EPD
ELIZABETH PEÑA
September 23, 1959 - October 14, 2014
ELIZABETH PEÑA has passed away. The actress, with a
professional career spanning nearly 40 years, left us on the night of October
14 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She had recently wrapped work
on the first season of the El Rey Network's action series, Matador, where she
played the title character's mother Maritza.
Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey and raised by her Cuban
immigrant parents, Peña was destined for a career in the arts. Her father,
Mario, was a playwright, director, actor, and designer in their native Cuba,
who opened up the Latin American Theatre Ensemble after establishing a life for
he and his family in New York. As a teen, Peña began making a name for herself
as a formidable young actress in the New York theatre scene. She attended, and
graduated from, the High School of Performing Arts and began her professional
film career in 1978 with León Ichaso's El Super. A few years later, the
ambitious Cubana would set off to try her fortunes over on the west coast.
That move would prove fruitful, as she would go on to land
roles in several major films in the 1980s. By the end of that decade, she had a
resumé that included La Bamba, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, *batteries not
included, and Blue Steel. She even did something that was almost unheard of for
a Latina actress: She had her own primetime ABC series, I Married Dora. She
played the title role of Dora in the series, which became infamous and notable
because of its controversial premise- which centered on a "green card
marriage" that would eventually evolve into something more genuine.
She kicked off the 90s with a prominent role opposite Tim
Robbins in Jacob's Ladder. She continued her string of notable films with roles
in the critically lauded John Sayles drama, Lone Star opposite Matthew
McConaughey, as well as Rush Hour and Free Willy 2. Along the way, she racked
up TV appearances on L.A. Law, Dream On, Shannon's Deal, and Drug Wars: The
Camarena Story.
At the turn of the century, Peña began shifting her talents
in new directions. Aside from starring roles in films like Tortilla Soup, How
The Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, Nothing Like The Holidays, and Showtime's
Resurrection Blvd, Peña began branching out as both a voice actress and as a
director. She directed episodes of a few television series, and lent her vocal
talents to everything from the Academy Award-nominated Pixar film The
Incredibles (Mirage) to the Justice League cartoon series (Paran Dul), and Seth
MacFarlane's American Dad!
Aside from her current work as a series regular on Matador,
Peña also had a recurring guest star spot as Pilar, the mother of Sofia
Vergara's Gloria on the hit ABC comedy Modern Family.
At the time of her death, Peña had just turned 55. She is
survived by her husband Hans, her two teenage children Fiona and Kaelan, her
mother Estela, and her sister, Tania.
Text: Mario-Francisco Robles
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