Celebrity Kiefer Sutherland Is Dating Cindy Vela — 5 Things to Know About the Actress The 24 star has been dating the actress under the radar for the past few years By Gillian Telling Gillian Telling Gillian Telling is a Senior Reporter at People, where she has worked for 10 years. Her work has previously been seen Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone and Cosmopolitan. People Editorial Guidelines and Natalie Stone Published on July 12, 2017 08:27AM EDT Kiefer Sutherland is off the market! The 24 star has been dating actress Cindy Vela under the radar for the past few years, his rep confirms to PEOPLE. Since Sutherland, 50, began his starring role on Designated Survivor last fall, Vela, 38, frequently travels to Vancouver where he films the drama series. She has also been on tour with him and his band in Europe this summer. Vela will star in the upcoming indie film, It's Gawd, in which she plays a character who's half human/half angel and half Hispanic/half Japanese. According to the film's director, he wrote the role with Vela in mind "because of her quirky personality." Here are five things to know about the actress. 1. She is a classically trained saxophonist. 2. She won Miss Latina USA in 2000. 3. She's an avid Harry Potter geek. 4. Before moving to Los Angeles, she was band director at Harlingen High School in Texas. 5. She "died" in a set up video that went viral and people thought she was really dead. It's Gawd will be released worldwide on Amazon Prime Video this Friday.