The Stunning Transformation Of Aria Mia Loberti

Before 2023, chances are you had never heard of Aria Mia Loberti. Now, she's probably one of your new favorite actors. Loberti, who was born legally blind, was a Ph.D. student at Pennsylvania State University studying language and rhetoric when she decided on a whim to send in an audition for Netflix's adaptation of Anthony Doerr's Puliter-prize winning novel, "All the Light We Cannot See." The four-part series takes place during World War II and tells the story of Marie-Laure, a blind French girl who flees Paris with her father (Mark Ruffalo). They hide out at the home of her uncle (Hugh Laurie) in Saint-Malo where, thanks to an unsanctioned radio show, she encounters Werner (Louis Hofmann), a German soldier. 

Director Shawn Levy had put out an open casting call in search of a blind or low-vision actor who could take on the lead role of Marie-Laure. Although Loberti had never acted before, she blew Levy away and won the role. 

Now, Loberti plans on continuing her acting career while also fighting for more diversity and representation in Hollywood. Curious to learn more about the young woman who was plucked from obscurity to star in a Netflix series? Here is the stunning transformation of Aria Mia Loberti.

As a young girl, Aria Mia Loberti struggled socially because of her disability and her self-esteem suffered as a result. "I was not secure or comfortable with myself, with the people around me, with sharing this part of my identity," she told Vanity Fair. "I felt like it was wrong for most of my life, and I was told that it was wrong." 

As a result, Loberti did her best not to stand out because she was afraid of how others would treat her. "I did everything I could to hide," she told Marie Claire. "I thought to myself, 'As soon as I leave the house, the world is going to mistreat you.'" She even began to dress in clothes that would help her blend into the background — namely, a lot of big sweaters. "It wasn't fashion-forward," she explained. "It was armor." 

As a child, Aria Mia Loberti didn't study acting, but she did study both ballet and martial arts. In an Instagram post from 2018, Loberti shared an image of her in a black tutu as a child in honor of World Ballet Day. Then, in 2020, she shared a picture of herself in a dance pose in front of London's Royal Opera House. "Many, many years of preprofessional ballet training are not lost on me. Please remind me of this next time I trip," she wrote in the caption. 

In another post, Loberti shared a video showing her fight training. "Self-Defense: Blind Girl Style -white cane bo-staff. ... Daredevil." she wrote. Loberti is also a trained yoga instructor.

When she finally found herself starring in "All the Light We Cannot See," Loberti's physical training proved useful. "I brought a lot from my day-to-day life — my ballet training and martial arts training — with me to the stunts," she told Town & Country.

After graduating from high school, Aria Mia Loberti decided to pursue a career in academia because she couldn't imagine acting being a viable option. She completed a four-year degree at the University of Rhode Island, majoring in philosophy, political science, and communication studies and minoring in rhetoric and Ancient Greek, graduating in 2020. She then won a Fullbright scholarship to study ancient rhetoric at the Royal Halloway University of London. 

As a student, Loberti finally felt that she belonged. "The world always told me you don't belong. My immediate family were the only people countering that message," she told Rhody Today. "Then I got to URI and I had a whole community of people who were telling me 'you belong here, you can do these things.'"

After getting her master's degree in 2021, she went on to embark on a Ph.D. in rhetoric at Penn State. As her Penn State bio reads, "Aria's research interests focus on ancient rhetoric, specifically 5th-4th century BCE rhetorical practices in Greece, the works of Plato, the reception of ancient women's voices, and the role of the supernatural." No wonder the director of "All the Light We Cannot See" later described her as "fiercely intelligent" to Vanity Fair.

Director Shawn Levy eventually cast Aria Mia Loberti in "All the Light We Cannot See." "I found a needle in the haystack, and I found it in the most unlikely of places," he told Town & Country of his leading lady. 

When Loberti landed the role of Marie-Laure, she couldn't believe it. After all, the team had auditioned thousands of women. "It was such a fun audition process and it was very empowering. That's all I was seeking — a new experience, a challenge," admitted to Rhody Today. "I didn't expect anything more to come of it. I think it was just pure shock when I learned."

However, even though Loberti was blown away by the news, she also knew what a big responsibility the role was — and she was up for the challenge. "Though the landscape through which Marie moves is different from my own, our spirit is the same," she wrote on Instagram when she announced the news of her casting in late 2021. "Marie will take root on screen as a fully independent, fully realized, fully empowered character."

Even after all of her preparation, nothing could have prepared Aria Mia Loberti for what a big budget film set is really like in real life. "I had never been on a set. I thought that sets included a director, a camera person, maybe like a lighting guy," she said to Vanity Fair. Of course, there were actually hundreds of people there. Plus, she wasn't ready for the walls of her little attic set to be moved out of the way to make room for the lights and cameras. It was, naturally, pretty overwhelming.

Luckily, the entire team made sure that Loberti felt comfortable on set. "This production was so inclusive; Shawn [Levy] was an exceptional guide, and he allowed me to shadow him in the first few weeks," she told Town & Country. "They shot a lot of Louis [Hofmann's] scenes before they began with my scenes, and during that time, Shawn would take me around set ... Everything was a first."

Although Aria Mia Loberti was a quiet, shy child who tried to hide herself away from crowds, starring in Netflix miniseries has brought out a whole new side of her. And, as she told Marie Claire in 2023, this new sense of confidence has changed how she presents herself to the world. 

"My clothes and the risks I've taken with them have mimicked the changes in my life — this whole new experience [and platform]," Loberti said. "There's a sort of pride that comes with getting dressed now. I can finally wear the pieces that demonstrate how I feel on the inside."

Loberti is the kind of person who can make a thrifted vintage piece look brand new. She tends to fill her wardrobe with second-hand clothes that make her feel powerful. Sometimes that's traditional masculine clothes, and sometimes, it's pretty feminine silhouettes. "Fashion has become tactile, multi-layered, even sonic for me. In a way, I've realized it can help people get to know me and who I am without having to say anything at all," she said.

Not only does Aria Mia Loberti hope to keep acting in the future, but she also hopes to become a voice for other blind actors in the industry. While she understands that sometimes sighted people may be given opportunities to play blind characters, she hopes more blind people are given opportunities in the years to come. "Yes, actors are actors and everyone, I believe, should have the opportunity to step into someone else's shoes, but there are countless disabled actors, countless blind actors, I think we need to make the opportunities for fair, equal jobs in this industry and beyond and to tell the stories authentically," she told CBS.

In fact, Loberti believes that her story is proof that change is long overdue. "In 2023, that I am the first actor who's blind to be the lead or have a large role in a Hollywood production of that scale — that's living proof that change needs to happen," she said to Vanity Fair, adding that blind children deserve to have representation. "I have never felt represented," she said. Maybe now, things will finally start to change thanks to Loberti's performance and advocacy.