The young stars who led Spy Kids are all grown up now — and despite coming of age in the spotlight, their lives today are refreshingly grounded.
In an industry where many former child stars have struggled under the pressures of fame, Daryl Sabara and Alexa PenaVega stand out as examples of performers who successfully transitioned into balanced adult lives.
Both actors were still pre-teens when they starred in Spy Kids, the 2001 hit that turned them into global names. The film went on to launch two sequels, with the franchise bringing in an impressive $500 million at the worldwide box office.
Nearly 25 years after the original movie debuted, PenaVega, 37, and Sabara, 34, are now devoted parents who have remained close friends — and continue to team up for charitable causes.
Last Wednesday, the pair spent time volunteering at The Salvation Army’s summer camp, helping serve meals to campers in the dining hall before joining the children for a range of activities.
“Our childhood was so similar,” PenaVega told Daily Mail during an exclusive interview.
“We walked through something that not a lot of people could understand or had experience in like what we walked through and how we grew up, but we both had kind of very even similar [upbringings] … we’re really bonded on such a deep level,” she added.
Spy Kids stars Daryl Sabara and Alexa PenaVega opened up about their enduring friendship in an exclusive interview with The Daily Mail.
The former child stars played the offspring of spies in the hit family films, Spy Kids
Now they are giving back to young campers at The Salvation Army’s summer camp
Sabara lives in California with his three children whom he shares with his A-list wife, Meghan Trainor. Despite their celebrity status, they’re rarely in the news.
‘My wife and I just got into like actual camping,’ he said. ‘Like camp camping.. So I think we’re gonna like take the kids camping… we’ve spent a lot of time [working], so we’re just trying to get outdoors and get in touch with nature… touch some grass.’
Sabara shares three children with Trainor – son Riley, five, Barry, two, and daughter Mikey, five months – and has turned to PenaVega for parenting wisdom.
‘I reach out to her all the time, and be like, “Hey, I’m going through this. Like, did you go through this with your kids?”‘ Sabara told Daily Mail. ‘And the answer is usually yes. I’m super grateful that that she became a parent first for that.’
Indeed, PenaVega started her family several years before Sabara, and shares sons Ocean, nine, Kingston, six, and daughter Rio, four, with husband Carlos PenaVega.
Now the actor who once played her younger brother on the big screen is a father of three, and PenaVega couldn’t be any prouder.
‘lt’s fun to see what an incredible dad Daryl has become, and I know he’ll be like, “Oh!” but for real, he is super dad, and he wears so many hats, he does so many things, and he’s just talented and amazing, and I’m really, really proud of him,’ she said.
Now, years on from playing young spies, Daryl finds himself turning to PenaVega for parenting advice
Alexa gushed about her former co-star’s parenting skills, calling him an ‘incredible’ father
‘We walked through something that not a lot of people could understand,’ PenaVega said of their childhoods
The co-stars have since gone on to wed their partners and start their own families; PenaVega with her husband Carlos PenaVega and their children
Sabara is married to Meghan Trainor and they are raising three children together
Sabara was moved by PenaVega’s kind words: ‘I’m not supposed to cry during these, so right back at right back at her!’
The duo are now lending their star power to an important cause as they give back to children from underserved communities.
‘I have been working with Salvation Army and volunteering with them for a while now in adulthood, and I love them,’ PenaVega said. ‘They do so much good across the US. It just blows my mind. And this year I’m able to experience just one of their summer camps.
‘And we love kids. We’re both parents now, and we just have such a heart for children, but the fact that Spy Kids has been able to stand the test of time, and these kids are watching Spy Kids now, and to be able to show up and see the joy on their faces, and it just be a part of something really, really special.
The couple have son Riley, five, Barry, two, and daughter Mikey, five months, together
The duo played Juni and Carmen Cortez, the children of secret agents Gregorio and Ingrid
Despite their A-list status, Daryl and his wife Meghan now enjoying ‘actual camping’
The duo are now giving back to a cause close to their hearts as they link up with The Salvation Army
The stars have been put to good use, serving breakfast to hungry campers and doing other fun activities with them
‘And a lot of, a lot of these kids are coming from, you know, like different, different walks of life all over the place, but a lot of times they’re just in like very underprivileged situations.’
To their surprise, the children – who range in ages eight to 12 – recognized them.
‘They weren’t even born when we did the movie,’ Sabara said. ‘So it’s really, really special to be a part of a movie that’s lived on as long as it has and is reaching so many kids and families.’
Sabara and PenaVega were just seven and 12 years old when they made their debut in Spy Kids in 2001, which was followed up with two more films, Spy Kids: The Island of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3D: Game Over.
‘They weren’t even born when we did the movie,’ Sabara said
To their surprise, the campers – who range in ages eight to 12 – recognized them from Spy Kids
The duo played Juni and Carmen Cortez, the children of secret agents Gregorio and Ingrid (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino, respectively), who fell in love while working together and decided to raise a family.
When they mysteriously disappear, it’s left down to Juni and Carmen to battle to rescue them – with the subsequent films following their young spy careers.
The first Spy Kids film was a huge success, leading to two sequels: Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over.
During filming, Alexa performed most of her own stunts, and in 2011, she appeared in the sequel, Spy Kids: All the Time in the World.
