Isabela Moner, later known as Isabela Merced, is an actress and singer from the United States with Latin American roots. Many people know her from the teen series "100 Things to Do Before High School", the blockbuster "Transformers: The Last Knight", the comedy "Instant Family" or the adventure film "Dora and the Lost City of Gold".
Actress Isabela Moner
Childhood and Youth
Isabela Yolanda Moner was born in Cleveland in July 2001. The girl's father, Patrick, is originally from the southern U.S. state of Louisiana, although he has Polish roots, while her mother, Katherine, is Peruvian. The girl was the middle child and the only girl in the family, having an older and a younger brother - Jared and Giovanni.
Isabela Moner in childhood
The first language the girl spoke was Spanish. In general, she felt more Peruvian than American. Her English was poor, which caused communication problems at school.
Since her first trip to Peru in childhood with her parents, she tries to visit her ancestors' homeland as frequently as possible, at least for New Year's. "This place is filled with history and wisdom. People come here to change their lives," the actress explained.
Little Isabela Moner in the play 'Les Misérables'
Moner's desire to shine on stage emerged in her childhood. She appeared on the stage of one of the local theaters at the age of six, and at ten - by that time the family had already moved to New York - she made her Broadway debut in the musical "Evita", singing in Spanish alongside Ricky Martin.
Ten-year-old Peruvian girl makes Broadway debut in Evita
Roles in Films
Isabela began her journey in cinema in 2013, with a small role in Henry Barrial's drama "The House that Jack Built", and soon joined the cast of the sitcom "Growing up Fisher" as Jenny.
Isabela Moner in the series Growing up Fisher
From 2014, she voiced several characters in the popular Nickelodeon cartoon "Dora the Explorer".
That same year, the talented young lady landed her first leading role as CJ Martin in another Nickelodeon project, "100 Things to Do Before High School", a classic teen series about three friends trying to complete an ambitious bucket list during their last two years of middle school.
Isabela Moner in the series 100 Things to Do Before High School
The project lasted until 2016. For this role, Isabela Moner was recognized by the Imagen Awards from the Imagen Foundation, which promotes and acknowledges the positive portrayal of Latin Americans in the entertainment industry.
Isabela Moner Music Video, Dream About Me: 100 Things To Do Before High School
In addition, the young actress played the lead roles in the TV films "Splitting Adam", which was named the best children's show of 2016 by the Leo Awards jury, and "Legends of the Hidden Temple".
Isabela Moner in the movie Legends of the Hidden Temple
In 2016, audiences saw her in the comedy "Middle School: The worst years of my life", where her character was Jeanne Galleta, a smart girl who the main character falls in love with.
Isabela Moner in the movie Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
In 2017, Isabela joined the "Transformers" franchise, joining the cast of its fifth installment. She played a namesake character, a girl who lost her parents and found a new family in the Transformers Canopy and Sqweeks.
Isabela Moner on the set of the movie Transformers: The Last Knight
For the young actress, this was her first experience working on a project of such scale. On set, she worked with such celebrities as Anthony Hopkins and Mark Wahlberg, with whom she soon crossed paths again on the set of the comedy "Instant Family". Here, Isabela landed one of the key roles – a teenager named Lizzie, who is taken under the guardianship of Pete (Mark Wahlberg) and Ellie (Rose Byrne). For her work in this film, Isabela was recognized as the best young actress by two awards in 2019: the Young Entertainers Award and the Imagen Awards.
Isabela Moner in the movie Instant Family
She then appeared in the action film "Sicario: Day of the Soldado" about the war between Mexican drug cartels and US special services. In the film, she played the role of the daughter of the head of the drug cartel.
Isabela Moner in the movie Sicario: Day of the Soldado
In 2019, the adventure film "Dora and the Lost City of Gold" was released. The film was a sequel to the cartoon in which Moner had previously participated, but this time Isabela was entrusted to embody the image of the main heroine.
Isabela Moner in the movie Dora and the Lost City of Gold
This was the last project in which Isabela's name was accompanied by the surname Moner. At this time, the girl and her brothers were going through a very difficult period – their mother was battling breast cancer. The actress took the surname Merced – in honor of her maternal grandmother Yolanda Merced, who brought Isabela's mother to the USA, but died when Katherine was only 15 years old. Although Isabela had never seen her grandmother, she always admired her spirit:
...I believe that some force has been giving my mom strength and determination throughout all these years; a force that has protected us in many journeys, trips, and experiences. I feel that if this guardian angel does exist, it must be my grandmother.
In 2019, the Christmas melodrama "Let It Snow" was released, where Isabela appeared in one of the central roles — Julie, debuting under her new surname.
Isabela Moner in the movie Let It Snow
In 2021, the crime film "Sweet Girl" premiered. Here, the actress got the leading role – Rachel. And a year later, viewers saw her in the melodrama "Father of the Bride", where she transformed into a character named Sophie. Then, Isabela appeared on the screen as Juliet in the melodrama "Rosaline", shot based on the famous Shakespearean plot.
Isabela Moner in the movie Rosaline
Music
Back in 2015, Isabela Moner released an album "Stopping Time", which included both covers of popular songs and her own compositions.
In 2019, her music career continued: she recorded the single "Papi", for which a music video featuring Peruvian ethnic motives was soon released, and she also performed a song for the movie "Instant Family".
Isabela Merced - PAPI
Already in 2020, after the release of the singer's debut mini-album "The Better Half of Me", Billboard magazine named Isabela Merced one of the top fifteen Peruvian performers.
In 2022, the young woman introduced her new single "Agonia".
Isabela Merced ft. Kayfex - Agonía
Personal Life of Isabela Moner
It is known about the private side of the star's life that in 2016 she had a relationship with actor Jace Norman, whom she met on the set of the TV movie "Splitting Adam".
Isabela Moner and Jace Norman
Later, photos of Isabela with a young man named Kian appeared on her social networks. However, in January 2023, Isabela and Kian unfollowed each other, leading the actress's fans to conclude that they are no longer together.
Isabela Merced Talks PAPI, Dora The Explorer & Nickelodeon
Isabela Moner Now
In March 2023, it was announced that the actress will be part of the new installment of the horror movie "Alien: Romulus". In addition, Isabela will join the second season of the post-apocalyptic drama "Last of Us". It has been reported that her character is a "smart and cheerful girl named Dina". The series is set to premiere in 2025.
Isabela Moner will play Dina in the TV series 'Last of Us'
In February 2024, the premiere of the thriller set in the Spider-Man universe, "Madame Web", was planned, featuring Dakota Johnson in the lead role and with the participation of Isabela, who joined the cast in summer 2022.
