José Balmaceda Riera – Fertility Doctor, Political Exile, and Father of Pedro Pascal

José Balmaceda Riera is a Chilean reproductive endocrinologist — a fertility doctor — whose life runs through three very distinct chapters: respected academic medicine, political exile from Pinochet’s Chile, and one of the most consequential medical ethics scandals in American reproductive history. Most people discover his name through a very different door: he is the father of Pedro Pascal, the Chilean-American actor known globally for The Mandalorian, The Last of Us, and Narcos.

But José Balmaceda Riera’s story is far older, and far more complicated, than any of his son’s roles. It begins in Santiago, Chile, in 1948 — and it still hasn’t fully closed.

Quick Facts: José Balmaceda Riera at a Glance

Early Life in Santiago, Chile

José Balmaceda Riera was born on August 22, 1948, in Santiago, Chile. He came from an educated, middle-class family with strong intellectual roots. His father was José Francisco Balmaceda Vergara, born in 1914, and his mother was Juana (Juanita) Riera Bauzá, who was originally from Palma de Mallorca, Spain. That Mallorcan heritage gives the Balmaceda surname its somewhat hybrid quality — part deep Chilean, part Mediterranean.

He reportedly had at least two sisters, Ana María Balmaceda Riera and Teresa Paulina Balmaceda Riera, both of whom are deceased.

Growing up in mid-twentieth century Chile meant growing up inside a country in constant political motion. The ideological fault lines that would eventually produce Pinochet’s 1973 military coup were already forming during José’s childhood and university years. By most accounts, he became a quiet but genuine opponent of the regime — a fact that would eventually force his family to leave Chile altogether.

From an early age he was drawn to science, and medicine specifically. His family encouraged that pursuit, and his personality — described by those who knew him as curious, focused, and analytically driven — made him well suited to what medical study demands.

Medical Training and the Move Into Fertility Medicine

José Balmaceda Riera completed his medical education in Chile, where he developed a particular interest in reproductive medicine. It was a field that was, in the 1970s, still finding its modern footing. IVF had only just become a clinical reality — Louise Brown, the world’s first IVF baby, was born in 1978. For a doctor with a research-oriented mind, it was a genuinely open frontier.

After qualifying as a physician, he pursued specialization in gynecology and reproductive endocrinology. His career eventually took him to the University of California, Irvine, where he worked at the Center for Reproductive Health. The clinic, which he ran alongside Dr. Ricardo Hector Asch and Dr. Sergio Stone, was considered one of the more innovative fertility programs in California at the time. Couples traveled from across the country — and sometimes internationally — to access it.

For a period, José Balmaceda Riera was a genuine part of that reputation.

Political Exile: Fleeing Pinochet’s Chile

Long before the fertility clinic controversy, the Balmaceda family had already lived through one dramatic uprooting. When Pinochet’s military coup took hold of Chile in September 1973, the political climate became immediately dangerous for those who opposed the regime.

Pedro Pascal — full name José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal — was born on April 2, 1975, in Santiago. He was only nine months old when, because of the political turmoil, his parents sought asylum at the Venezuelan embassy in Santiago. They were later granted asylum in Denmark and then moved to the United States. The family settled initially in San Antonio, Texas, and later in Orange County, California.

This journey — refugee status, cultural dislocation, language barriers, starting over in a country not their own — shaped the entire family. Pedro Pascal has spoken about his parents with evident warmth and respect in interviews over the years, acknowledging the sacrifices they made simply to keep the family safe.

José’s wife, Verónica Pascal Ureta, was a child psychologist. The couple raised four children together: Javiera, Pedro, Nicolás, and Lux Pascal — who is openly transgender, a fact Pedro has championed publicly with obvious pride. Verónica died in 1999, a loss Pedro has described as one of the defining events of his life.

The 1995 UC Irvine Fertility Scandal

This is the chapter most people are actually searching for when they type José Balmaceda Riera into a search engine. It deserves careful, accurate treatment — because what actually happened was both more specific and more ethically serious than most brief summaries suggest.

In 1995, the Orange County Register broke the story that Asch and Balmaceda had transferred eggs and embryos from women into other patients without proper consent. The Register won a Pulitzer Prize for the reporting.

Fifteen infants were said to have been born after the eggs were transferred to infertile women, with approximately 60 women involved in the scandal overall. Some families discovered, years later, that children existed who were biologically related to them — children they had never known about and had never consented to bring into the world.

There was something almost legally paradoxical at the core of the case. Stealing human tissue was not a crime at the time, but the doctors were accused of not reporting $1 million in billings, which led to indictments on fraud and tax evasion.

An audit determined that nearly $1 million in clinic income had not been reported, believed to include tens of thousands of dollars in cash payments from patients that were allegedly pocketed by doctors. Eventually, José along with his colleagues Ricardo Hector Asch and Sergio Stone was indicted on mail fraud and income tax evasion charges.

What Happened to Each Doctor

The three doctors’ fates diverged significantly.

Sergio Stone, who was not accused of being directly involved in the egg transfers, was convicted in 1997 and fined $50,000, along with home detention.

