and still very much in action mode, just with fewer exploding gadgets now.
If you grew up watching Spy Kids, you probably remember the wild sets and those unforgettable missions alongside Daryl Sabara, Antonio Banderas, and Carla Gugino. PenaVega hasn’t forgotten either. “The sets were magical. They were magical. Everything was practical because they built it out,” she recalled. “The safe house was built out. Floop’s castle was built out…every day on the set of Spy Kids was just a kid’s dream.”
These days, her adventures look very different. In a recent interview with Parade, she opened up about working “behind the scenes with” World Vision, “an organization that [she] really, really love[s],” for “the last couple of years.” She added, “They do beyond what we could even imagine. They give all around the world, right here in local communities as well.”
Instead of buying more toys during the holidays, she’s been flipping through the charity’s gift catalog with her kids, Ocean, 8, Kingston, 5, and Rio, 3. “If you open it up, you can give gifts like goats and chickens and ducks. And it’s really fun,” she said. When her kids ask what a goat does, she explains how it provides milk and cheese, and how families can sell those goods to become self-sustaining. Their response? “Whoa, that’s so cool!”
Her passion for serving started young. “I loved serving. I loved volunteering,” she said, crediting her mom. Now she and husband Carlos PenaVega take their children along to help after disasters, teaching them that compassion isn’t just a word you post online.
Professionally, she’s really busy too. She confirmed, “I will have a couple of books coming out,” including a children’s book and one co-written with Carlos. They’ve also launched a vitamin brand called Good Things and are rolling out a kids gummy soon. And for Spy Kids fans? “Some cool stuff is coming. So get ready,” she says.
Not every chapter has been easy, however. In April 2024, Alexa and Carlos lost their daughter, Indy, to stillbirth. Reflecting on her grief, she shared James 1:2-4 on her Instagram and said, “When we experienced the loss of a child, we felt really equipped and honored and loved by God in that season.” On Indy’s anniversary, she remembered holding her daughter as “the most painful moment” of her life, yet also described “a supernatural peace.”
From secret-agent stunts to producing 2024’s Get Him Back for Christmas for Great American Family, which she created “from the ground up,” Alexa PenaVega keeps building.
Different mission, sure. But same courage.
