José Balmaceda Riera is a Chilean reproductive endocrinologist and fertility doctor. He is best known as the father of actor Pedro Pascal. Balmaceda and his wife, child psychologist Verónica Pascal Ureta, fled Chile as political refugees in 1975, when their son Pedro was nine months old. The family later settled in the United States, where Balmaceda built a career at the University of California, Irvine. 

In 1995, he became part of a major fertility clinic scandal involving allegations of embryo and egg transfers without patient consent. He later returned to Chile. Today, most searches for his name come from people trying to understand his connection to Pedro Pascal and the details of that scandal.

Quick Facts

Reported height figures vary by source and are not confirmed by any medical or public record.

Early Life and Family Background

José Balmaceda Riera was born on 22 August 1948 in Santiago, Chile. His father was José Francisco Balmaceda Vergara, born in 1914. His mother was Juana Riera Bauzá, who came from Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

He grew up in a middle-class, educated family. His two sisters, Ana María and Teresa Paulina, have both since passed away. Chile in the 1950s and 1960s was politically active, and that atmosphere shaped his early years.

Balmaceda was drawn to science from a young age. He attended San Ignatius as a preparatory school before joining Catholic University Medical School, where he graduated in 1974. He then completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Chile Hospital.

Medical Training and the Move Into Fertility Medicine

Reproductive medicine was a young field in the 1970s. IVF only became a clinical reality in 1978, the year Louise Brown became the world’s first IVF baby. Balmaceda entered this field early, specializing in gynecology and reproductive endocrinology.

His career eventually took him to the University of California, Irvine. There he worked at the Center for Reproductive Health alongside Dr. Ricardo Hector Asch and Dr. Sergio Stone. The clinic became known for advanced techniques, including GIFT, or Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer, along with egg collection and embryo survival research. Couples traveled from across the country to seek treatment there.

Political Exile: Fleeing Pinochet’s Chile

In September 1973, a military coup in Chile removed President Salvador Allende. The Balmaceda family opposed the new regime led by Augusto Pinochet, and that opposition put them at risk.

In 1975, when Pedro was only nine months old, the family sought asylum at the Venezuelan embassy in Santiago. They were later granted asylum in Denmark. From there, they moved to the United States, settling first in San Antonio, Texas.

Balmaceda completed a gynecology residency in Texas in 1980. He later received a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship in reproductive endocrinology. The family eventually moved again, this time to Orange County, California, where Balmaceda’s career in fertility medicine grew.

The UC Irvine Fertility Scandal

In 1995, the Orange County Register broke a story that would define much of Balmaceda’s public reputation. The paper reported that doctors at the UC Irvine Center for Reproductive Health had transferred eggs and embryos between patients without proper consent.

The investigation named Balmaceda, along with Ricardo Asch and Sergio Stone. Reports indicated that at least 15 infants were born using eggs transferred without the knowledge of the original patients. Around 60 women were reportedly connected to the case.

At the time, taking eggs or embryos without consent was not a defined crime under U.S. law. Instead, prosecutors focused on financial charges. An audit found that nearly $1 million in clinic income had gone unreported. This led to indictments on mail fraud and tax evasion.

The Orange County Register later won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting on the case.

What Happened to Each Doctor

The three doctors faced very different outcomes. Sergio Stone was convicted in 1997 and received a $50,000 fine along with home detention.

Ricardo Asch left the United States before his indictment was filed. He was tried in Argentina and acquitted of all charges in 2008. In 2011, Mexico denied a U.S. extradition request, ruling it would amount to double jeopardy.

Balmaceda also left the country, returning to Chile as the case unfolded. For nearly three decades, the charges against him remained open but inactive.

Legal Investigation, Indictment and the 2022 Plea Deal

In early 2022, Balmaceda appeared at a federal courthouse in Santa Ana, California. He signed a plea agreement admitting that he had underreported his taxes in 1991 and 1992.

The plea addressed only the financial side of the case. He was released on a $750,000 bond following negotiations between his attorney and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. UC Irvine had already paid more than $27 million to settle around 140 lawsuits tied to the scandal.

Confirmed Facts at a Glance

The Affected Families and Patients

The scandal’s real weight falls on the patients involved. Some women learned years later that children existed who were biologically related to them, children they never knew about and never agreed to bring into the world.

Because egg theft was not a defined crime in the 1990s, none of the doctors faced criminal charges tied directly to the transfers themselves. The financial charges were the only legal path available to prosecutors at the time.

The lawsuits that followed reshaped how fertility clinics operate. Patient consent forms, tracking systems, and oversight rules across the industry trace back in part to this case.

