Elizabeth Peña
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Elizabeth Peña, a striking, stage-trained Latina, first gained recognition as the maid-turned-revolutionary in Paul Mazursky's "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" (1986). Born in the US to Cuban immigant parents, Peña was raised in Cuba and moved back to Manhattan at the age of eight. She was acting professionally two years later and subsequently attended the famed High School of Performing Arts. Peña went on to appear in more than 20 off-Broadway shows and toured for two years as Shakespeare's Juliet. She also worked with such renowned theater companies as Joseph Papp's Public Theater, La Mama, and San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater before moving behind the camera as a director. Elizabeth Peña died at the age of 55 on October 14, 2014.
Peña's film career started slowly, with small roles in the Cuban/US production "El Super" (1979) and the American punk exploitation feature "Times Square" (1980), Peter Bogdanovich's "They All Laughed" (1981) and Ruben Blades' "Crossover Dreams" (1985). The spitfire role in "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" finally gained her attention from public and industry alike. Peña went on to play the battered wife of Ritchie Valens' half-brother in "La Bamba" (1987), the friend of policewoman Jamie Lee Curtis in Kathryn Bigelow's "Blue Steel" and Tim Robbins' temperamental lover in Adrian Lyne's "Jacob's Ladder" (both 1990). Her subsequent screen credits included a supporting role in "The Waterdance" (1992) and playing the girlfriend of a suddenly-dead man in "Dead Funny" (1995). She won particular acclaim for her 1996 turn as a schoolteacher and former lover of the town sheriff (Chris Cooper) in John Sayles' acclaimed mystery "Lone Star" (1996).
Peña was also known for her TV work, beginning with a supporting role in the police sitcom "Tough Cookies" (CBS, 1986). She had the title role in the short-lived "I Married Dora" (ABC, 1988), which became briefly notorious for its tasteless and politically incorrect premise (a widower marries his housekeeper to prevent her deportation). Peña also played the regular role of an aggressive secretary on the John Sayles-created legal drama "Shannon's Deal" (NBC, 1990-91).
Peña also turned in strong performances in nearly a dozen TV-movies, miniseries and anthologies, starting with the 1989 pilot for "Shannon's Deal" (NBC). She was also the widow of a DEA agent in the award-winning "Drug Wars: The Camarena Story" (NBC, 1990), turned up in the AIDS drama "Roommates" (NBC, 1994) and was featured in the HBO TV-movie, "The Second Civil War" (1997).
As Peña continued to rack up supporting film credits--including the hit buddy comedy "Rush Hour" (1998) and rocker Dee Snider's bizarro horror film "Strangeland" (1998)--and telepic turns such as playing the wife of a notorious real life spy in "Aldrich Ames: Traitor Within" (1998), she also became a television series regular when she starred as Beatriz "Bibi" Corrales in the Showtime drama "Resurrection Blvd." (2000-2002).
Always an extremely in-demand actress, Peña would regularly strike a balance between appearing in Latina-specific roles, such as her turn opposite Hector Elizondo in "Tortilla Soup" (2001)--a Latin interpretation of Ang Lee's Chinese drama "Eat, Drink, Man, Woman"--and non-ethnic parts, such as her warm, wise portrayal of a pre-operative transexual's therapist opposite Felicity Huffman in "Transamerica" (2005). Peña also had a side career as a voice actor, lending her distinctive vocals to such animated projects as "Justice League," ""Maya & Miguel" and, most notably, as the bad-girl-gone-good Mirage in Disney/Pixar's CGI-animated mega-hit "The Incredibles" (2004). While maintaining a steady career in small film and TV roles such as her recurring role as Pilar, the mother of Sofia Vergara's Gloria on the hit sitcom "Modern Family" (ABC 2009- ), Peña moved behind the camera to begin her career as a director with episodes of the TV series "Resurrection Blvd." (Showtime 2000-02), "The Brothers Garcia" (Nickelodeon 2000-04), and the web series "Ylse" (2008). Elizabeth Peña died following a brief illness, later disclosed to be alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver, in Los Angeles on October 14, 2014.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1969
First lead role in a play at age ten
1979
Debut feature, "El Super"
1980
First US film role, "Times Square"
1985
Made TV debut in an episode of "Cagney and Lacey" (CBS)
1986
Breakthrough film role, "Down and Out in Beverly Hills"
1986
TV series debut, "Tough Cookies"
1987
Played title character in the short-lived ABC sitcom, "I Married Dora"
1989
TV-movie debut, featured in two-hour pilot for "Shannon's Deal" (NBC)
1990
First starring role in a feature, "Jacob's Ladder"
1996
Delivered a superb performance in John Sayles' "Lone Star"
1997
Appeared in the HBO movie "The Second Civil War"
1998
Co-starred in the Showtime original "Aldrich Ames: Traitor Within"
1998
Had featured role in the box-office hit "Rush Hour"
1999
Was one of the titular "Seven Girlfriends"
2000
Co-starred in the Showtime series "Resurrection Blvd."
2001
Had featured role as a doctor in the sci-fi film "Impostor"
2001
Portrayed the oldest daughter the ensemble feature, "Tortilla Soup"
2004
Voiced Mirage in the animated feature "The Incredibles"
2005
Cast in the indie feature, "How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer" (filmed in 2003)
2005
Starred opposite Felicity Huffman in the indie-drama "TransAmerica"
2006
Cast in Andy Garcia's feature directorial debut "The Lost City"
2007
Cast in the Korean dragon fantasy feature, "Dragon Wars"
2007
Appeared in sports drama "Goal II: Living the Dream"
2008
Cast in Christmas comedy "Nothing Like the Holidays"
2009
Played a supporting role in the drama "Down for Life"
2011
Had a recurring role on short-lived adventure series "Off the Map"
2014
Played Maritza Sandoval on "Matador"; her final project released during her lifetime
2015
Opposite Lily Tomlin, appeared posthumously in "Grandma"
2015
Appeared in a posthumous supporting role in the drama "Girl on the Edge"
2015
Appeared posthumously in the romantic comedy "Ana Maria in Novela Land"
2017
Played Marlena in Ari Gold-helmed "the Song of Sway Lake," released three years after her death
Family
Companions
