# Lux Pascal
**Lux Pascal** (born 1992) is a Chilean-American actress and occasional model known for the Chilean series *Los 80* and *Juana Brava*, a co-starring role in Netflix's *Narcos* opposite her brother [Pedro Pascal](https://www.edgepedia.org/pedro-pascal), and her first film lead in *Miss Carbón* (2025), the story of Argentina's first female coal miner. Born Lucas Balmaceda, she publicly came out as a transgender woman in February 2021 and took the name Lux, Latin for light.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7004940/bio/) • [2](https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/espectaculos-y-tv/notas-espectaculos-tv/2021/02/09/por-que-lux-pascal-la-razon-por-la-que-la-actriz-escogio-este-nombre-para-su-nueva-identidad.shtml) She trained at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and graduated with an MFA from the [Juilliard School](https://www.edgepedia.org/juilliard-school) in 2023.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7004940/bio/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1992, Orange County, California; raised in Santiago, Chile from about age 3; dual US-Chile citizen[3](https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a65476601/who-is-lux-pascal-pedro-pascal-sister/) • [4](https://www.juilliard.edu/drama/4yr/group-52/lux-pascal) |
| Family | Youngest of four children of José Balmaceda and Verónica Pascal; siblings Javiera Balmaceda, Pedro Pascal, and Nicolás[5](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/lux-pascals-american-dream) |
| Training | BFA in acting, theater conservatory of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; MFA Acting, Juilliard Group 52, graduated May 2023[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7004940/bio/) • [4](https://www.juilliard.edu/drama/4yr/group-52/lux-pascal) |
| Transition | Publicly came out as a transgender woman in February 2021 in an interview with the Chilean magazine *Ya*[2](https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/espectaculos-y-tv/notas-espectaculos-tv/2021/02/09/por-que-lux-pascal-la-razon-por-la-que-la-actriz-escogio-este-nombre-para-su-nueva-identidad.shtml) |
| Signature role | Carlita Antonella Rodríguez in *Miss Carbón* (2025), Agustina Macri's film about the first female miner in Patagonia[6](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a66054309/lux-pascal-pedro-pascal-interview-2025/) |
| Fashion | Walked in the Carolina Herrera show at New York Fashion Week in 2022 and in Matthieu Blazy's debut runway collection for Chanel in Paris in October 2025[5](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/lux-pascals-american-dream) • [7](https://elpais.com/eps/2025-10-10/lux-pascal-actriz-yo-no-soy-la-unica-persona-trans-en-la-vida-de-pedro-pascal.html) |
| Upcoming work | *The Beauty* (Ryan Murphy, 2026), *Cry to Heaven* (Tom Ford), *Love & Chaos*, and *Summer War*[8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7004940/) |
## Early life and family
Pascal was born in [Orange County, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/orange-county-california), to José Balmaceda, a fertility specialist, and Verónica Pascal, a child psychologist who later became a visual artist.[5](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/lux-pascals-american-dream) Her parents had left Chile in the 1970s as political exiles during the dictatorship of [Augusto Pinochet](https://www.edgepedia.org/augusto-pinochet), living for a time in Denmark and in Texas before settling in California.[5](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/lux-pascals-american-dream) When Pascal was about three years old, her mother returned to Santiago with her and her brother Nicolás; her older siblings Javiera and Pedro stayed in the United States.[5](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/lux-pascals-american-dream)
Her mother died when Pascal was seven years old, a loss she says bound the siblings closely together.[7](https://elpais.com/eps/2025-10-10/lux-pascal-actriz-yo-no-soy-la-unica-persona-trans-en-la-vida-de-pedro-pascal.html) Both she and Pedro later took their mother's maiden name professionally; Pedro began acting under it in her honor, and Lux followed when she began working in the United States.[5](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/lux-pascals-american-dream) She has described Pedro, seventeen years her senior, as a formative figure who brought her DVDs, candy, and CDs from New York, including [David Lynch](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-lynch)'s *Mulholland Drive*, which she watched at age 12.[7](https://elpais.com/eps/2025-10-10/lux-pascal-actriz-yo-no-soy-la-unica-persona-trans-en-la-vida-de-pedro-pascal.html) • [6](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a66054309/lux-pascal-pedro-pascal-interview-2025/)
