Perry Mattfeld

Mattfeld grew up in Long Beach, California.^[1] Her mother is of Mexican descent. Her grandparents and great-grandparents were entertainers.^[2] She participated in ballet from the age of five, studying dancing for the following nine years under the guidance of Debbie Allen. By the age of 12, she was a full-fledged employee of Mattel when she played Kirsten Larson and Kit Kittredge as part of Mattel's American Girl Dolls musical theater troupe.^[1]

She graduated from Long Beach Poly High School and attended college at the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting in 2016.^[3][4] She participated in cheerleading at both schools.^[5]

In her first starring role, in The CW crime comedy-drama, In the Dark (2019–2022), she plays a blind woman. For this part, she learned skills for coping with blindness such as using a guide dog and sending text messages with voice commands. She shadowed a blind person, on whose life the show is based, to observe how she did ordinary things.^[4] Fans have reportedly believed that she was blind herself.^[6][7] Although the show has received criticism for not using an actual blind actress, the producer says she was "best for the role" despite having auditioned blind actresses.^[7]

Mattfeld next played an assistant football coach Ricky Hudson in the comedy Chad Powers, which began airing on Hulu in September 2025. She described playing Hudson a “dream role” to The Hollywood Report because of her connection to football through cheerleading and through her husband, who is a former NFL player.^[8]

Mattfeld and former New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez got engaged in May 2022.^[9] The couple married in Oaxaca, Mexico on May 28, 2023.^[10] Mattfeld gave birth to twin daughters with Sanchez in March 2025.^[11]