Rockstar Games has yet to officially reveal the cast behind Grand Theft Auto 6 yet, but fans are pretty sure they’ve figured it a few of the game’s lead roles already. For years now, the GTA 6 community has been convinced that actor and weightlifter Manni Perez is the model behind the game’s co-protagonist Lucia Caminos. Some of those people have hounded Perez so viciously, however, that the 34-year-old performer had to delete her social media accounts in mid-2025. Now, a few weeks before the release of GTA 6, the actor is willingly stepping into the spotlight — and putting some rumors to rest.
Those rumors do not involve GTA 6 in any way, but the lack of acknowledgment on Perez’s part is also exactly what makes her sudden social media appearance so notable. Perez framed the 11-minute live session as a chance for people to get to know her better. She answered some questions live, and explained why she’s been so scarce on the internet. As she tells it, she’s an intense introvert who can become anti-social for a week after a short but sustained interaction with someone else. While it was framed as a joke, the undercurrent — that she’s a very private person — was earnest.
“I’m not a fan of social media, but for the work that I do, unfortunately, we need it,” Perez said.
“I also don’t feel like I’m photogenic, I don’t like to show my face,” Perez later added while explaining why she doesn’t post more pictures or videos about her work.
Manni Perez describes life before GTA 6
Despite getting thousands of comments screaming about Lucia and GTA 6, Perez managed the Herculean task of never once uttering a word about those subjects. Perez’s sheer unwillingness to say the phrase “GTA 6” out loud, even in jest, only strengthened people’s conviction that she must be attached to the project. Perhaps she’s sick of hearing about the game after years of pestering about it. Or, more likely, she’s under some kind of NDA that prevents her from mentioning the game before Rockstar announces it. Viewers couldn’t quite square away Perez’s assertion that she dislikes the internet with her decision to host an Instagram Live where she ignored the vast majority of the comments — unless she’s ramping up her presence in anticipation of the game, maybe?
Whatever the case, Perez spent the start of the livestream pushing back against what she claims is a persistent assumption about her.
“I am not rich, people,” Perez declared. “I ain’t no millionaire … I’m a regular person. I still do my own food shopping. I still do my own cooking, I do my own cleaning. I do my own laundry. I drive a small, used sedan.”
Perez said that she grew up in a “rednecky hick town,” with a lower-middle-class family that was militant about not using air conditioning or heating. Though her family is in a better spot now, she still recalls being unable to afford meat growing up. “It was scrambled eggs, white rice, and ketchup,” she said. “Or black beans, tomato slices, and ketchup. And that’s what was eaten for a long time.”
Perez shared some other fun facts about herself, like her love of the color green and her hope that her next car will be a truck. Above all, she assured fans that, while they might not see much of her, she was still definitely keeping busy.
“I am out and about regularly—like, I do stuff, and things,” Perez said with a sly smile. She did not clarify what stuff she’s apparently involved in, but fans had a strong hunch about what it could be.
Grand Theft Auto 6 will be released on Nov. 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.