## Training and early career
Pascal enrolled in the demanding theater program at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile over her father's initial reservations and graduated with an acting degree.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7004940/bio/) • [6](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a66054309/lux-pascal-pedro-pascal-interview-2025/) Stage work felt awkward at first; a foray into dance, eventually performing with a choreographer's company, helped her learn how to use her body on stage.[9](https://graziamagazine.com/us/articles/lux-pascal-grazia-spring-summer-2026-cover-story/)
After graduating she worked almost immediately, appearing in Chilean series and telenovelas between 2014 and 2016, including *Los 80* (Canal 13), *Juana Brava* ([Televisión Nacional de Chile](https://www.edgepedia.org/television-nacional-de-chile), lead role), and the Chilean-Finnish miniseries *Invisible Heroes*.[4](https://www.juilliard.edu/drama/4yr/group-52/lux-pascal) • [7](https://elpais.com/eps/2025-10-10/lux-pascal-actriz-yo-no-soy-la-unica-persona-trans-en-la-vida-de-pedro-pascal.html) Her film debut was a comedy, and in 2017 she appeared in two episodes of Netflix's *Narcos* as Elias.[7](https://elpais.com/eps/2025-10-10/lux-pascal-actriz-yo-no-soy-la-unica-persona-trans-en-la-vida-de-pedro-pascal.html) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7004940/) She played Benjamín in eight episodes of the [Amazon Prime](https://www.edgepedia.org/amazon-prime) series *La Jauría* (2019–2020) and supporting roles in Lucía Puenzo's film *The Prince* and *The Pack*.[8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7004940/) • [4](https://www.juilliard.edu/drama/4yr/group-52/lux-pascal)
Despite a comfortable working life in Chile, she felt she had gone as far as she could and, urged on by a therapist who saw her frustration, decided to audition for Juilliard.[10](https://www.vogue.es/articulos/lux-pascal-entrevista-miss-carbon-pelicula-protagonista-cine) She enrolled in the MFA Acting program in 2019. The selection process was steep: about 3,000 people auditioned, of whom 300, then 50, and finally 18 were kept through the final audition, and she was accepted.[7](https://elpais.com/eps/2025-10-10/lux-pascal-actriz-yo-no-soy-la-unica-persona-trans-en-la-vida-de-pedro-pascal.html) At Juilliard she performed in classics including *Hamlet* (as Queen Gertrude), *Pericles*, *The Seagull*, *Troilus and Cressida*, and Ayad Akhtar's *The Who & The What*.[4](https://www.juilliard.edu/drama/4yr/group-52/lux-pascal) • [11](https://www.elespanol.com/mujer/protagonistas/20250704/lux-pascal-nuevo-icono-global-diversidad-veces-siento-perdiendo-control-gusta/1003743828698_0.html) She graduated on May 19, 2023.[10](https://www.vogue.es/articulos/lux-pascal-entrevista-miss-carbon-pelicula-protagonista-cine) A teacher's advice to "just do less" changed her approach to acting toward letting things happen rather than forcing them.[5](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/lux-pascals-american-dream)
## Coming out and her name
On February 9, 2021, the 28-year-old actress, then known professionally as Lucas Balmaceda, published an interview in the Chilean magazine *Ya* announcing that she was a transgender woman.[2](https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/espectaculos-y-tv/notas-espectaculos-tv/2021/02/09/por-que-lux-pascal-la-razon-por-la-que-la-actriz-escogio-este-nombre-para-su-nueva-identidad.shtml) She said her family received the news naturally, after about three years in which she had been coming out to them gradually as non-binary.[2](https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/espectaculos-y-tv/notas-espectaculos-tv/2021/02/09/por-que-lux-pascal-la-razon-por-la-que-la-actriz-escogio-este-nombre-para-su-nueva-identidad.shtml)
