Lizzy is a standout character in the acclaimed comedy-dramaInstant Family, and you have likely seen the actor in other major projects.TheInstant Familycastis led by Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne as Pete and Ellie Wagner, a comfortable couple who feel the desire to be parents. Looking into the foster care program, they soon match with the caring yet rebellious teenager, Lizzy, as well as her two younger siblings, Juan and Lita.
Instant Familywas a hit with audiences and critics when it was released, earning over $120 million at the box office (viaBox Office Mojo) as well as an impressive 82% onRotten Tomatoes. However, years later,Instant Familyhas now become a hit on Netflix, with new fans being introduced to it. While Wahlberg and Byrne were the big stars of the movie when thefamily-friendlyInstant Familywas first released, it is likely that a lot of people now recognize the young actor playing Lizzy.
Instant Family’s Lizzy Is Played By Isabela Merced
The Actor Was Credited As Isabela Moner At The Time
Isabela Merced (then credited as Isabela Moner) takes on the role of Lizzy inInstant Family, delivering a performance that is one of the highlights of the movie.Lizzy is introduced as a rather blunt young woman who is a teenager in the foster care group, which means she has few expectations of finding a family to take her in. To complicate her situation, she refuses placement unless the family also takes her younger siblings with her. However, much to her surprise, the Wagners agree to the match.
She is very protective of her younger brother and sister, serving as their parent in many ways for most of their lives.
Merced is excellent at playing the complexities of Lizzy. She is very protective of her younger brother and sister, serving as their parent in many ways for most of their lives. She is therefore reluctant to step aside and allow Ellie and Pete to take over as the parents. She also hopes to reunite her and her siblings with their birth mother, which makes her very reluctant to get attached to the Wagners. On top of that, she finds herself in many teenage situations, making questionable romantic choices, sneaking out with friends, and generally rebelling.
Merced shows the layers of this intelligent and conflicted young character in her performance. Merced makes Lizzy a frustrating character as she lashes out at Pete and Ellie, two people who are just trying to help her and her siblings. However, she also shows the audience why she acts out like this, making her sympathetic at all times. Merced’s performance in the climax of the movie is one of the highlights of the film.
What Isabela Merced Has Done Since Instant Family
Merced Appears In A Hit HBO Series And An Upcoming DCU Movie
Instant Familywas early in her career, but Isabela Merced’s star has only risen higher since then. Even before starring in the acclaimed comedy-drama,Merced found a breakout role intheTransformersfranchise, starring as Izabella inTransformers: The Last Knight, alongside futureInstant Familycostar Mark Wahlberg. In the same year she appeared inInstant Family, she also had a leading role inthe thriller sequelSicario: Day of the Soldadoas Isabel Reyes. The following year, she took on her first leading role, and an iconic one at that, starring inDora and the Lost City of Gold.
Dora and the Lost City of Gold(2019)
The Last of Us(2023-Present)
Dina
Dora and the Lost City of Goldwas also the final movie in which she was credited as Isabela Moner, and her career as Isabela Merced continued to be just as promising. She appeared in the teen holiday comedyLet It Snow, played Shakespeare’s Juliet in the revisionist comedyRosaline, and starred opposite Jason Momoa in the thrillerSweet Girl. While 2024 saw her have a disappointing introduction to the superhero world inMadame Web, it would turn around with her memorable role in the successful summer blockbusterAlien: Romulus.
2025 has already been a big year for Merced as she debuted in whathas likely become her most famous role to date asDina inThe Last of Us. It seems as though her fame is only going to rise with Merced making her DCU theatrical debut inSupermanas Hawkgirl, a role she is already confirmed to be reprising in season 2 ofPeacemaker. Given how impressive Merced’s career has become recently, it is a lot of fun to look back atInstant Familyas an early hint of the big things to come.
