Ginella "Gia" Ivonne Alvarez (born November 8, 1991) is a American actress and reality television and social media personality. Alvarez first came to public attention for appearing in the E! reality television show Stepp Your Game Up and made her acting debut with a cameo role in the horror film Scream 4. She currently portrays Xanthippe Voorhees in the Netflix original series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and her first leading role will be in the 2015 teen film Paper Towns, based on the popular book.
early life
Alvarez was born in Union City, New Jersey. She is the daughter of sports talk radio and television host Javier Alvarez and non-profit executive Rachele Stepp (née Durante). She has an older brother Elías and an older sister Isabela. Their mother is of Mexican, Italian, and Galician ancestry, while their father is a second-generation Mexican American. After their parents divorced in 2000, their mother relocated them to Los Angeles and remarried to retired NBA point guard and then Los Angeles Lakers General Manager Michael Stepp in February 2003. Through their marriage, Alvarez gained step-brothers Austin and Carson and step-sister Brooklyn. As a teenager, Alvarez attended the Campbell Hall School in Studio City and graduated in 2009. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles for under two years.
career
In March 2008, it was announced that the Stepps and Alvarezs would star in a reality show on E!, which premiered on June 2, 2008. The show focused on the personal and professional lives of the entire family but particularly on choreographer and creative director Brooklyn, NBA player Carson and NFL player Austin Stepp. Stepp Your Game Up has been praised for its focus on the careers of the family members rather than the "famous for being famous" concept of other reality shows that grew popular around that time, but has also been criticized for appearing to fabricate some aspects of its storylines.
Alvarez made her acting debut in 2011 with a cameo in the Wes Craven film Scream 4. She was also featured in rapper Marlon Brano's music video for "The Chase is On" and played Brano's love interest. She then filmed a small cameo role for 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man, playing a gossip girl in the bathroom who is terrorized by the Lizard. In the end, director Marc Webb cut the scene from the movie in favor of keeping the action of the fight between the Spider and the Lizard in the school, although the scene is available on the DVD. The same year she appeared as Brianna in teen drama The First Time. She also appeared in music videos for rappers D-WHY and Mac Miller, playing love interests for both.
The following year she had supporting roles was in The Bling Ring, based on the real-life Bling Ring robberies, and Beautiful Creatures, based on the novel of the same name. 2014 became a breakout year for Alvarez. Following a supporting role in comedy Neighbors, she played Andie Fitzgerald, the student and mistress of main character Nick Dunne, in David Fincher's film adaptation of Gillian Flynn's novel. She got the part through a "cattle call" audition in New York City and a subsequent reading with the star and director. The film received generally positive reviews, as well as many award nominations.
In 2015, she portrayed Christian Grey's sister, Mia, in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel Fifty Shades of Grey and has signed on to appear in the upcoming sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. Alvarez will also make her debut in a lead role as Margo Roth Spiegelman in the film adaptation of the novel Paper Towns and follow with a lead role in We Are Your Friends, a romance drama about the electronic dance music and Hollywood nightlife scene. She also has a recurring role on the Netflix original comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which premiered in 2015. She will also be starring in Lionsgate's adaptation of the young-adult novel Nerve, scheduled for release in 2016.
personal life
Alvarez dated fellow Campbell Hall School alumnus and current NFL player Maxwell Washington from 2008 to 2011, which was shown in a few episodes of Stepp Your Game Up. She has been friends with rapper Marlon Brano (born Branton Orloff) since childhood and Orloff even lived in the Stepp-Alvarez household for a number of years. The two maintain they have never dated but that they are extremely close. Romantic relationships with other entertainers have been rumored but never been confirmed.
Alvarez has involved herself with various philanthropic activities. She has worked on outreach programs with her mother's organization, Girls Finish First, which aims to support disadvantaged girls in North America with staying in school and expanding their educational opportunities. In January 2010 she was featured in a public-service announcement for Voto Latino to promote the organization's "Be Counted" campaign preparing for the 2010 United States Census. After it was launched in April 2014, Alvaraz was brought on as the first celebrity ambassador for anti-bullying organization Bystander Revolution.
She was one of the victims of "The Wreckoning," a multiple wave celebrity hack in April 2015.
Alvarez made her acting debut in 2011 with a cameo in the Wes Craven film Scream 4. She was also featured in rapper Marlon Brano's music video for "The Chase is On" and played Brano's love interest. She then filmed a small cameo role for 2012's The Amazing Spider-Man, playing a gossip girl in the bathroom who is terrorized by the Lizard. In the end, director Marc Webb cut the scene from the movie in favor of keeping the action of the fight between the Spider and the Lizard in the school, although the scene is available on the DVD. The same year she appeared as Brianna in teen drama The First Time. She also appeared in music videos for rappers D-WHY and Mac Miller, playing love interests for both.
The following year she had supporting roles was in The Bling Ring, based on the real-life Bling Ring robberies, and Beautiful Creatures, based on the novel of the same name. 2014 became a breakout year for Alvarez. Following a supporting role in comedy Neighbors, she played Andie Fitzgerald, the student and mistress of main character Nick Dunne, in David Fincher's film adaptation of Gillian Flynn's novel. She got the part through a "cattle call" audition in New York City and a subsequent reading with the star and director. The film received generally positive reviews, as well as many award nominations.
In 2015, she portrayed Christian Grey's sister, Mia, in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel Fifty Shades of Grey and has signed on to appear in the upcoming sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. Alvarez will also make her debut in a lead role as Margo Roth Spiegelman in the film adaptation of the novel Paper Towns and follow with a lead role in We Are Your Friends, a romance drama about the electronic dance music and Hollywood nightlife scene. She also has a recurring role on the Netflix original comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, which premiered in 2015. She will also be starring in Lionsgate's adaptation of the young-adult novel Nerve, scheduled for release in 2016.
Alvarez has involved herself with various philanthropic activities. She has worked on outreach programs with her mother's organization, Girls Finish First, which aims to support disadvantaged girls in North America with staying in school and expanding their educational opportunities. In January 2010 she was featured in a public-service announcement for Voto Latino to promote the organization's "Be Counted" campaign preparing for the 2010 United States Census. After it was launched in April 2014, Alvaraz was brought on as the first celebrity ambassador for anti-bullying organization Bystander Revolution.
She was one of the victims of "The Wreckoning," a multiple wave celebrity hack in April 2015.