Elizabeth Maria Peña was an American actress, writer, panelist and musician. Her work in films included Nothing like the Holidays, Batteries Not Included, La Bamba, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Jacob's Ladder, Rush Hour, The Incredibles, and Lone Star, for which she won the 1996 Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female and a Bravo Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film. She was also a founding member of the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors. Peña also voiced Rosa Santos in Maya and Miguel.
Early life
Peña was born on September 23, 1959 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where she was raised, the daughter of Mario Peña, an actor, director, and writer who co-founded the Latin American Theatre Ensemble, and Estella Margarita Peña, an arts administrator and producer. She was of Cuban descent, and spent her early years in Cuba. At age 8, Peña and her family moved to New York City. In 1975, she was a founding member of the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors. In 1977, she graduated from New York's High School of Performing Arts. Her classmates were Ving Rhames and Esai Morales, whom she would later star with in "Jacob's Ladder", La Bamba and Resurrection Blvd.''
Career
In 1979, Peña made her film debut, El Super, a "moving and melancholy comedy about a family of lower middle class Cuban refugees attempting to adjust to life in Spanish Harlem". She worked once again with director Leon Ichaso in his next feature, Crossover Dreams. She appeared in films such as Nothing like the Holidays, La Bamba, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Jacob's Ladder, Lone Star, *batteries not included, 1997's "Gridlock'd" as ER Admissions Person, Vibes, and Rush Hour. In 2002, she starred in Showtime's Resurrection Blvd. as Tia Bibi Corrades in the episode "Justicia", which she also directed. In 2003, she appeared in and directed "It Was Fun While It Lasted", an episode of The Brothers Garcia. Peña also voiced Mirage in Pixar's animated filmThe Incredibles. She guest starred in the 18th episode of season 2 of Numb3rs as Sonya Benavides, and in season 4 of Modern Family as Pilar, the Colombian mother of Gloria Pritchett. Although she spoke Spanish, she did not dub her own voice for Spanish releases. Peña was also noted for having starred in I Married Dora, a sitcom in 1987, as Dora Calderon, the title character. She also starred in John Sayles' produced critically acclaimed but short-lived television series Shannon's Deal. In 1996, Sayles wrote and directed the mystery filmLone Star and again cast her in a co-starring role, for which she won the 1996 Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Bravo Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film from the National Council of La Raza.