The name combined two references. A school memory told her that "Lucas means the one who brings the light," and a character named Lux in [Sofia Coppola](https://www.edgepedia.org/sofia-coppola)'s *The Virgin Suicides* reinforced the choice; "lux" is Latin for light.[2](https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/espectaculos-y-tv/notas-espectaculos-tv/2021/02/09/por-que-lux-pascal-la-razon-por-la-que-la-actriz-escogio-este-nombre-para-su-nueva-identidad.shtml) • [5](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/lux-pascals-american-dream) Pedro Pascal marked the announcement with an Instagram post captioned "Mi hermana, mi corazón, nuestra Lux" (my sister, my heart, our Lux).[9](https://graziamagazine.com/us/articles/lux-pascal-grazia-spring-summer-2026-cover-story/)
## Miss Carbón
Pascal's first film lead came in *Miss Carbón* (released in some markets as *Queen of Coal*), a Spanish-Argentine co-production directed by Agustina Macri, whose single choice for the role was Pascal.[6](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a66054309/lux-pascal-pedro-pascal-interview-2025/) • [9](https://graziamagazine.com/us/articles/lux-pascal-grazia-spring-summer-2026-cover-story/) The film tells the true story of Carlita Antonella Rodríguez, a trans woman who became the first female coal miner in the Patagonian mining town of Río Turbio, where superstition barred women from entering the mines; it ends with Argentina's 2012 Gender Identity Law.[10](https://www.vogue.es/articulos/lux-pascal-entrevista-miss-carbon-pelicula-protagonista-cine)
The offer arrived during Pascal's final year at Juilliard, and she hesitated. She has explained that as a trans woman she was wary of a story centered on gender identity and did not want to be put in a box.[6](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a66054309/lux-pascal-pedro-pascal-interview-2025/) • [5](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/lux-pascals-american-dream) Reading the script and meeting the real Rodríguez, whom she describes as an "impeccable hard worker" and "a force of nature," convinced her.[5](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/lux-pascals-american-dream) Macri recalled agreeing with Pascal that the focus should be Carlita's dream of being a miner rather than her transition.[12](https://www.lanacion.com.ar/espectaculos/cine/agustina-macri-el-detras-de-escena-de-su-pelicula-miss-carbon-y-por-que-se-bajo-de-la-serie-sobre-la-nid06092025/) The film premiered in Spain in June 2025 and streamed on Netflix in the United States later that year; critics singled out Pascal's performance, with one Spanish review praising a presence "made of resistance" and another calling her charismatic with a vulnerability in her gaze.[7](https://elpais.com/eps/2025-10-10/lux-pascal-actriz-yo-no-soy-la-unica-persona-trans-en-la-vida-de-pedro-pascal.html) • [13](https://noescinetodoloquereluce.com/2025/06/critica-review-miss-carbon-pelicula.html) • [14](https://cinemagavia.es/miss-carbon-pelicula-critica-estreno-cine/)
## Recent work and fashion
Since graduating, Pascal has worked on both sides of the Atlantic. She appeared as Clara in an episode of Ryan Murphy's series *The Beauty* (2026), starred in the independent film *Love & Chaos*, her first Hollywood film, and played Ingrid in *Summer War* (Guerra de verano, 2026), Alicia Scherson's adaptation of [Roberto Bolaño](https://www.edgepedia.org/roberto-bolano)'s posthumous novel *El Tercer Reich*, which premiered at the Tribeca Festival.[5](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/lux-pascals-american-dream) • [8](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7004940/) • [15](https://elpais.com/chile/2026-06-20/alicia-scherson-la-directora-que-lleva-a-bolano-al-cine-lux-pascal-tiene-un-rostro-que-llena-la-pantalla.html) Scherson, who had cast her in a small role in *Invisible Heroes*, said simply: "She is a very good actress... Lux Pascal fills the screen."[15](https://elpais.com/chile/2026-06-20/alicia-scherson-la-directora-que-lleva-a-bolano-al-cine-lux-pascal-tiene-un-rostro-que-llena-la-pantalla.html) She has also performed off-Broadway in a staging of *Richard II* that ran through December 21 after two extensions, and she is cast in [Tom Ford](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-ford)'s film adaptation of [Anne Rice](https://www.edgepedia.org/anne-rice)'s *Cry to Heaven*, a part Ford offered her without an audition.[5](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/lux-pascals-american-dream) • [9](https://graziamagazine.com/us/articles/lux-pascal-grazia-spring-summer-2026-cover-story/)
