Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders

Season 1 M-Net (*101) 21:30

Alana De La Garza plays language specialist agent Clara Seger in action spin-off show Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders (2016-current). It’s her job to fly around the world and help an elite FBI team save US citizens in trouble in foreign countries. As it turns out, Alana’s quite the jetsetter, having lived in Cape Town between 2009 and 2011…

“I’d flown to Thailand for a com1

mercial in 2011 while I was living in Cape Town,” explains the 40-yearold former model, who was born in Columbus, Ohio. “When I came back, they said that I didn’t have a re-entry visa and I wasn’t allowed back in. I was forced to live in Namibia for a while.”

Her first advertising work was 2

for confectionery brand Dunkin’ Donuts and that was a plus for Alana, who admits to “loving holiday food – especially pie”. She has a foolproof plan for losing weight though – “45 minutes of cardio and Pilates every other day” helped her get back in shape after she had son Kieran Thomas in 2010.

She’s been married to little-known 3

writer Michael Roberts since 2008 – they met while studying at the University Of Texas (her social working and him liberal arts). They also have threeyear-old daughter Liv Elena.

While Alana has a soft heart (she 4

hosts fundraisers for children with special needs – her parents fostered special-needs kids), she loves tough characters. Besides Clara and cop Connie Rubirosa in Law & Order (1990-2010) from 2006 to 2010, Law & Order: LA (2010-2011) in 2011 and Law & Order: SVU (1999-current) in 2014.

And while 5

learning to speak different languages was daunting for the actress who speaks “just a bit of Italian and a bit more of Spanish”, there is a plus to playing Clara. Says Alana, “She wears a lot of flat shoes and linen pants – which I appreciate [Laughs].” Alana De La Garza loves her new role.