Isabela Merced

Born: 10 July 2001

Age:

Years Active: 2013-present

Isabela Yolanda Moner (born July 10, 2001), known professionally as Isabela Merced since 2019, is an American actress. She played the lead role in the Nickelodeon television series 100 Things to Do Before High School (2014–2016), and went on to feature in the films Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), Instant Family (2018), and Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018). She starred as the titular character in the adventure film Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019) and played main roles in the films Madame Web, Turtles All the Way Down, and Alien: Romulus (all in 2024). In 2025, she had a starring role in the second season of the HBO series The Last of Us and played Hawkgirl in the DCU film Superman and series Peacemaker.

Merced was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She is the daughter of Katerine, a nurse, who was born in Lima, Peru, and Patrick Moner, a firefighter, who was born in Louisiana.

Merced has stated that Spanish was her first language, and she struggled with English when she first started grade school, 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." She has two brothers. At age 15, she was accepted into college.

Merced began acting after her family's Cleveland home was destroyed by a fire. Her father was the firefighter on call that night. 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.