Isabela Merced

Merced was born in Cleveland, Ohio.^[3][4] She is the daughter of Katerine, a nurse, who was born in Lima, Peru, and Patrick Moner, a firefighter, who was born in Louisiana.^[3][5][6]

Merced has stated that Spanish was her first language, and she struggled with English when she first started grade school,^[5] adding that she considers herself "half Peruvian and half from Ohio. I wish I could say I'm 100% Peruvian; I've always felt that way."^[7] She has two brothers. At age 15, she was accepted into college.^[8][9]

Merced began acting after her family's Cleveland home was destroyed by a fire. Her father was the firefighter on call that night.^[6] She was a Judy Garland fan, so her parents, in an attempt to distract her from the loss, encouraged Merced to audition for a local production of The Wizard of Oz. She agreed and was cast as a Munchkin. She attended the Fairmount Performing Arts Conservatory, led by Broadway producer Fred Sternfeld, who tried to persuade Merced's mother into taking her to New York to pursue auditions. After some reluctance, her mother agreed, and the family moved to New York City for a month to help Merced pursue a career on Broadway.^[8][10]

Merced has said that she wanted to be an actress from a young age, inspired by movies featuring Shirley Temple and Judy Garland and starting in local community theatre at age six.^[11] Merced booked her first job, a Claritin commercial, on what was supposed to be her last day in New York City during the summer she spent auditioning there.^[8] She made her Broadway debut at age ten in a production of Evita,^[12] in which she sang in Spanish with Ricky Martin.^[5]

Merced's first starring performance was as CJ Martin, the lead role on the Nickelodeon television series 100 Things to Do Before High School,^[5][12][13] from 2014 to 2016. That same year, she began providing the voice of Kate, one of the main characters in the Dora the Explorer spin-off, Dora and Friends: Into the City!, a role she performed from 2014 to 2017.^[14] In 2015, she appeared as Lori Collins in the Nickelodeon Original Movie Splitting Adam,^[15] and was cast as Sadie, one of the leading roles, in the 2016 Nickelodeon Original Movie Legends of the Hidden Temple.^[16][17] Merced's debut album Stopping Time (2015) was produced by Broadway Records.^[18]

In May 2016, Merced was cast in the film Transformers: The Last Knight, which was released in June 2017.^[19][20] She voiced Heather in the animated film The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, which was theatrically released on August 11, 2017.^[21]

In 2018, Merced had a major role in Sicario: Day of the Soldado, playing the daughter of a drug cartel head,^[22][23] in a performance lauded by critics. The New Yorker's Anthony Lane wrote "Moner is terrific, and her character's fortunes can be read in her eyes—blazing to begin with, as she scraps with another girl in a schoolyard, but dark and blank by the end, their youthful fire doused by the violence that she has seen."^[24]

In the same year, she played the adopted daughter of the characters played by Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne in the comedy film Instant Family,^[25] for which she also wrote and sang the song "I'll Stay".^[26][27] In 2019, Merced starred as the title character in Dora and the Lost City of Gold, a live action film adaptation of the animated series,^[28][29] and was cast in the Christmas romantic comedy ensemble film Let It Snow.^[30] The same year, she was cast opposite Jason Momoa in the film Sweet Girl for Netflix.^[31]

On October 14, 2019, Merced announced that she had decided to change her stage name to Isabela Merced in memory of her late grandmother.^[32] Her first single, "Papi", was released in 2019,^[33] followed by her first music video released on November 6, 2019.^{[34][failed verification]} Merced released her debut EP The Better Half of Me in 2020 through Republic Records^{[35][independent source needed]} and was named one of Billboard's top 15 new Peruvian artists to listen to in July 2020.^[33]

In 2024, she starred in Turtles All the Way Down, a film adaptation of the 2017 novel by John Green,^[36][37] and Fede Álvarez's Alien: Romulus.^[38] In April 2025, Merced appeared as Dina in season 2 of The Last of Us.^[39] In July 2025, Merced appeared as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl in the DC Universe (DCU) film Superman (2025).^[40]

In August 2025, TVLine named Merced the year's Drama Star to Watch, as part of Women to Watch. ^[41] Additionally, Variety recognized her in their annual Power of Young Hollywood Impact Report; those recognized "rep the future of the entertainment business".^[42]

Merced describes herself as having been "queer my whole life", and has been in "queer relationships".^[43][44] She says she aims to "do her part" for the queer community in American pop culture.^[45] She attributes her Catholic upbringing to her having been "closeted out of being complicit and somebody who has accepted, maybe suppressing their queerness for their environment, basically, and to adapt."^[46]

She has polycystic ovary syndrome^[47] and has attended therapy and openly discussed her struggles with anxiety.^[48][49]