HBO’s dystopian drama series The Last of Us returned for its second season on April 13, introducing a new cast of characters as Ellie and Joel (played by Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal) jump five years into the future following season 1’s finale. Among the many new faces introduced—both friendly commune residents and Firefly vengeance seekers—one early standout is Dina, a magnetic survivor played by Isabela Merced.
At the start of the premiere, Dina is Ellie’s best friend, a skilled fighter and treasured member of the Jackson commune, and has even won over grumpy Joel. Throughout the episode, it becomes clear that Ellie’s more-than-friendly feelings toward Dina are reciprocated. As the pair slow-dance in front of the whole town (including Dina’s ex-boyfriend Jesse, played by Beef‘s Young Mazino), they share a steamy kiss. Though only one episode has been released so far, fans of the video game on which the HBO hit is based know that Dina becomes a major character throughout the rest of the series, serving as Ellie’s loving partner and guiding light as the show’s plot takes a very dark turn. (Yes, seasons 2 and 3 are set to get even more devastating than season 1.)
The Last of Us may be Merced’s breakout TV role, but the 23-year-old has already proven herself as one of Hollywood’s most hard-working actresses. In just two months, she’s set to become a full-fledged superstar with a role in one of 2025’s most anticipated action movies. Read below to learn more about Isabela Merced before she becomes one of the year’s biggest stars.
Dina (Isabela Merced) in The Last of Us season 2’s premiere.
(Image credit: Liane Hentscher/HBO)
Isabela Merced is a Peruvian American Nickelodeon alum and former Broadway star.
Isabela Merced, birth name Isabela Moner, is a Peruvian American performer born in Cleveland, Ohio, in July 2001. She learned Spanish as her first language and lived with her mother’s family in Huancayo, Peru, for several months when she was seven-years-old, per Teen Vogue. In 2008, her family’s home burnt down in an electrical fire; the day after, she had her first audition for a production of The Sound of Music, and landed the role.
Merced kept up with theater and, at age 10, had her Broadway debut in the revival of Evita, which starred Elena Roger and Ricky Martin. She went on to star as CJ Martin in the Nickelodeon series 100 Things to Do Before High School, and she was a lead in the 2016 scripted Legends of the Hidden Temple movie. In addition to her acting roles, she also started making music, with her debut album Stopping Time releasing in September 2015.
She has appeared in the Alien franchise and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
After her Nickelodeon show ended in 2016, Merced crossed over into major film roles, including her supporting turns in 2017’s Transformers: The Last Knight, and 2018’s Sicario: Day of the Soldado, and Instant Family. In 2019, she starred as Dora the Explorer in the live-action film Dora and the Lost City of Gold.
She also changed her stage name that year to Isabela Merced, in honor of her maternal grandmother, Yolanda Merced Salazar, who “sacrificed a lot for her daughters to live out the American dream she had for them.” She told Refinery29 at the time, “I believe some force, throughout all these years, has been giving my mom the strength and determination to guide me; a force that has been protecting us through so many journeys, trips, and experiences. I feel as though if that guardian angel would be anyone, it would be my grandma.”
Merced had her biggest year yet in 2024, starring in three popular movies. First, she played Anya Corazón, one of the girl trio (alongside Sydney Sweeney and Celeste O’Connor) Sony/Marvel’s in Madame Web. Then she starred as Aza Holmes in the film adaptation of John Green’s novel Turtles All the Way Down. Finally, she played Kay Harrison in the horror franchise film Alien: Romulus.
She’s set to play a major role in ‘Superman’ this summer.
Just months after her The Last of Us debut, Merced will return to the big screen in one of the biggest superhero movies this year. The multi-hyphenate is set to play Hawkgirl, real name Kendra Saunders, in the DC universe reboot of Superman, which releases this July. She’ll become the first person to play a feature-film version of the character, though Hawkgirl has appeared in TV shows.
Most of the details of Merced’s character and Superman‘s plot are still under wraps, but trailers have shown Hawkgirl flying through the city, in what is assumed to be a battle scene. Merced dropped a hint about her role in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. “Every scene I’m flying, pretty much,” she told the outlet. “But it’s cool because I’m an adrenaline seeker. I like being dropped from really high heights. It’s actually one of my favorite things.”
In addition to possibly continuing playing Hawkgirl across the DC Studios slate, depending on the success of Superman, Merced also shared some of the projects she’d love to do in the future. She wants to return to Broadway—”Not a revival. I want to do an original [show]”, she says. “And then on top of that, I want to do a stoner comedy with two female leads. I love stoner comedies. However, I just don’t see a lot of women leading them. And I love weed. I would be great for this. And I literally love Broad City. To me, that’s a stoner show.”
Dina and Ellie share a dance.
(Image credit: Liane Hentscher/HBO)
She says she’s “looking forward” to any backlash towards Dina and Ellie’s romance.
In recent years, Merced has spoken openly about several aspects of her identity and health journey, including living with PCOS and anxiety. She has also opened up about her sexuality since landing the role of Dina; in a New York Times article about Ellie and Dina’s LGBTQ+ romance, Merced matter-of-factly stated “I’ve been queer my whole life, so I never really thought about it.” She also told Entertainment Weekly, “I mean, it’s kind of my truth, so I don’t see it as a thing even.”
She continued, “The game was made so long ago. Gays have existed since the beginning of time, they were always there. I don’t really see what the problem is. I don’t see what we’re trying to say or complain about. Not only that, it’s just a beautiful story. If anything isn’t successful, I promise you it’s because of the quality of the work, not because of themes. Any theme can be done properly if it’s done by a good artist and executed with care and consideration. I guess everything in this story ends with tragedy. However, in my opinion, this is a successful sapphic story. It’s beautiful and we win in the end. There’s a lot of winning for this sapphic couple. I’m just really, really excited for people to see that.”
She also told Entertainment Weekly that she’s prepared to face whatever prejudiced criticism the show gets in response to the storyline. “I’m kind of looking forward to the backlash,” she added. “I don’t know how to describe it. I’m not scared because the gays have existed since the beginning of time. The thing is, if you have the gays, you have the world as well. If you have their support, you are fine.