"Spy Kids" Throwback: E! News Rewind
Hold on to your joysticks because Juni and Carmen Cortez are all grown up.
Over two decades after the Cortezes defeated the Toymaker (Sylvester Stallone) and helped mend his deeply strained relationship with Grandpa Valentin (Ricardo Montalbán) in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, Alexa PenaVega shared what she believes the brother-sister duo would be up to now.
"I personally feel like Juni would have had a family before Carmen," the actress—who played the older sister alongside costar Daryl Sabara—told E! News in an exclusive interview. "She was always such a rebel and such a 'I'm going to do it myself and be independent' girl."
However, Alexa teased that the spy's mindset would "have bit her in the butt a little bit."
"Juni would be a great family man, still spying around and having fun," she added. "Carmen would be like, 'Crap, I messed up. I should have done what Juni did and had a family!'"
But that doesn't mean Carmen is taking any shiitake mushrooms from anyone, either. As the Sleepover star put it, "Now, she's trying to figure out how to settle down and still be a sassy, independent woman, but also a good mom and a family girl."
Although the final film in the trilogy is celebrating its 22nd anniversary, Alexa still has the Cortez family on her mind. In fact, she even had the chance to show her and husband Carlos PenaVega's kids Ocean, 6, Kingston, 4, and Rio, 2, the franchise's most beloved props.
"I texted Robert Rodriguez, the director and creator, to let him know that we were coming through town," Alexa—who was in Austin for Big Time Rush's Can't Get Enough Tour with her husband—shared. "He's like, 'I want your kids to see everything you experienced.' So they pulled out all the stops."
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From the Super Guppy submarine to the combat-ready wardrobe, Alexa was able to prove that she was cool enough to be a spy. It was an especially sweet experience for the 36-year-old as she reunited with the old crew, who were filming Spy Kids: Armageddon at the time.
Alexa—who was 11 years old while filming the 2001 movie—recalled, "We're all weeping together because I'm now on set with my children and I grew up with all these people."
Although Alexa is all grown up, she will always feel a little bit like Carmen, especially in her role as Sophia in Lifetime's film Before Your Father Finds Us, premiering July 26.
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Her character is on a mission to protect herself and daughter Emily (Jaeda Lily Miller) after her abusive ex-husband Mason (Tahmoh Penikett) escaped from prison as he searches for revenge. For Alexa, it was an opportunity to explore a more serious side of her acting skills.
"I have been so blessed to be able to do these lighter roles, these rom-com type movies," she reflected. "But it had been a while since I had really been able to do something different, a little more dramatic, a little more action-packed."
As she put it, "Being able to sink my teeth into something a little bit more was just really refreshing."
With the Spy Kids stars all grown up, you might've skipped a chapter, meathead. Read on to see the cast then and now.
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Alexa PenaVega
After her breakout performance as Carmen Cortez in the Spy Kids film series, PenaVega went on to star in Sleepover and ABC Family's shortlived series Ruby & the Rockits. She also appeared in a series of action flicks, including Machete Kills, The Hunters and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For before competing on Dancing With the Stars in 2015. PenaVega has starred in several TV movies for Hallmark Channel since 2016 and currently voices a character on the animated hit The Casagrandes.
She married Big Time Rush member Carlos Pena Jr. in 2014, both taking PenaVega as their married name. The couple have two sons, Ocean and Kingston, and a daughter, Rio.
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Daryl Sabara
Just 9 years old when he starred as Juni Cortez, Sabara went on to land recurring roles on Disney Channel's The Wizards of Waverly Place and Weeds. He's also lent his vocals to series such as Marvel's Avengers Assemble, Ultimate Spider-Man and Ben 10.
Sabara began dating pop star Meghan Trainor in 2016 and they got married in December 2018. The couple welcomed their first son Riley in 2021 and their second son Barry in 2023.
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Carla Gugino
After playing Ingrid, the matriarch of the Cortez family, Gugino appeared in films such as Night at the Museum, American Gangster, Watchmen and San Andreas.
She has starred in Netflix's hit horror series The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor.
Gugino has been with her partner Sebastián Gutiérrez since 1996.
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Antonio Banderas
The Zorro star took on the role of Gregorio Cortez, the spy family patriarch, reprising the role for two follow-up films. In 2004, he began voicing the popular Shrek character Puss in Boots and also starred in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Frida and Take the Lead.