Ricardo Asch left the United States one year before a federal indictment was filed. He was tried and acquitted of all charges in Argentina in 2008. In 2011, Mexico denied an extradition request by the United States as it would constitute double jeopardy.

José Balmaceda Riera also fled — returning to Chile as the scandal unfolded. For nearly three decades, the legal case against him remained technically open but functionally dormant.

Then, decades after fleeing to Chile, Balmaceda appeared in a courtroom at the federal courthouse in Santa Ana in early 2022. He signed a plea agreement and admitted that he under-reported his taxes in 1991 and 1992, as part of a scheme in which he and other doctors at the UC Irvine fertility clinic took cash from some clients and didn’t report the income.

His surrender was the result of negotiations between prosecutors and his attorney, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and he was released on a $750,000 bond.

It’s worth being precise here: the plea addressed the financial charges only. The ethical dimension — the women whose eggs were used without consent, the families who discovered unexpected biological relatives — was never subject to criminal accountability, because no law at the time adequately covered it. UC Irvine paid over $27 million to settle about 140 lawsuits regarding the fertility scandal.

The UCI Scandal: Confirmed Facts at a Glance

Father of Pedro Pascal

For most of the world, José Balmaceda Riera became a searchable name because of his son. Pedro Pascal’s rise from years of small television roles to genuine global stardom was rapid and decisive. His portrayal of Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones in 2014, Javier Peña in Narcos from 2015, the title character in The Mandalorian from 2019, and Joel in HBO’s The Last of Us from 2023 built an audience that has only continued to grow.

José has been photographed with Pedro on public occasions — including appearances in London in late 2024 alongside daughter Lux — suggesting a continued closeness despite the distance and disruption of earlier decades. Pedro has spoken about both parents in a way that conveys genuine gratitude rather than performance.

José Balmaceda Riera did not become a public figure by choice. His visibility today is almost entirely a function of his son’s fame. Before Pedro Pascal became a household name, the elder Balmaceda was known primarily in medical and legal circles — and mostly for the wrong reasons.

Where Is José Balmaceda Riera Now?

As of 2026, José Balmaceda Riera is 77 years old. He is not known to be practicing medicine in any public capacity. His current place of residence is not confirmed in public reporting, though his 2022 court appearance in California indicates he has at least some connection to the United States again.

An Instagram account under the handle @balmacedariera exists, though it contains minimal personal content and appears largely inactive — its follower count almost certainly a reflection of curiosity about his son rather than any public presence of his own.

No verified professional portfolio, official biography, or active business presence has been identified online. His net worth is not publicly known, and any figures circulating online should be treated as speculation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is José Balmaceda Riera? He is a Chilean reproductive endocrinologist born in Santiago on August 22, 1948. He is widely known as the father of actor Pedro Pascal, and also for his involvement in the 1995 UC Irvine fertility clinic scandal.

How old is José Balmaceda Riera? He was born in 1948, making him 77 years old as of 2026.

What did José Balmaceda Riera do professionally? He worked as a fertility doctor at UC Irvine’s Center for Reproductive Health, specializing in reproductive endocrinology and IVF procedures.

What was the José Balmaceda Riera scandal about? He was one of three doctors accused in 1995 of using patients’ eggs and embryos without their knowledge or consent. He was indicted on mail fraud and tax evasion charges, fled to Chile before conviction, and returned in 2022 to enter a plea deal on tax fraud charges.

What companies or organizations has José Balmaceda Riera been affiliated with? The primary confirmed institutional affiliation is the University of California, Irvine — specifically the Center for Reproductive Health. No current professional affiliations are confirmed.

Is there an official biography or portfolio for José Balmaceda Riera online? No official biography or professional website has been identified. Information about him exists primarily through news reporting on the fertility scandal and coverage related to his son Pedro Pascal.

What happened to his wife Verónica Pascal? Verónica Pascal Ureta, a child psychologist and mother to the four Balmaceda Pascal children, died in 1999.

Can I contact José Balmaceda Riera for professional inquiries? No publicly available contact information has been identified. He does not appear to be offering any verified professional services as of 2026.

A Legacy That Resists Simple Framing

José Balmaceda Riera is a man whose name carries several very different histories at once. He was a skilled reproductive endocrinologist who built a credible career during a formative era in fertility science. He was also a political exile who fled one authoritarian government, built a new life in a foreign country — and then, years later, fled a very different kind of accountability.

The UCI scandal he was part of didn’t just damage one clinic’s reputation. It contributed directly to legislative and ethical reforms around patient consent in reproductive medicine, the legal definition of what constitutes theft of biological material, and how fertility programs are regulated in the United States. Those reforms exist in part because of what happened in that clinic.

At 77, in 2026, José Balmaceda Riera carries a complicated legacy. His son’s fame has brought renewed attention to a story that never fully went away — and for the families affected by the clinic’s actions, that renewed attention is probably bittersweet. Their experiences were real, and they deserve to be part of any honest account of who José Balmaceda Riera actually is.

He is, all at once, a father, a doctor, a refugee, and a man who eventually returned to face at least part of what he left behind. That’s not a simple story — and it probably shouldn’t be told as one.