Aria Mia Loberti
Born	1994
Occupations	Actress Academic
Known for	All the Light We Cannot See

Aria Mia Loberti (born 1994)^[1] is an American actress. She stars as Marie-Laure Leblanc in the Netflix miniseries All the Light We Cannot See. She won her inaugural role from a global search of thousands of actresses.^[2]

Biography

Loberti was born and raised in Johnston, Rhode Island. Dissatisfied with her treatment in public school, her parents homeschooled her from the third through twelfth grades.^[2]

Loberti attended the University of Rhode Island from 2016 to 2020. She graduated "summa cum laude" with three majors — Philosophy, Communication Studies, and Political Science — and minors in Ancient Greek language and Rhetoric, and completed the Honors Program.^[3][4] She received her master's degree in ancient rhetoric with distinction in 2021 from Royal Holloway, University of London on a Fulbright Scholarship.^[5] She started her doctoral studies in ancient rhetoric at Pennsylvania State University in 2021,^[6] when she began to question her career path.^[7]

Loberti plays the lead role of Marie-Laure Leblanc in Netflix's adaptation of the 2014 novel All the Light We Cannot See. Loberti, who is also legally blind due to a severe form of the genetic condition achromatopsia,^[8] landed the part after a global search for a blind or low-vision actor. A fan of the book, she auditioned after learning about the search from a childhood orientation and mobility teacher.^[9][10] Despite no acting training, Loberti beat out thousands of submissions to secure the role; it is her first ever acting role and was her first audition.^[11][12][13] Director Shawn Levy stated of Loberti:  “I didn't know what she had acted in, I didn't know what her training was, all I knew is that there was a combination of intelligence, which was extremely self-evident, and a luminous quality on camera… I later found out that not only was she new to acting—she had never even auditioned before.”^[14]

Loberti's performance has been universally praised by critics, described as “graceful and affecting”,^[15] “luminous”,^[16] “resonant, [and] captivating”,^[17] and a “radiant…good and pure presence that grounds the series’ sense of jeopardy.”^[18] Her co-star Mark Ruffalo referred to her as “a revelation.”^[19] She has received a Rising Star Award at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival^[20] and an Entertainment Weekly Breaking Big Award at the 2023 SCAD Savannah Film Festival.^[21]

In September 2023, it was announced that Loberti would serve as the new face of the beauty and skincare brand L'Occitane en Provence.^[22][23] In November 2023, it was announced that she would narrate a new audiobook version of Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.^[24]

Loberti is also a human rights activist and began speaking up for her own and others’ educational and accessibility rights at just four years old.^[25][26] As a child, she advocated in her local community to improve policies for blind and low-vision students.^[27] In high school and college, she participated in activities and speaking engagements with the United Nations, UN Women, and other summits.^[28] She gave a 2018 TEDx Talk about her background and efforts.^[29] At present, she is an active supporter of UNICEF and has traveled with the organization to support educational rights and climate change efforts.^[30]

References