Fashion work has run alongside acting. She walked in the [Carolina Herrera](https://www.edgepedia.org/carolina-herrera) show at [New York Fashion Week](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-fashion-week) in 2022 and in [Matthieu Blazy](https://www.edgepedia.org/matthieu-blazy)'s debut collection for Chanel in Paris in October 2025, and has fronted magazine editorials including the Grazia USA Spring/Summer 2026 cover.[5](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/lux-pascals-american-dream) • [7](https://elpais.com/eps/2025-10-10/lux-pascal-actriz-yo-no-soy-la-unica-persona-trans-en-la-vida-de-pedro-pascal.html) • [9](https://graziamagazine.com/us/articles/lux-pascal-grazia-spring-summer-2026-cover-story/) She made her Met Gala debut in May 2026.[3](https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a65476601/who-is-lux-pascal-pedro-pascal-sister/) She has repeatedly attended red carpets alongside her brother, a visibility she frames as family support rather than professional ambition: "My professional ambition is elsewhere."[10](https://www.vogue.es/articulos/lux-pascal-entrevista-miss-carbon-pelicula-protagonista-cine) In interviews she describes herself as an artist rather than an activist, saying her political point of view will be expressed through her art.[7](https://elpais.com/eps/2025-10-10/lux-pascal-actriz-yo-no-soy-la-unica-persona-trans-en-la-vida-de-pedro-pascal.html)
## References
1. [Lux Pascal – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7004940/bio/)
2. [¿Por qué Lux Pascal? La razón por la que la actriz escogió este nombre para su nueva identidad, BioBioChile (9 February 2021)](https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/espectaculos-y-tv/notas-espectaculos-tv/2021/02/09/por-que-lux-pascal-la-razon-por-la-que-la-actriz-escogio-este-nombre-para-su-nueva-identidad.shtml)
3. [Who Is Lux Pascal? Meet Pedro Pascal's Sister, Elle](https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a65476601/who-is-lux-pascal-pedro-pascal-sister/)
4. [Lux Pascal, The Juilliard School Drama Division, Group 52](https://www.juilliard.edu/drama/4yr/group-52/lux-pascal)
5. [Lux Pascal's American Dream, Vanity Fair (20 February 2026)](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/lux-pascals-american-dream)
6. [Pedro Pascal Interviews His Sister Lux Pascal: 'I See You Before I See Myself', Elle (15 September 2025)](https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a66054309/lux-pascal-pedro-pascal-interview-2025/)
7. [Lux Pascal, actriz: "Yo no soy la única persona trans en la vida de Pedro Pascal", EL PAÍS Semanal (10 October 2025)](https://elpais.com/eps/2025-10-10/lux-pascal-actriz-yo-no-soy-la-unica-persona-trans-en-la-vida-de-pedro-pascal.html)
8. [Lux Pascal, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7004940/)
9. [Lux Pascal: Grazia Spring/Summer 2026 Cover Star, Grazia USA](https://graziamagazine.com/us/articles/lux-pascal-grazia-spring-summer-2026-cover-story/)
10. [Lux Pascal: "Podríamos no ser tan terriblemente capitalistas...", Vogue España (4 June 2025)](https://www.vogue.es/articulos/lux-pascal-entrevista-miss-carbon-pelicula-protagonista-cine)
11. [Lux Pascal, nuevo icono global de la diversidad, El Español (4 July 2025)](https://www.elespanol.com/mujer/protagonistas/20250704/lux-pascal-nuevo-icono-global-diversidad-veces-siento-perdiendo-control-gusta/1003743828698_0.html)
12. [Agustina Macri: el detrás de escena de su película Miss Carbón, La Nación (6 September 2025)](https://www.lanacion.com.ar/espectaculos/cine/agustina-macri-el-detras-de-escena-de-su-pelicula-miss-carbon-y-por-que-se-bajo-de-la-serie-sobre-la-nid06092025/)
13. [Crítica de 'Miss Carbón': La conquista de la mina, No es cine todo lo que reluce (June 2025)](https://noescinetodoloquereluce.com/2025/06/critica-review-miss-carbon-pelicula.html)
14. [Crítica de Miss Carbón, Cinemagavia (2025)](https://cinemagavia.es/miss-carbon-pelicula-critica-estreno-cine/)
15. [Alicia Scherson, la directora que lleva a Bolaño al cine, EL PAÍS Chile (20 June 2026)](https://elpais.com/chile/2026-06-20/alicia-scherson-la-directora-que-lleva-a-bolano-al-cine-lux-pascal-tiene-un-rostro-que-llena-la-pantalla.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of Latin America and Iberia › Brazilian and Southern Cone actors*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license