Carlos Roberto PenaVega (; ; 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.

Career 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.

Awards and nominations PenaVega and his partners of Big Time Rush were honored in 2010 in the category "One to Watch" at the Young Hollywood Awards.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2011 Little Birds Louis 2012 Yak: The Giant King Krudd Voice role (English dub) 2014 Code Academy Marcos 2015 Spare Parts Oscar Vasquez 2017 Killing Hasselhoff Pedro 2018 Sleep Away Joaquin 2020 Mighty Oak Pedro 2021 The Loud House MovieBobby SantiagoVoice role2024The Casagrandes MovieBobby Santiago, Flat Arturo

Television Year Title Role Notes 2004 ER Arlo Escobar Episode: "Shot in the Dark" 2004–2005 Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide King Bee Recurring role (season 1) 2005 Judging Amy Diego Valdesera Episode: "Diego Valdesera" Summerland Student Episode: "Sledgehammer" 2009–2013 Big Time Rush Carlos Garcia Main role (as Carlos Pena Jr.); director: "Big Time Tour Bus" 2011 Hand aufs HerzHimself Episode: "August 11, 2011" Nick News Episode: "Lies We Tell In Middle School" 2012 Big Time Movie Carlos Garcia Television film How to Rock Himself Episode: "How to Rock an Election" Cupcake Wars Guest judge Episode: "Big Time Rush" 2012–2013 Figure It OutHimself Panelist 2013 Marvin Marvin Episode: "Big Time Marvin" 2014–2015 Webheads Host 2015 Dancing with the Stars Contestant (season 21) The Thundermans Tech Rider Episode: "No Country for Old Mentors" The Penguins of Madagascar Carlos the Beaver Episode: "Tunnel of Love" Instant Mom Roger Episode: "Turning a Blind Eye" 2016 Grease: Live Kenickie Television special 2016–present The Loud House Bobby Santiago, Boys Will Be Boyz, additional voices Recurring voice role 2017 Enchanted Christmas Ricardo Archuleta Television film (Hallmark) 2018 Love at Sea Tony Rieves Television film (Hallmark) A Midnight Kiss David Campos Television film (Hallmark) Life Sentence Diego Main role 2019Picture Perfect Mysteries: Newlywed and Dead Detective Sam Acosta Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) 2019–2022 The Casagrandes Bobby Santiago, Ronnie Anne Lookalike, additional voices Main voice role 2020 Blue's Clues & You! Himself Episode "Happy Birthday, Blue!"Picture Perfect Mysteries: Dead Over DiamondsDetective Sam AcostaTelevision film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries)Picture Perfect Mysteries: Exit, Stage Death 2021 The Loud House Mega Music Countdown Himself Host 2022 Love in the Limelight Nick Mendez Television film (Hallmark) 2025 A Week Away: The Series Jeremy Angel Studios series

Discography Singles + List of singles, with selected chart positions Title Year Peak chart positions Album US "Electrico" 2014 17 rowspan=2 "Bésame"(featuring MAFFiO) 2017 — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Other appearances Title Year Other(s) artist(s) Album "Principio Y Fin" 2015 Evan Craft Principio Y Fin "Summer Nights" 2016 Grease: Live cast Grease: Live "We Go Together" "Greased Lightnin' Aaron Tveit

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