Lalaine Vergaras-Para, best known for playing Miranda Sanchez in the early noughties Disney show Lizzie McGuire, has spoken out about her experience with racism in the entertainment industy.

In an Instagram post Lalaine said she had been ‘forced to look as white as possible’ for her whole life growing up and struggles to find pictures in which she looks ethnic.

The image showed Lalaine wearing a crochet hat and shawl and in the caption the 31-year-old actor said it is the most East Asian she had ever looked, though some people may still have to zoom into her face to tell.



‘I love my face in this photo,’ she wrote.


Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda were the ultimate Disney gang (Photo: WALT DISNEY)

Lalaine is of Filipino heritage, but was cast as Mexican American student Miranda Sanchez in Lizzie McGuire – in one episode her family celebrated Day Of The Dead and the reason Miranda wasn’t included in The Lizzie McGuire Movie was because she was with her family in Mexico.

The actor goes only by her first name professionally, dropping the Vergaras-Para because it was deemed ‘too ethnic’ by industry heads.

Her followers have praised Lalaine for her honesty, ensuring her she’s ‘stunning’ and posting fire emojis. Many identified with Lalaine’s struggle as a young Filipino American and told their own stories of having to hide their race to fit in.

‘Thanks for sharing this. As a clearly Hispanic woman, I hated myself growing up. I wanted white skin, light eyes, light hair. I’ve learning to embrace my ethnic side as an adult. It was a struggle though,’ wrote on fan, while another commented, ‘It’s bizarre to look back on but growing up as a Ghirardelli-skinned Ghanaian-American and seeing so few non-white kids on Disney Channel shows, I thought I had to present myself as a white kid to have value.

‘You always stood out as an incredible quiet fire on LM and I’m sorry there weren’t more kids onscreen that looked like either of us.’

Since Lizzie McGuire, Lalaine has stepped out of the limelight but did appear on three episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer in 2003. She also made a small cameo in 2010 film Easy A and was bass player in a band – Vanity Theft – around the same time.

A few years ago, Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda had an impromptu reunion in a bowling alley, and, excitingly, there have reportedly been talks of an official Lizzie McGuire telly get-together. Star of the show Hilary Duff said, while it’s a possibility, ‘It’s definitely not a go. I don’t want to get everyone wild talking about it.’ Just try and stop us.

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