Groundbreaking Hispanic actor Elizabeth Peña has passed away at the age of 55 of natural causes after a brief illness in Los Angeles, CA. Born in Elizabeth, NJ, on September 23, 1959, to Cuban immigrant parents, Peña’s career began early on the New York theater scene and graduation from the High School of Performing Arts, before she moved to Los Angeles and landed multiple roles in films such as La Bamba, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, *batteries not included, and Blue Steel. She was also the lead in the TV series I Married Dora, which centered on the evolution of a “green card marriage.” Other prominent roles included the movies Jacob’s Ladder (opposite Tim Robbins), Lone Star (opposite Matthew McConaughey), Rush Hour, and Tortilla Soup; and guest turns in TV series including L.A. Law, Dream On, Resurrection Blvd., and Off the Map. Her most prominent recent role was as Pilar, the mother of Sofia Veraga’s character in the hit sitcom Modern Family, and she had just wrapped production on the first season of the El Rey Network series Matador, playing the mother of the lead character.
As a voiceover actor, Peña was most prominent as Mirage, the assistant to Syndrome, in Disney/Pixar’s The Incredibles, playing the role in the original movie and several video game spinoffs (including the original Incredibles game and the currently available Disney Infinity online game). Other roles included the Thanagarian Paran Dul in the Justice League season 2 finale “Starcrossed” and in a follow-up episode of Justice League Unlimited. She also had guest-starring voiceover roles in Minoriteam, American Dad!, and Maya & Miguel.
(additional material via CNN)
