Carmen de la Vega (born April 14, 1989), affectionally dubbed as Carm by any number of her close family and friends, was born and raised in Santa Monica, California and was by all accounts a natural performer from the time she could walk and talk.

In 2007, Carmen achieved the role of a lifetime and subsequent claim to fame as the sweet-natured new girl, Gabriella Montez, in the Disney Channel's Original Movie and ensuing highly acclaimed franchise High School Music. Carmen's performance in the series quickly made her a household name and paved the way to a long-lasting and lucrative career in both TV and film, as well as two chart-topping solo albums.

early life
"I grew up in a very musically-inclined household and there was almost no question that I would inevitably be drawn to the stage. Being the baby of the family I was constantly watching my older sisters, Sofia and Camille, take dance and singing lessons - when I could finally handle my own vocal chords, I would shake my little booty around the house and imitate them. Our dad is CEO of my grandfather's founding music label A.M.P. Records and my mom was once a ballerina in her hayday, who now oversees the company's Board of Directors. Music and performing has just always been in our blood.

When I was old enough, my parents enrolled me in musical theater and dancing lessons and it was all I wanted to do, it completely consumed my life. I knew right away it was what I wanted to do forever. I performed in a lot of local productions like The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, The King and I and School House Rock. "Even when I was at home, I was almost always seen doing a little song and dance for my family and parents' work associates during parties."

education
"I never had a problem in making friends, but I definitely realized even then that my childhood was vastly different than other kids my age. I didn't exactly get to enjoy the full benefits of simply being a kid, per se, but that was completely my choice and I was okay with it. I've always been extremely social and some might even say a bit 'in your face' friendly, or a lot to take in. I was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of five, which brought on an acute disinterest in anything academic - or rather, anything I didn't want to do.

When it comes to school, I'm all play and no work, so my parents had to sort of dangle my hobbies and reacreational activities in front of me as an incentive to excel more than I might have otherwise."

career
"First off, I'd like to say that I'm very blessed to have had the opportunities I've been given. I attribute a great deal of my success to Disney and there willingness to give me a shot because they truly believed in me. I've built relationships with so many amazing people, several of which are still some of my best friends to date. However, with that said, it's definitely been difficult for me in the past trying to break away from that one-dimensional, pristine-clean image. After I broke ties with Disney, it became a bit problematic trying to obtain more serious, perhaps darker roles I would've loved to sink my teeth into largely because I was still seen as this exemplification of a "teen dream".

It's funny, because I remember having a conversation with [my best friend] Emily Sloane after High School Musical 3 had finished wrapping, and I told her 'I am so beyond done with musicals for a while' because it's, you know, really tough, strenuous work day in and day out. It's not merely acting, singing, or dancing - but all three facets of performance arts rolled into one. But almost immediately after, Glee happened and my mom, who's also my manager, warned me that if I wanted to break away from the high school image, I had to actually leave high school. I just had this nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that if I didn't take the plunge and go for it I would come to regret it, so that's when Santana Lopez was born and it's been so much more rewarding than I ever could've imagined."

personal life
"A lot of people in this industry are completely opposed to sharing any remote aspects of their private lives, or alternatively live completely for the camera even when they're not on camera, if that makes sense. I wouldn't necessarily agree that I lean more actively in one way or another, but following the thriving sucess of High School Musical every detail of my personal life was suddenly plastered all over the pages of tabloid magazines, and I told myself a long time ago that I could either waste entirely too much energy trying to fight it or embrace it, so I chose the latter. I ultimately made the decision to live my life for me and I've been abundantly lucky to have the continuing support of my fans, because it hasn't always been an easy transition.

My first and only serious relationship to date [with co-star Galen King] was so excessively publicized; him and I became this entity in the public eye that grew to be bigger than us. Everybody was constantly rooting for us and maintained all of these expectations as far as what they wanted us to be. I've certainly learned a lot about myself and the inherent dynamics that come with sharing your life with another person. While I'll always love and have a special place in my heart for Galen, our lives grew in seperate directions and the relationship had ultimately run it's course. We tried with every bit of willpower and put forth so much effort in making things work, but there comes a time where you just have to be on your own.

I can honestly say that I've enjoyed this new path that I'm on and the privilege of getting to be selfish while trying to figure out where I go forward from here. I'm living day to day and doing so independently, which I think is immensely immportant."

current projects
Coming soon.