Pedro Pascal’s sister, Lux Pascal, made a splash on the Gladiator II red carpet this week, with reporters claiming she ‘stole the spotlight’ from her actor brother after arriving at the Leicester Square screening in a Stephane Rolland cut-out black dress styled by Freddy Alonso. Lux is 17 years younger than Pedro, who stars in the Gladiator sequel as Marcus Acacius, a Roman general who trained under Maximus. An actor too, Lux is known for her roles on Chilean TV series Veinteañero a los 40 and Juana Brava.
Now, having made headlines for her glamorous style, Google is awash with search queries for Lux. According to Google Trends, ‘Pedro Pascal sister’ is a breakout search term, as well as ‘Lux Pascal partner’ and ‘Lux Pascal Narcos’. Lux did in fact appear alongside her brother in Narcos in 2017, playing Elias, but she played the role under a different name, as she had not publicly come out as a trans woman at the time.
In fact, Lux’s identity as a trans woman also seems to be a major point of query for the public – with Google Trends data proving quite concerning for how invasive the search terms are. ‘Lux Pascal birth name’ is a major breakout search trend, as well as ‘Lux Pascal before transition’ and ‘Lux Pascal young’.
While it may appear that some are merely curious, we have seen far too often that such Googling behaviour is often indicative of a more sinister attempts at transphobia. Deadnaming, for example, where people purposefully use a trans person’s previous name to undermine their new identity, is a common tactic deployed by transphobes against high profile trans celebrities. Similarly, old pictures are shared online in similar attempts to invalidate a person’s gender identity.
Certainly, Lux has been subject to transphobic abuse online during her time in the spotlight, so much so she’s become an outspoken advocate for the trans community online. Want to know more? Keep scrolling…
Who is Lux Pascal?
Lux Pascal is an American Chilean actor and LGBTQ+ activist, born to parents José Balmaceda Riera and Verónica Pascal Ureta, in California. Her family, the Balmaceda family, was politically influential, part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy, but her parents were exiled from Chile in 1973 due to their connection to the leader of the Chilean Revolutionary Left Movement){href='https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_Left_Movement_(Chile)' } (her mother’s cousin).They returned to Chile when she was three, attending Saint George’s College. Lux has three siblings, including fellow actor Pedro Pascal.
Studying theatre in Chile, Lux went on to earn an MFA in acting from Juilliard where she graduated in 2023. Lux began acting in 2014 and appeared on international TV for the first time when she was cast in Narcos alongside her brother Pedro in 2017. She’s best known for her TV roles in Veinteañero a los 40, Juana Brava and film The Prince.
When did Lux come out as transgender?
In February 2021, Lux changed her name to reflect her maternal surname and came out publicly as transgender. She had been receiving hormone treatment for almost a year and explained that her family was always incredibly supportive.
‘[Pedro] has been an important part of this,’ Lux said in an interview about her experience coming out, explaining that she told her brother over FaceTime. ‘He asked me how I felt, because I remember he was a little worried.’ When Lux explained that she was happy, he congratulated her, saying ‘Perfect, this is incredible.’
‘Pedro also an artist and has served as a guide for me,’ she explained. ‘He was one of the first people to gift me the tools that started shaping my identity.’
Pedro told Esquire, ‘[Lux] is and has always been one of the most powerful people and personalities I’ve ever known. My protective side is lethal, but I need her more than she needs me.’
Does Lux Pascal have a partner?
Lux has been in a relationship with actor and musician José Antonio Raffo since 2011, who is best known for his roles in A Fantastic Woman (2017), Perdona Nuestros Pecados (2017) and Pobre Gallo (2016).
Does Pedro Pascal have any other siblings?
Pedro has three siblings, an older sister named Javiera, a younger brother named Nicolas and Lux who is the youngest.
Was Lux Pascal in Game of Thrones?
While Pedro Pascal was in Game of Thrones, which is perhaps contributing to the search around whether or not Lux was, his youngest sister did not appear in the TV series with him.
Does Lux Pascal have Instagram?
She does indeed! You can find her here @luxpascal_