Here’s what we know about Lux Pascal, the sister of Last of Us actor Pedro Pascal.
Lux Pascal, the sister of actor Pedro Pascal, is set to make a major splash in the world of entertainment with Summer War, a thriller based on Chilean author Roberto Bolaño’s posthumously discovered novel The Third Reich.
Pascal is the toast of the internet, not only because of the sweet sibling relationship she shares with her incredibly famous brother but also because she is a rapidly emerging transgender actress who has the absolute support of her amazing family.
Due to Bolaño’s fame, the movie, which will be helmed by Chilean director Alicia Scherson, is certainly highly anticipated. The story was originally penned in 1989 but was not known till it was discovered years after the author died in 2003. It was subsequently published as a book in 2010.
Tough Pascal’s role in the movie is not clear, the story is interesting. It revolves around two pivotal characters — Udo Berger, a champion of the board game Third Reich and his girlfriend Ingeborg. They get involved in the mysterious disappearance of one-half of a German couple on vacation in their small Spanish town on the Costa Brava.
The cast is international. It includes Canadian actor Dan Beirne, Spanish-Chilean actress Aline Küppenheim, and Argentinian actors Agustín Pardella and Malena Sánchez.
Irrespective of the role Pascal will be playing, the news of her casting has been received positively, especially because it marks her first feature film since coming out as a transgender woman.
She isn’t a newcomer, though; Pascal has acting experience of a decade and has been playing complex characters with brilliance for a long time, including a role with Pedro in Narcos (2017).
Lux Pascal: Personal life, career and her bond with Pedro
Lux Pascal’s early life
Lux Pascal was born on 4 June 1992, in Orange County, California. She is 17 years younger than Pedro Pascal. Besides her famous brother, Lux has an older sister, Javiera, and an older brother, Nicolás. This makes Pascal the youngest of the four siblings.
Her parents, fertility doctor José Pedro Balmaceda Riera and child psychologist Verónica Pascal Ureta, come from politically influential families in Chile, namely the Allende family and the Balmaceda family.
The family had to flee their home in Chile during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in 1976 when Pedro Pascal was still an infant. They first sought asylum in Denmark before relocating to San Antonio, Texas, and finally settling down in Orange County.
Pedro Pascal was raised in Orange County, the place where Lux was born. But soon after, in 1995, the family returned to Chile with Lux and Nicolás. Thus, unlike Pedro, Lux was raised in Chile.
Lux studied theatre in Chile before enrolling in the MFA Acting programme of The Juilliard School in New York City. She graduated from the school in May 2023. Her graduation ceremony was attended by her brothers, Pedro and Nicolás.
From non-binary to transgender woman
Lux Pascal initially identified as non-binary before finally coming out as a transgender woman in the February 2021 cover story for Spanish-language Ya magazine.
“Coming out of the closet as a gay man didn’t cost me anything, but deep down it wasn’t who I was. It was only a step on the staircase, but it wasn’t me,” she said in the feature, where she spoke about her transition for the first time.
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“It was an easy thing to say,” she said, adding “but the truth was, ‘Oof, if you really knew what I feel…”
She said that she started receiving hormone treatment in July 2020.
“It doesn’t make me anxious to see old photos of myself,” she explained, adding, “The same thing happens to me with theatre: I see someone who was doing what they liked.”
How Pedro Pascal supported his sister
Lux Pascal also revealed that Pedro was by her side from the very beginning. She told Ya magazine that she came out as trans to him over FaceTime.
She said that he asked how she felt, “because I remember he was a little worried.” Upon learning that she was happy, he said, “Perfect, this is incredible.”
“My transition has been something that’s very natural for everyone in my family. It’s almost something that they expected to happen,” she told the magazine, underlining the fact that her entire family held progressive beliefs.
When the Ya cover story featuring Lux was published, Pedro shared it on his Instagram.
“Mi hermana, mi corazón, nuestra Lux,” he captioned the post in Spanish, which translates to, “my sister, my heart, our Lux.”
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“I wouldn’t want to speak on her behalf, but she is and has always been one of the most powerful people and personalities I’ve ever known,” he said.
“My protective side is lethal, but I need her more than she needs me,” Pedro told Esquire in an interview in 2023.
Pedro has often displayed his support for the LGBTQIA+ community both on social media and through his personal life. His Instagram feed has several photos or posts with rainbow flags — the symbol of Pride — which he posted during Pride Months or significant moments for the community.
Pedro and Lux’s sibling bonding on the red carpet
Pedro Pascal brought his sister Lux to the premiere of his film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent in April 2022. It was the first time the two were seen together at a major event after Lux’s coming out as transgender.
One of the sweetest moments of the siblings was when they arrived together on the red carpet at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards in January 2024.
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As his Emmys date, Lux was dressed in a high-neck black gown that perfectly matched her brother’s black sweater, trousers and tie.
Pedro was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Joel in the HBO series The Last of Us(2023), which is based on the video game series of the same name. He had a sling on his arm, an injury he suffered due to a fall. Lux was seen walking the carpet on Pedro’s good arm.
Movies and TV shows starring Lux Pascal
Lux Pascal has been part of a few TV shows ever since making her acting debut with Pablo Rotemberg’s Chilean play La noche obstinada in 2014. The same year, she made her on-screen debut with the Chilean television series Los 80.
Chilean drama series such as Veinteañero a los 40 and Juana Brava (both 2015) followed and Pascal started gaining fame.
By this time, her brother, Pedro, had become an international sensation with his single-season appearance as Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones (2014).
In 2017, Pascal and her brother were cast in the same series — the acclaimed Netflix crime show Narcos.
Pascal then appeared in 12 días que estremecieron Chile (2017), Santiago Paranormal (2018), Héroes invisibles (2019) and La jauría (2020). She also appeared in movies No quiero ser tu hermano (2019), Ella es Cristina (2019), El príncipe (2019) and La California (2022).
As a student of The Juilliard School, Pascal also starred in its performances, including Hamlet and The Who & The What. Pedro and other members of the family were in attendance at The Who & The What play in 2023.
Lux Pascal’s relationship
Lux Pascal has reportedly been in a relationship with José Antonio Raffo de la Jara since 2011. José, whom Pascal affectionately calls José “Raffito,” is a musician and actor who performs with the band Témpera.
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Not much is known about José, but Pascal shares pictures of the two on her Instagram occasionally. Among them are pictures celebrating his birthday in January 2023 or earlier photos that show them in the NYC subway or by the beach.
Hero and Featured images: Courtesy Robyn Beck/AFP
The story first appeared here.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
– Did Lux Pascal play a role in Narcos?
Yes, Lux Pascal did appear in a role in Narcos alongside her brother, Pedro, who played the lead character.
– Which is the upcoming movie starring Lux Pascal?
The upcoming movie starring Lux Pascal is the thriller Summer War.
Manas Sen Gupta writes at the intersection of tech, entertainment and history. His works have appeared in publications such as The Statesman, Myanmar Matters, Hindustan Times and News18/ETV. In his spare time, Manas loves studying interactive charts and topographic maps. When not doing either, he prefers reading detective fiction. Spring is his favourite season and he can happily eat a bowl of noodles any time of the day.
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