Vangsness was born in Pasadena, California, the daughter of Errol Leroy Vangsness and Barbara Mary (née Marconi). Her paternal great-grandparents were Norwegian, with ancestry from Bergen, Gol, and Oslo. She was raised in Porterville, California, and later moved to Cerritos, California. She graduated from Cerritos High School in June 1990 and attended Cypress College. She later graduated from California State University, Fullerton in June 1995.[citation needed]\n', '

Vangsness got into acting as a child to help overcome shyness and got her first big break in the theatre, where she won several awards, including the 15 Minutes of Female Best Actress Award, the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Best Emerging Comic Actress, and the Golden Betty Award.[citation needed]\n', '

Vangsness\' work has been published in the Los Angeles Times. Since 2014, Vangsness has co-written three episodes of Criminal Minds. In 2014 she co-wrote "Nelson\'s Sparrow" with Executive Producer, Erica Messer, in 2015 she co-wrote "A Beautiful Disaster" once again with Messer and in 2016 she co-wrote "Spencer" with Messer.\n', '

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