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 (2023).
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.
Maridueña grew up in the El Sereno neighborhood and attended El Sereno Middle School. 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's first professional job was modeling for a Sears catalog. He then first starred on the series Parenthood when he was 11, between 2012 and 2015. He then appeared in Cobra Kai as the lead role of Miguel Díaz when he was 16; he appeared in every episode of the show.
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."
On August 18, 2023, Maridueña released his debut single, "On My Way" (featuring singer Adriana Padilla). 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 which he plays Gideon. In November 2025, he was announced for the role of Portgas D. Ace in the Netflix series One Piece.
Mariduena is set to make his Broadway debut as Juan De Marcos in Buena Vista Social Club for a seven-week limited engagement from November 17-January 3, 2027.
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 Year Title Role Notes 2013 Dealin' with Idiots Manny 2020 Goodnight America SteveShort 2021 #Whitina Chris 2023 Blue Beetle Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle2025 Code 3 Rookie EMT Smurfs Brainy Smurf Voice2026 Killing Castro Leonel Practical Magic 2 Gideon 2027 Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle Post-production TBA Alejandro Post-production
Television Year Title RoleNotes 2011–2015 Parenthood Victor Graham Guest (season 3), main (seasons 4–6) 2013 Major Crimes Stefan Camacho Episode: "Rules of Engagement"2016 Mack & Moxy Trooper Xolo Episode: "S.T.E.M. Strong" Rush Hour Isaiah Episode: "Captain Cole's Playlist" Furst Born Shawn Television film 2017 Twin Peaks Boy (1956) Episode: "Part 8" 2018 Noches con Platanito Himself Game show 2018–2025 Cobra Kai Miguel Diaz Main role 2019–2021 Cleopatra in Space ZaidVoice 2019–2022 Victor and Valentino Andres 2020 Fast & Furious Spy Racers Lucas2021 Wu-Tang: An American Saga King Tech Episode: "As High as Wu-Tang Gets" The Netflix Afterparty Himself Episode: "Cobra Kai" 2022 The Boys Presents: Diabolical Aqua Agua Voice, episode: "An Animated Short Where Pissed-Off Supes Kill Their Parents" 2022–present Batwheels Snowy the SnowcrawlerVoice2024 Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Kid Kree / Mel-Varr A Great Day with J Balvin Himself Episode: "Crate Digging with Xolo Maridueña"2025 Sakamoto Days Heisuke Mashimo Voice, English dub Invincible Fightmaster & Dropkick Voice, 2 episodes Portgas D. Ace Season 3
Theater Year Title Role Venue Notes 2026 Buena Vista Social Club Juan de Marcos González Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre Broadway debut
Discography YearTitle2023"On My Way" (feat. Adriana Padilla)2024The Scarab Tapes (EP)
Awards and nominations Year Awards Category Nominated work Result2014Imagen AwardsBest Young Actor/TelevisionParenthoodYoung Artist AwardsOutstanding Young Ensemble in a TV SeriesBest Performance in a TV Series - Supporting Young Actorrowspan=5 2015Imagen AwardsBest Young Actor/Television2018 Cobra KaiTeen Choice AwardsChoice Summer TV Actor2019Young Artist AwardsBest Performance in a Streaming Series or Film: Teen Actor2022NHMC Impact AwardsRising Star Impact Awardrowspan=3 2024Saturn AwardsBest Younger Actor in a FilmBlue Beetle2025Kids' Choice AwardsFavorite Male TV Star (Family)Cobra Kai
References
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