Isabela Merced

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 romantic drama film Turtles All The Way Down (2024) and the horror film Alien: Romulus (2024).

Isabela Merced was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to Katherine, who hails from Lima, Peru, and Patrick Moner from Louisiana. She has mentioned that Spanish was her first language and that she initially struggled with English when she began school, noting that she feels more Peruvian than American. She has two brothers and was accepted into college at the age of 15.

Merced's acting career began after her family's home in Cleveland was destroyed by a fire. A fan of Judy Garland, Merced's parents encouraged her to audition for a local production of The Wizard of Oz to help her cope with the loss. She was cast as a Munchkin. She later attended the Fairmount Performing Arts Conservatory, run by Broadway producer Fred Sternfeld, who convinced her mother to consider moving to New York for audition opportunities. After some hesitation, her mother agreed, and the family relocated to New York City for a month to support Merced’s Broadway aspirations.