The role was written for a boy. Director Eugenio Derbez had spent months searching for a bilingual child to star in his film, with no luck. In a final, desperate move, he tweeted the casting call. This is how he found Loreto Peralta. She was not a boy, but the moment he saw her audition, the script was rewritten. Peralta’s debut in Instructions Not Included anchored the most successful Spanish-language film in U.S. box office history, a poignant dramedy that rested squarely on the chemistry between a seasoned star and a nine-year-old who had never acted professionally. Her performance was not a fluke; it was the beginning of a deliberate career.

Navigating the transition from child actor to adult artist is an infamous challenge, yet Peralta has managed it with uncommon grace. Sidestepping the typical teen-star trajectory, she pursued a variety of roles, from a part in the indie fantasy The Little Mermaid to voicing a character in the Salma Hayek-produced animation The Prophet. She has cultivated a presence in both Mexican and American productions, embracing projects like the teen comedy All the Freckles in the World and joining the cast of the Netflix hit The House of Flowers.

Now, Peralta is shaping a career beyond the one that found her. While building a modeling portfolio and becoming a fixture at Paris Fashion Week, she has enrolled in college to study production and direction. She describes Eugenio Derbez as a lifelong mentor who taught her to be intentional with her work. That intentionality is clear, marking the evolution from a girl who answered a chance casting call to an artist carefully authoring her own story.