1959-09-23 ( 65 years old ) in Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA
Elizabeth Peña (September 23, 1959 - October 14, 2014) was an American actress, and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right. Peña was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, daughter of Estella Margarita (née Toirac), an arts administrator and producer, and Mario Peña, the Cuban-born actor, writer, and director who jointly founded the Latin American Theatre Ensemble. It is unknown whether Peña was named after the town of her birth. Peña graduated from New York's High School of Performing Arts in 1977. Her classmates included Ving Rhames, alongside whom she would later co-star in Jacob's Ladder, and Esai Morales, alongside whom she would later co-star in La Bamba. She is also a founding member of the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors.
In 1979, Peña appeared in her first film, El Super, "an exceptionally moving and melancholy comedy about a family of lower-middle-class Cuban refugees attempting to adjust to life in Spanish Harlem.", New York City. Peña worked once again with film director, Leon Ichaso in his next feature Crossover Dreams opposite Ruben Blades.
Peña has appeared in movies such as La Bamba, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Lone Star, 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. During the next year, 2003, she appeared in and directed "It Was Fun While It Lasted," an episode of The Brothers Garcia. She also provided the voice of the character Mirage in Pixar's animated film The Incredibles. She guest starred in the 18th episode of Numb3rs, Season Two, as Sonya Benavides. Although the actress does speak Spanish, she does not dub her own voice for Spanish releases.
Peña is also noted for having starred in I Married Dora, a sitcom that lasted only 13 episodes in 1987, as Dora Calderon, the "Dora" of the show's title. In the final show, the cast broke the "fourth wall" of suspended disbelief by announcing their cancellation on-camera and taking a curtain call.
Writer-director John Sayles produced the critically acclaimed but short-lived television series Shannon's Deal (1989–1991) co-starring Peña alongside series lead Jamey Sheridan. In 1996 Sayles wrote and directed the mystery film Lone Star and again cast her in a co-starring role.
Peña died on October 14, 2014 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California at the age of 55.
Movies
The Song of Sway Lake
2019-06-07
Grandma
2015-06-04
Ana Maria in Novela Land
2015-02-27
Girl on the Edge
2015-02-23
Plush
2013-09-13
Blaze You Out
2013-07-30
In the Dark
2013-01-12
The Perfect Family
2011-04-30
Down for Life
2010-10-01
Mother and Child
2009-11-07
Nothing Like the Holidays
2008-12-12
A Single Woman
2008-09-21
Racing for Time
2008-02-16
Love Comes Lately
2007-09-09
Dragon Wars: D-War
2007-08-01
Goal II: Living the Dream
2007-02-09
Adrift in Manhattan
2007-01-10
Sueno
2005-09-30
Keep Your Distance
2005-09-02
Down in the Valley
2005-05-13
Transamerica
2005-02-14
How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer
2005-01-23
The Incredibles
2004-10-27
Suburban Madness
2004-10-04
The Hollywood Mom's Mystery
2004-08-08
Justice League: Starcrossed - The Movie
2004-07-13
Ten Tiny Love Stories
2002-08-10
Zig Zag
2002-06-14
Impostor
2001-12-03
On the Borderline
2001-10-23
Things Behind the Sun
2001-10-12
Tortilla Soup
2001-08-24
Seven Girlfriends
2000-04-21
Border Line
1999-02-22
Aldrich Ames: Traitor Within
1998-11-29
Strangeland
1998-10-02
Rush Hour
1998-09-18
The Pass
1998-05-07
The Second Civil War
1997-12-04
Contagious
1997-01-22
Lone Star
1996-06-21
It Came from Outer Space II
1995-12-31
The Invaders
1995-11-12
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home
1995-07-19
Across the Moon
1994-10-01
Roommates
1994-05-30
Dead Funny
1994-05-21
The Waterdance
1992-05-13
Fugitive Among Us
1992-02-04
Building 'Jacob's Ladder'
1990-12-01
Jacob's Ladder
1990-11-02
Blue Steel
1990-03-16
Shannon's Deal
1989-06-04
Vibes
1988-08-05
*batteries not included
1987-12-18
La Bamba
1987-07-24
Down and Out in Beverly Hills
1986-01-31
Crossover Dreams
1985-08-23
They All Laughed
1981-11-20
Times Square
1980-10-17
El Super
1979-04-28
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