Wife: Verónica Pascal Ureta

Verónica Pascal Ureta was a Chilean child psychologist, born in 1953. She was related to the Allende family and was a cousin of Andrés Pascal Allende, a leader of the Movement of the Revolutionary Left.

She and Balmaceda separated after the family returned to Chile in the mid-1990s. Verónica died on 4 February 1999 at the age of 46.

After her death, Pedro Pascal changed his professional surname from Balmaceda to Pascal in her honor. He has spoken about his mother with deep respect, crediting her support as central to his success.

Children of José Balmaceda Riera

Balmaceda and Verónica had four children together: Javiera, born in 1972, Pedro, born in 1975, Nicolás, born in 1987, and Lux, born in 1992. Each has followed a different professional path.

Javiera Balmaceda Pascal

Javiera is the eldest of the four. She studied at Wesleyan University and became a film and television producer. She now serves as Head of Local Originals for Latin America at Amazon MGM Studios.

Pedro Pascal

Pedro Pascal, born José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal, attended the Orange County School of the Arts before studying at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He built his acting career slowly through small television roles before breaking through as Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones in 2014.

He followed that with Javier Peña in Narcos starting in 2015 and the title role in The Mandalorian beginning in 2019. Since 2023, he has played Joel in HBO’s The Last of Us.

Nicolás Balmaceda Pascal

Nicolás chose medicine instead of entertainment. He earned a doctorate from the University of Chile in 2015 and now works as a pediatric neurologist.

Lux Pascal

Lux, born Lucas Balmaceda, studied theater at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and later trained at the Juilliard School. She came out as a transgender woman in February 2021 and has worked as an actress and activist since.

Career in Latin America After Returning to Chile

After leaving the United States, Balmaceda resumed work in reproductive medicine in Chile. In 2003, he became director of the Latin American Assisted Reproduction Network, an organization connected to fertility clinics in Chile, Peru, and Bolivia.

His current medical practice status is not confirmed in public records. His 2022 court appearance in California suggests some continued connection to the United States. Beyond that, little about his day to day life has been made public. An Instagram account under the handle balmacedariera exists but shows minimal activity.

Legacy, Medical Ethics Impact, and Public Perception

Balmaceda’s story carries two very different threads. One is a career built in an emerging field of medicine during a formative era for fertility science. The other is a scandal that forced real change in how clinics handle patient consent.

The reforms that followed, including stricter identification systems and government oversight of fertility programs, trace back in part to this case. Public interest in his life has grown mainly because of his son’s fame in shows like The Mandalorian and The Last of Us.

Age, Height, and Net Worth

José Balmaceda Riera is 77 years old as of 2026, based on his birth date of 22 August 1948. Reported net worth figures circulating online are not backed by any public financial record and should be treated as unverified. Reported height figures also vary between sources and cannot be confirmed.

Conclusion

José Balmaceda Riera’s life connects medicine, political exile, and one of the most consequential fertility scandals in American history. He built a career in reproductive medicine, fled Pinochet’s Chile with his family in 1975, and later became central to the 1995 UC Irvine case. 

His 2022 plea agreement closed the financial side of that case. Today, he is known largely through his son Pedro Pascal’s success, though his own story stands on its own as a study in medical ethics and personal reinvention.

More Celebrity Profiles: Kelly Ripken: Life, Career, and Legacy Beyond Cal Ripken Jr.

FAQs

Who is José Balmaceda Riera? 

José Balmaceda Riera is a Chilean reproductive endocrinologist and fertility doctor, best known as the father of actor Pedro Pascal.

How old is José Balmaceda Riera? 

He was born on 22 August 1948 in Santiago, Chile, making him 77 years old as of 2026.

Is José Balmaceda Riera still alive? 

Public records confirm he made a court appearance in California in 2022, but his current status has not been publicly reported since.

Who is José Balmaceda Riera’s wife? 

His wife was Verónica Pascal Ureta, a Chilean child psychologist who died in 1999.

What happened to Pedro Pascal’s mother? 

Verónica Pascal Ureta died on 4 February 1999 at the age of 46, after separating from Balmaceda in the mid-1990s.

What was José Balmaceda Riera accused of in the UC Irvine scandal? 

He was accused in 1995 of transferring patients’ eggs and embryos to other women without consent, and was later charged with mail fraud and tax evasion.

Why did Pedro Pascal’s family leave Chile? 

The family fled in 1975 to escape the military dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet.

Where does José Balmaceda Riera live now, and is he still practicing medicine? 

He returned to Chile after the scandal and became director of the Latin American Assisted Reproduction Network in 2003, though his current practice status is unconfirmed.