In 2018, he portrayed Pablo Picasso in the NatGeo anthology series Genius, earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his performance. The following year, Banderas was nominated for his first-ever Oscar for Pain and Glory.
Banderas was married to actress Melanie Griffith for almost a decade, with the couple divorcing in 2015. They have one daughter together, Stella Banderas.
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Robert Patrick
Known for playing villains, the Terminator 2 actor was the main antagonist of the first Spy Kids film, Mr. Lisp. Since then, his credits include Walk the Line, Bridge to Terabithia, Flags of Our Fathers and Gangster Squad.
On the small screen, Patrick starred on The X-Files, The Unit and From Dusk Til Dawn: The Series, as well as made cameos on True Blood, Community and Mayans M.C. Most recently, he appeared on The Walking Dead and MacGyver.
Patrick has been married to actress Barbara Hooper since 1990 and the couple have two children.
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Danny Trejo
A frequent collaborator with his second cousin and Spy Kids director Robert Rodriguez, Trejo's character Machete later got his own series of films that were decidedly less kid-friendly.
Trejo has starred in over 250 movies and TV shows, including Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, American Gods and The Flash. Most recently, he competed on The Masked Singer.
In 2016, the actor began opening restaurants in Los Angeles, including Trejo's Tacos, Trejo's Cantina and Trejo's Donuts and Coffee.
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Cheech Marin
The legendary Cheech & Chong star played Felix Gumm, a close family friend of the Cortezes who goes on to become the villain in the 2002 sequel.
Marin has lent his voice to several Disney films, including Oliver & Company, The Lion King, the Cars series, Coco and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. The Nash Bridges alum also appeared on TV series such as Lost, Grey's Anatomy and Jane the Virgin.
The actor married Natasha Rubin in 2009 and he's released two best-selling albums in the children's music genre.
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Alan Cumming
Following his time as Fegan Floop, the Tony winner went on to star in CBS' hit drama The Good Wife for six years, earning three Emmy nominations for his portrayal of crisis manager Eli Gold. Cumming also popped up on Doctor Who, Broad City and Prodigal Son, and made appearances in films such as X2, Burlesque and Battle of the Sexes and lent his voice to The Smurfs franchise.
Cumming has been married to Grant Shaffer since 2007. He's written two books, novel Tommy's Tale and his 2014 memoir, Not My Father's Son: A Memoir.
Most recently, Cumming has hosted The Traitors, which won Outstanding Reality Competition Program at the 2024 Emmy Awards.
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Tony Shalhoub
Shalhoub appeared in the first three Spy Kids films as reformed baddie Alexander Minion.
In 2002, Shalhoub began his critically acclaimed run on USA Network's Monk, earning an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for eight consecutive years and winning three times. Since 2017, the actor has starred on Amazon's Emmy-winning comedy The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and reprised his role as Adrian Monk in Mr. Monk's Last Case: A Monk Movie in 2023.
Shalhoub has been married to actress Brooke Adams since 1992 and the couple have two daughters.
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Teri Hatcher
The Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman star played OSS traitor Ms. Gradenko in the first Spy Kids film, going on to front ABC's hit soap Desperate Housewives three years later. During her time on Wisteria Lane, the former Bond girl won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.
Since Desperate Housewives ended its run in 2012, she has appeared on The Odd Couple and Supergirl. The actress also has her own YouTube cooking channel, Hatching Change, and competed on Food Network's Chopped.
Hatcher has a 23-year-old daughter, Emerson, with ex-husband Jon Tenney.
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George Clooney
Yes, George Clooney really was in the OG Spy Kids movie, the Ocean's Eleven star making a small cameo as head of the OSS/future President of the United States Devlin. He reprised the role in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over.
Since then, he's been one of the most in-demand actors and directors in Hollywood, starring in flicks such as The Perfect Storm, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Gravity, The Monuments Men, Hail, Caesar! and many more. Clooney, 59, won two Oscars, one for Syriana and one as a producer for Argo, and the ER alum returned to TV in Hulu's Catch-22 in 2019.
The longtime bachelor married human rights attorney Amal Clooney in September 2014, going on to welcome their twins Alexander and Ella in 2017.
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