Lux Pascal is an American-Chilean actress, transgender activist, and sister of The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal. Named among Time magazine’s 2023 most influential people in the world, Pedro has come a long way in the movie industry and has been a massive source of inspiration for Lux, as much as he has been supportive of her career and activism. The younger Pascal debuted on screen in Pablo Illanes’ 2011 horror film Baby Shower but had been performing on stage and appearing in commercials.
After years of work in the Chilean film industry, Lux Pascal gained some cross-border recognition in 2017 when she played Elias in two episodes of Narcos Season 3 alongside her famous brother. While she continues to explore new career opportunities, Lux looks up to Pedro for guidance and appreciates his contributions toward shaping her career and identity. From her early life to her career and transition journey, the following are facts about Pedro Pascal’s trans-sister.
Lux Pascal Was Assigned Male At Birth In 1992
The youngest of four siblings, Lux Pascal was born on the 4th of June 1992 in Orange County, California, to José Balmaceda and Verónica Pascal. Her family is originally from Chile, where her famous older brother was born in 1975. Nine months later, the family was exiled due to José and Verónica’s involvement in agitations against Pinochet’s dictatorship government. Lux’s parents were granted political asylum in Denmark, where they lived for a while before moving to the United States with Javiera, Lux’s older sister, and Pedro.
Lux Pascal was raised in California until she turned three. Alongside her parents and immediate older brother Nicolás, she returned to Chile, where she has spent most of her life. Having realized she was drawn to performing arts, Lux decided to study theater at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile—this was after she attended Saint George’s College. Years later, she would attend the Juilliard School in New York. She graduated from the Performing Arts Conservatory in May 2023.
Career Journey Before Transition
Lux Pascal began her career performing on stage and appearing in commercials. Her on-screen debut came in 2011 when she was seen in Baby Shower, a Chilean horror film written and directed by Pablo Illanes. Lux’s next role came in 2014 when she portrayed Axel in Los 80, a drama series that revolved around the life of a middle-class family during the harsh leadership of Pinochet. Axel mirrored some aspects of Lux’s real-life experience; she related to the character so well, putting up a phenomenal performance that popularized her name in Chilean cinema.
She kept performing on stage in the following years while appearing in series and films like Juana Brava, Endless Poetry, Con Amor, and Prueba de Actitud. Lux Pascal was introduced to an International audience in 2017 when she played Elias in two episodes of Netflix’s crime drama Narcos. Since then, she has played Eric in Invisible Heroes, Nicolas in This Is Cristina, and Danny El Rucio in The Prince. Between 2019 and 2020, she played Benjamin in at least eight episodes of La Jauría. Lux is set to appear in her first work since she transitioned: she was cast as Vanessa in Friends Like, an upcoming short horror film written and directed by Nayib Felix.
Lux Pascal Began Transitioning In 2020
Assigned male at birth, Lux Pascal began her transition journey in 2020 after years of struggle with gender dysphoria. She received hormone replacement treatment and came out as a trans woman in a 2021 cover story of Ya Magazine. The actress told the magazine that her family was supportive of her transition. “For everyone in my family, my transition has been natural. Almost something they expected to happen,” she said. Her brother Pedro shared a similar sentiment in an interview with Esquire, asserting that he’s lethally protective of Lux. After Lux came out, he posted the cover of her story on his Instagram page with a caption that reads: “My sister, my heart, our Lux.”
Now dedicated to promoting the welfare of the trans community, Lux Pascal is modest about her transgender activism. The actress doesn’t see herself as a voice for the transgender rights movement but as someone committed to highlighting trans voices. This is because of her transition journey. “The LGBTQ+ equality movement has been led by the most marginalized of voices, those who…had nothing to lose because they had already been deprived (of) everything. I have been very fortunate,” she stated in her interview with Ya magazine. “I have had a certain form of privilege because I have been able to make my transition hidden and with support,” she explained.
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