Isabela Merced facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Isabela Merced
Merced at SXSW 2025
Born	Isabela Yolanda Moner (2001-07-10) July 10, 2001 (age 24) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Other names	Isabela Yolanda Moner Pizzaro
Citizenship	American Peruvian
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2013–present

Isabela Yolanda Moner (born July 10, 2001), known professionally as Isabela Merced since 2019, is an American actress. She became well-known for her lead role in the Nickelodeon TV show 100 Things to Do Before High School (2014–2016).

She has also starred in many movies, including Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), Instant Family (2018), and Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018). In 2019, she played the main character in the adventure film Dora and the Lost City of Gold. More recently, she had big roles in Turtles All the Way Down and Alien: Romulus, both released in 2024.

In 2025, Isabela Merced joined the cast of the HBO series The Last of Us for its second season. She also played Hawkgirl in the movie Superman.

Early Life and Acting Start

Isabela Merced was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Her mother, Katerine, is a nurse from Lima, Peru. Her father, Patrick Moner, is a firefighter from Louisiana.

Isabela has shared that Spanish was her first language. She found English challenging when she first started school. She feels connected to both her Peruvian heritage and her Ohio roots. She has two brothers. Isabela was accepted into college when she was 15 years old.

She started acting after her family's home in Cleveland faced a challenge. Her parents encouraged her to try out for a local play, The Wizard of Oz. She got a part as a Munchkin. Isabela attended the Fairmount Performing Arts Conservatory. Her teacher there suggested her mother take her to New York for auditions. After some thought, her family moved to New York City for a month to help Isabela start a career on Broadway.

Isabela Merced's Acting Career

Isabela Merced always wanted to be an actress. She was inspired by movies with Shirley Temple and Judy Garland. She began acting in local community theater when she was six. Her first acting job was a commercial for Claritin. This happened on what was supposed to be her last day in New York City during a summer of auditions.

She made her debut on Broadway at age ten in the musical Evita. In this show, she sang in Spanish with famous singer Ricky Martin.

Nickelodeon Roles and Early Music

Isabela's first main role was CJ Martin in the Nickelodeon TV series 100 Things to Do Before High School. She starred in this show from 2014 to 2016. During the same time, she voiced Kate, a main character in the Dora the Explorer spin-off, Dora and Friends: Into the City!. She continued this voice role until 2017.

In 2015, she appeared in the Nickelodeon Original Movie Splitting Adam. The next year, she was cast as Sadie in the 2016 Nickelodeon Original Movie Legends of the Hidden Temple. Isabela also released her first album, Stopping Time, in 2015. It was produced by Broadway Records.

Big Screen Success

In May 2016, Isabela Merced was cast in the movie Transformers: The Last Knight. This film was released in June 2017. She also lent her voice to Heather in the animated movie The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature, which came out in theaters on August 11, 2017.

Merced in 2018

In 2018, Isabela had an important role in Sicario: Day of the Soldado. Critics praised her performance. Her acting showed a wide range of emotions.

That same year, she played the adopted daughter of characters played by Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne in the comedy film Instant Family. She also wrote and sang the song "I'll Stay" for this movie. In 2019, Isabela starred as the main character in Dora and the Lost City of Gold. This was a live-action movie based on the animated series. She was also in the Christmas romantic comedy Let It Snow. In the same year, she was cast alongside Jason Momoa in the film Sweet Girl for Netflix.

Changing Her Name and Music Career

On October 14, 2019, Isabela announced on Instagram that she would change her stage name to Isabela Merced. She did this in memory of her late grandmother. Her first single, "Papi", was released in 2019. Its music video came out on November 6, 2019.

Isabela Merced released her first EP, The Better Half of Me, in 2020 through Republic Records. Billboard magazine named her one of their top 15 new Peruvian artists to listen to in July 2020.

In 2024, she starred in Turtles All the Way Down. This movie was based on the 2017 novel by John Green. She also appeared in Fede Álvarez's Alien: Romulus. In April 2025, Isabela Merced played Dina in season 2 of The Last of Us. In July 2025, she appeared as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl in the DC Universe (DCU) film Superman.

Personal Life

Isabela Merced has openly discussed her experiences. She has attended therapy and talked about managing her feelings.

Filmography

Key

Denotes productions that have not yet been released

Television roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014	Growing Up Fisher	Jenny	Recurring role, 7 episodes
2014–2017	Dora and Friends: Into the City!	Kate	Main voice role
2014–2016	100 Things to Do Before High School	CJ Martin	Lead role
2015	Splitting Adam	Lori Collins	Television film
2016	Legends of the Hidden Temple	Sadie	Television film
2019	The Amazing Race Canada	Herself	Episode: "Clamageddon Continues"
2020	#KidsTogether: The Nickelodeon Town Hall	Herself	Television special
2021	Maya and the Three	Widow Queen (voice)	Miniseries
2024	Rock Paper Scissors	The Susan (voice)	Episode: "The Susan"
2025	The Last of Us	Dina	Season 2
	Peacemaker	Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl	Season 2

Discography

Studio Albums

Singles and EPs

Featured Artist

Awards and Nominations