Xolo Maridueña

Ramario Xolo Ramirez (born June 9, 2001), known professionally as Xolo Maridueña ( ; ), is an American actor. He began his career as a child, starring as Victor Graham in the NBC drama Parenthood (2012–2015), and rose to prominence for playing Miguel Diaz, Johnny Lawrence's first student in the Netflix action series Cobra Kai (2018–2025), and Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle in the DC Comics superhero film Blue Beetle.

Early life Maridueña was born on June 9, 2001, in Los Angeles, California to Omar G. Ramirez and Carmelita Ramirez-Sánchez. He has four sisters. He is of Mexican, Cuban, and Ecuadorian descent. His birth name, Ramario, is a combination of Ramón and Mario, the names of his maternal uncles. When he was around 10 years old, Maridueña joined the CASA 0101 theater company where he trained as an actor and performed in his first productions. He later studied at Cathedral High School and Pasadena City College.

Career Maridueña (center) shares the stage with cast members from Cobra Kai at a convention in Washington state on June 22, 2025. Maridueña's first professional job was modeling for a Sears catalog.

Together with Jacob Bertrand, Maridueña co-hosts the Lone Lobos podcast, which debuted in September 2021.

Maridueña has said of his role as Blue Beetle (the first Latino superhero character to feature in a live-action film) "The only thing that is on my mind right now is just the fact that he's Latino. I have so much pride in getting to be a part of this project... I think it's so important, and I don’t want to stand on the soapbox for too long but representation is so important." In December 2023, he was cast in the film Killing Castro.

Maridueña appeared in a commercial for Taco Bell in September 2024 and an episode of J Balvin's docuseries A Great Day With J Balvin in October 2024. He voiced the role of Brainy Smurf in the 2025 animated film Smurfs, joining stars such as Rihanna and James Corden. Maridueña stars in Dog Years, an upcoming indie romance by Mary Bronaugh. In July 2025, Maridueña joined the cast of Practical Magic 2. In November 2025, he was announced for the role of Portgas D. Ace in the Netflix series One Piece.

Personal life Maridueña practices the religion Ifá. He was previously in a relationship with his Cobra Kai co-star Hannah Kepple, from 2019 to 2022.

Filmography

Film

Television