Virginia Elizabeth Gardner was born on April 18, 1995, in Sacramento, California. She initially attended Sacramento Country Day School until the eighth grade. In 2011, she transitioned to online schooling after relocating to Los Angeles and chose to take the California High School Proficiency Exam, which she successfully passed in October of that year.
Virginia's early life was marked by shared living arrangements with her mother, but as her acting career began to take off, she made the decision to move into her own apartment and live independently. Her entry into the acting world came with a role on the Disney Channel series Lab Rats in 2012.
After a year-long hiatus from acting, Gardner pursued a modeling career, which ultimately led to her working with notable brands such as Kohl's, Love Culture, HP, Hollister, LF, and Famous Footwear. During this time, she also appeared in several television series, including The Goldbergs, How to Get Away with Murder, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Zoo, although she didn't achieve significant recognition through these roles.
In 2015, Gardner landed a part in the American found footage science fiction thriller film Project Almanac, playing the role of Christina Raskin. The film's commercial success helped establish her as a rising star in Hollywood.
Since 2017, Gardner has portrayed the character Karolina Dean in the web series Runaways.
