Penelope Garcia
Encyclopedia
Penelope Garcia is a fictional character
on the CBS crime dramas Criminal Minds
and its short-lived spin-off Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
, portrayed by Kirsten Vangsness
. She is the Computer Technician of the Behavioral Analysis Unit
that is the center of both shows.
and went "underground" but continued to teach herself computer coding. She had been placed on one of the FBI's hacker lists (she was one of a small handful of extremely useful or dangerous hackers in the world), and they recruited her from there. It has also been mentioned, when she was not allowed to travel with the team to Langley
, that she was on the CIA's "lists" as well. JJ joked that Garcia belonged to that list when she (unsuccessfully) tried to hack the CIA for information on Diana, Princess of Wales
' death and other government conspiracies (namely, Prince William's phone number).
Penelope is into online games, specifically MMOG
s, as she was once seen playing a game about Camelot on the BAU network, constantly virtually meeting with "Sir Kneighf", an online alter ego who turns out to be Randall Garner, who is keeping a young woman prisoner while sending the team several clues that, with tremendous help from Reid, they use to catch him and save the woman. Garner hacked into Garcia's computer and accessed files about the BAU, then used the personal information to find out their whereabouts so he could send the clues there. Hotch states at one point that when Garcia applied for her position, she submitted her resume on "pink, homemade stationary."
She is afraid of clowns, stating in "The Angel Maker" that when she was 12, a hobo clown groped her breasts at a party while making an "old timey honking noise."
, who often initiates flirtatious banter, which Garcia seems to enjoy. However, this banter has placed her in some awkward situations, such as when she opens up a phone conversation with a funny inappropriate comment, thinking it Morgan, and it turns out to be a superior or speakerphone. Although they haven't pursued a romantic relationship, Garcia has shown mild jealousy, e.g. at Morgan dancing with other women. She has cried twice when she thought Morgan was dead, and he has in turn had strong reactions when Garcia is in harm's way.
).
Garcia seems to have been the one most hurt by JJ transferring out of the Behavioral Analysis Unit, and in 6x4 "Compromising Positions", Garcia opted to replace JJ as their new Media Liaison.
She was also emotional in the episode "Lauren" when Prentiss is stabbed by her nemesis, Ian Doyle. JJ joins the team waiting in the hospital lounge for results to inform them that Prentiss "never made it off the table." We see that Garcia can tell the news is not good by the look on JJ's face. In the episode "Hanley Waters", she is interviewed by Hotch about Prentiss' "apparent death" and says she wants to talk about the times when Prentiss made her happy instead of about her being gone.
Garcia is extremely and emotionally excited when she learns that Prentiss is alive and shocked when she returns. She's also quick to forgive her, JJ, and Hotch for the deception. It is also revealed that she has been taking care of Emily's cat, Sergio, and when Emily inquires about him, Garcia states she wants visitation rights.
as a series regular. The show was cancelled due to low ratings.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the CBS crime dramas Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds
Criminal Minds is an American police procedural drama that premiered September 22, 2005, on CBS. The series follows a team of profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit based in Quantico, Virginia. The BAU is part of the FBI National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime...
and its short-lived spin-off Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior was an American police procedural drama on CBS. The show debuted in 2011 as a spin-off from the successful Criminal Minds, which premiered in 2005. This edition's profiling team also works for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Behavioral Analysis Unit in...
, portrayed by Kirsten Vangsness
Kirsten Vangsness
Kirsten Simone Vangsness is an American actress. She graduated from Cerritos High School in Cerritos, California in June 1990. She is currently appearing on the CBS drama series Criminal Minds as FBI Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia...
. She is the Computer Technician of the Behavioral Analysis Unit
Behavioral Analysis Unit
The Behavioral Analysis Unit is a component of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime that uses behavioral sciences to assist in criminal investigations...
that is the center of both shows.
Life before the BAU
Her parents died in an auto accident due to a drunk driver when she was eighteen, and she now helps counsel the families of murder victims in her spare time. Garcia has stated that after her parents died, she dropped out of CaltechCalifornia Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
and went "underground" but continued to teach herself computer coding. She had been placed on one of the FBI's hacker lists (she was one of a small handful of extremely useful or dangerous hackers in the world), and they recruited her from there. It has also been mentioned, when she was not allowed to travel with the team to Langley
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, that she was on the CIA's "lists" as well. JJ joked that Garcia belonged to that list when she (unsuccessfully) tried to hack the CIA for information on Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
' death and other government conspiracies (namely, Prince William's phone number).
