Isabella Madrigal

### Relatives

Mirabel (younger sister), Luisa (younger sister), Dolores (cousin), Antontio (cousin), Camilo (cousin), Julieta (mom), Abuella (Grandma), Augustin (Dad), Felix (Uncle), Pepa (Aunt)

## Appearances

### Debut

Encanto

**Isabela Madrigal** is a major character in Disney's 2021 animated feature film *Encanto*. She is the oldest daughter of Agustin and Julieta Madrigal, and the eldest sister of Luisa and Mirabel. Described as “Señorita Perfecta” by her youngest sister, Isabela is the golden child of the Madrigal family, whose gift is the power to conjure beautiful flowers and plants.

## Background

Isabela is the eldest sister of Mirabel and Luisa Madrigal and the firstborn grandchild of the Madrigals, a family gifted with magical powers. Isabela is graceful, and Mirabel describes her as "effortlessly perfect". Flowers bloom with each step she takes. Because of her looks and power, she is betrothed to a local man who is equally good-looking, Mariano Guzmán. But it is later revealed that she did not want to be perfect, and she also does not want to marry Mariano. With Mirabel's help, Isabela is able to finally show her true self. When she feels free from the restraint of familial expectations, she can grow new, different varieties of plants that spray different colors of powder. This brings the two sisters closer, which culminates in a hug.

### Personality

Isabela is primarily known for being graceful, beautiful and even “perfect”, both inside and out, by everyone. Although not very close with her family for most of the film, Isabela cares for them and wants to do whatever it takes to make them proud, showing her selfless and loyal side. While she doesn't get along with Mirabel for most of the film and is clearly distant from her, she does not share the same strained relationship with her other younger sister, Luisa, and is on good terms with her. Isabela was shown to be worried about Luisa when she cried during the proposal dinner, and was upset with Mirabel on Luisa's behalf when the latter's superhuman strength ​was fading. Isabela is visibly close and affectionate with her aunt and cousin. When Pepa was nervous that something might go wrong at Antonio's gift ceremony, Isabela appeared to calm her down and gave her a bouquet of roses. This closeness is best seen in "We Don't Talk About Bruno", where she and Pepa dance and hold hands while smiling (despite the fact that Isabela is not in love with Mariano), showing the affection that Isabela really has for her aunt. Isabela treats her cousin who is a few months younger than her, Dolores, like her own sister. During Antonio's gift ceremony, she is seen holding Dolores's hand while hugging her reassuringly for most of the ceremony. At the end of the film, Isabela is noticeably excited and happy for Dolores when she proclaims her feelings for Mariano. Isabela also showed no negative opinion of her infamous uncle Bruno, partially due to him telling her a positive vision in her future.

She is referred to as the “golden child” by the family for her grace, and is beloved by the town. However, deep down, Isabela does not appreciate the expectations her Abuela sets upon her to be perfect. Instead, she wants to live life the way she wants to, and expand her power based on what she wants and not what the family wants. Unfortunately, due to the pressure of being the “perfect golden child”, Isabela hides these feelings away and willingly goes along with whatever her Abuela wants for her, even agreeing to get married to Mariano, who she does not love.

To further add to the pressure, Isabela does not get along with her youngest sister Mirabel. Both sisters are mutually jealous of each other's lives, which differed from their own; Isabela envying Mirabel being unburdened by expectations and free to do whatever she wants. Unaware of how unhappy the other was than they let on, Isabela had a strained relationship with her youngest sister. Isabela would be distasteful towards Mirabel in their interactions, insulting her, ordering her to be quiet during the dinner, and later on smugly making Mirabel apologize for "ruining" her life, implying a temperamental and petty side to her. However, after she finally released her emotions (when Mirabel calls her a "selfish, entitled princess") and grew a cactus, Isabela became more expressing of her true feelings, and expanded her plant powers. She additionally reconciles with Mirabel, growing a better sibling relationship with her.

As Mirabel argued with Abuela for both seeing her as a disappointment and pressuring her and Luisa to be perfect, Isabela could only watch sadly as she realized how her youngest sister truly felt living in her and the rest of the family's shadow. When Casita Madrigal was destroyed and Mirabel ran away, she showed concern for her sister and looked for her with the rest of the family. Once Mirabel returned with their penitent grandmother and long-lost uncle, Isabela works alongside her family and the community in rebuilding the house during "All of You", her relationship with both Mirabel and Luisa growing more loving and affectionate as they worked together. With the house and family magic restored, Isabela becomes a happier person, no longer constrained by expectations, and free to experiment with her powers and express herself.

### Physical appearance

Isabela is a 21-year-old Colombian woman with dark skin, hazel eyes, a tear-shaped beauty mark on her left cheek, and long, shiny, black hair with a pink flower on the left side, and diamond earrings. She wears a lilac, frilled and layered dress decorated with flowers, and matching lilac slippers. After her transformation during the course of "What Else Can I Do?", her dress was painted in various colors (yellow, red, blue, the colors of the Colombian flag) with the main color dark blue, with matching flowers, and her hair has yellow, green, and blue streaks in it, with an orange flower replacing the previous pink blossom. The flowers on her dress and the one in her hair are cattleya trianae orchid, also known as "may lilies" or "may flowers". Towards the end of the movie, her dress turns indigo with splashes of bright colors on the bottom, and the tips of her hair were indigo and blue.

### Powers and Abilities

Isabela can conjure and grow plants, causing flowers to bloom in her wake. She can also manipulate plant life. Originally, she only grew vines and beautiful, symmetrical flowers, such as roses, but later began experimenting with her gift and discovered that she could grow other kinds of plants as well, such as cacti, trees, and even carnivorous plants. Her powers also appear to be linked to her emotions: when Dolores mentions Mariano's desire to have five babies with Isabela, she is shocked and flowers sprout in her hair.