Ginella "Gia" Ivonne Alvarez (born November 8, 1991) is an 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 was in the 2015 film Paper Towns, based on the popular book.
Alvarez was born in Union City, New Jersey. She is the daughter of sports talk radio and television commentator Javier Alvarez and non-profit executive Rachele Stepp (née Durante). She has an older brother Elías and older sister Isabela. Their mother is of Mexican, Italian and Spanish 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 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 went on to attend the University of California, Los Angeles but dropped out in 2011.
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 was praised for its focus on the careers of the family 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 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, though the scene is available on the DVD. The same year she had a small role as Brianna in teen romantic comedy The First Time. She also appeared in music videos for rappers Marlon Brano, D-WHY and Mac Miller.
The following year she had supporting roles in The Bling Ring, based on the real-life Bling Ring robberies, and Beautiful Creatures, based on the novel of the same name. It was 2014 that 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 adaptation of the Gillian Flynn novel.
In 2015, Alvarez portrayed Christian Grey's sister, Mia, in the film adaptation of the best-selling novel Fifty Shades of Grey and has since signed on to appear in the upcoming sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. She also co-starred in the adaptation of John Green's novel, Paper Towns, as Margo Roth Spiegelman. Of Alvarez's performance Justin Chang of Variety called her "the real find of the film" and said that "on the evidence of her work here, this striking actress is here to stay".
Alvarez dated fellow Campbell Hall School alumnus and current NFL player Maxwell Washington from March 2008 to January 2011. Washington was featured briefly in a handful of Stepp Your Game Up episodes during the time. He said in a 2013 Rolling Stone interview that Alvarez ended the relationship because he had been unfaithful.
Alvarez has involved herself with various philanthropic activities. She's consistently worked with her mother's organization, Girls Finish First, since its inception. In January 2010 she was featured in a public-service announcement for Voto Latino to promote the "Be Counted" campaign for the 2010 United States Census. Alvarez has served as Celebrity Ambassador to anti-bullying organization Bystander Revolution since 2014 and, in 2015, spoke on its behalf at a We Day youth empowerment event.
She was a victim of "The Wreckoning," a multiple wave celebrity hack in April 2015.