Penelope is into online games, specifically MMOG
Massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games played on...
s, as she was once seen playing a game about Camelot on the BAU network, constantly virtually meeting with "Sir Kneighf", an online alter ego who turns out to be Randall Garner, who is keeping a young woman prisoner while sending the team several clues that, with tremendous help from Reid, they use to catch him and save the woman. Garner hacked into Garcia's computer and accessed files about the BAU, then used the personal information to find out their whereabouts so he could send the clues there. Hotch states at one point that when Garcia applied for her position, she submitted her resume on "pink, homemade stationary."
She is afraid of clowns, stating in "The Angel Maker" that when she was 12, a hobo clown groped her breasts at a party while making an "old timey honking noise."
Personality
She is flamboyant, fun-loving, and provides the rest of the team with comic relief. She is very confident in her ability to find answers, and often answers her office phone with a know-it-all, yet joking, attitude (e.g. 'The Office of Unmitigated Superiority', or similar). This self-confidence is fed by MorganDerek Morgan (Criminal Minds)
Derek Morgan is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds, portrayed by Shemar Moore. Morgan specializes in fixations and obsessive behaviors.- Background :...
, who often initiates flirtatious banter, which Garcia seems to enjoy. However, this banter has placed her in some awkward situations, such as when she opens up a phone conversation with a funny inappropriate comment, thinking it Morgan, and it turns out to be a superior or speakerphone. Although they haven't pursued a romantic relationship, Garcia has shown mild jealousy, e.g. at Morgan dancing with other women. She has cried twice when she thought Morgan was dead, and he has in turn had strong reactions when Garcia is in harm's way.
Criminal Minds
Garcia is unabashedly emotional, which sometimes makes her job with the BAU more difficult. She has broken down, crying several times while listening to and watching terrifying things in her office as she analyzes them for the team. However, according to Agent Hotchner, she "fills her office with figurines and color to remind herself to smile as the horror fills her screens." Garcia is, on the whole, an optimist. She has managed to remain so, even though the job occasionally requires her to dig into people's secret lives, to "find the god-awful thing that happened to them that made them do the god-awful thing to someone else." Many team members have commented in various ways, that her optimism is an aid to them, that (as Hotch said) they would never want her to change. He once commented to Prentiss, after contacting Garcia during a case, "Remind me to have her drug tested," indicating her optimism could even be too much at times. Garcia was once shot by a man with whom she had just gone on a date, but she survived the gunshot when the bullet missed her heart and ricocheted into her stomach. The attacker was later caught. After this incident, Morgan insisted she keep a gun; however, it is never shown whether she took this advice. She is currently romantically involved with fellow FBI Technical Analyst Kevin Lynch (played by Nicholas BrendonNicholas Brendon
Nicholas Brendon , is an actor best known for his character Xander Harris in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer .-Early life:...
).
Garcia seems to have been the one most hurt by JJ transferring out of the Behavioral Analysis Unit, and in 6x4 "Compromising Positions", Garcia opted to replace JJ as their new Media Liaison.
She was also emotional in the episode "Lauren" when Prentiss is stabbed by her nemesis, Ian Doyle. JJ joins the team waiting in the hospital lounge for results to inform them that Prentiss "never made it off the table." We see that Garcia can tell the news is not good by the look on JJ's face. In the episode "Hanley Waters", she is interviewed by Hotch about Prentiss' "apparent death" and says she wants to talk about the times when Prentiss made her happy instead of about her being gone.
Garcia is extremely and emotionally excited when she learns that Prentiss is alive and shocked when she returns. She's also quick to forgive her, JJ, and Hotch for the deception. It is also revealed that she has been taking care of Emily's cat, Sergio, and when Emily inquires about him, Garcia states she wants visitation rights.
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
Garcia also appeared in the spin-off Criminal Minds: Suspect BehaviorCriminal Minds: Suspect Behavior
Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior was an American police procedural drama on CBS. The show debuted in 2011 as a spin-off from the successful Criminal Minds, which premiered in 2005. This edition's profiling team also works for the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Behavioral Analysis Unit in...
as a series regular. The show was cancelled due to low ratings.