Acting · Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA · Born September 23, 1959
Elizabeth Maria 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.
MovieThe Song of Sway Lake
2019
as Marlena
MovieGrandma
2015
as Carla
MovieAna Maria in Novela Land
2015
as Sra. Soto
MovieGirl on the Edge
2015
as Esther
MoviePlush
2013
as Dr. Lopez
MovieBlaze You Out
2013
as Dona
MovieIn the Dark
2013
as Dr. Weinette
TVCommon Law
2012
as Travis' Foster Mother
TVCharlie's Angels
2011
as Warden Gloria Galvez
MovieThe Perfect Family
2011
as Christina Rayes
MovieDown for Life
2010
as Mrs. Castro
MovieMother and Child
2009
as Lawyer
TVModern Family
2009
as Pilar Ramírez
MovieNothing Like the Holidays
2008
as Anna Rodriguez
MovieA Single Woman
2008
as Storyteller
MovieRacing for Time
2008
as Flores
MovieLove Comes Lately
2007
as Esperanza
MovieDragon Wars: D-War
2007
as Agent Linda Perez
MovieGoal II: Living the Dream
2007
as Rosa Maria
MovieAdrift in Manhattan
2007
as Isabel Parades
MovieSueno
2005
as Mirabela
TVGhost Whisperer
2005
as Marla
MovieThe Lost City
2005
as Miliciana (Zoraida) Muñoz
MovieKeep Your Distance
2005
as Holly
MovieDown in the Valley
2005
as Gale
MovieTransamerica
2005
as Margaret
TVAmerican Dad!
2005
as Store Owner (voice)
MovieHow the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer
2005
as Lolita
TVNumb3rs
2005
as Sonya Benavides
MovieThe Incredibles
2004
as Mirage (voice)
TVMaya & Miguel
2004
as Rosa Santos (voice)
MovieSuburban Madness
2004
as Clara Harris
MovieThe Hollywood Mom's Mystery
2004
as Theresa Shoe
TVJustice League Unlimited
2004
as Paran-Dul (voice)
MovieJustice League: Starcrossed - The Movie
2004
as Paran Dul (voice)
TVNCIS
2003
as Lina Reyes
TVWithout a Trace
2002
as Rosie Diaz
TVCSI: Miami
2002
as Mercedes Escalante
MovieTen Tiny Love Stories
2002
MovieZig Zag
2002
as Ms. Tate
MovieImpostor
2001
as Midwife (as Elizabeth Pena)
TVJustice League
2001
as Paran Dul (voice)
MovieOn the Borderline
2001
as Connie
MovieThings Behind the Sun
2001
as Carmen
MovieTortilla Soup
2001
as Leticia Narnjo
TVBoston Public
2000
as Superintendent Elizabeth Vasquez
TVResurrection Blvd.
2000
as Beatrice 'Bibi' Corrales
MovieSeven Girlfriends
2000
as Martha
MovieA Piece of the Action: Behind the Scenes of Rush Hour
1999
as Self
MovieBorder Line
1999
as Maria Rodriguez
MovieAldrich Ames: Traitor Within
1998
as Rosario Ames
MovieStrangeland
1998
as Toni Gage
MovieRush Hour
1998
as Johnson
MovieThe Pass
1998
as Zeena
MovieThe Second Civil War
1997
as Christina Fernandez
TVDellaventura
1997
as Simone
MovieGridlock'd
1997
as Admissions Person
MovieContagious
1997
as Det. Luisa Rojas
TVTwo
1996
as Elizabeth Gaitan
Recon
1996
as Officer Santiago
MovieLone Star
1996
as Pilar Cruz
MovieIt Came from Outer Space II
1995
as Ellen Fields
MovieThe Invaders
1995
as Ellen Garza
TVThe Invaders
1995
as Ellen Garza
MovieFree Willy 2: The Adventure Home
1995
as Kate Haley
TVThe Outer Limits
1995
as Dr. Jennifer Martinez
MovieAcross the Moon
1994
as Carmen
MovieRoommates
1994
as Lisa
MovieDead Funny
1994
as Viv Saunders
MovieThe Waterdance
1992
as Rosa
MovieFugitive Among Us
1992
as Flo Martin
MovieBuilding 'Jacob's Ladder'
1990
as Self
MovieJacob's Ladder
1990
as Jezzie
TVDream On
1990
as Debra
TVShannon's Deal
1990
as Lucy Acosta
MovieBlue Steel
1990
as Tracy Perez
TVDrug Wars: The Camarena Story
1990
as Mika Camarena
MovieShannon's Deal
1989
as Lucy Acosta
MovieVibes
1988
as Consuelo
Movie*batteries not included
1987
as Marisa Esteval
I Married Dora
1987
as Dora Calderon
MovieLa Bamba
1987
as Rosie Morales
TVL.A. Law
1986
as Jinx Baldasseri
Tough Cookies
1986
MovieDown and Out in Beverly Hills
1986
as Carmen
Crossover Dreams
1985
as Liz Garcia
TVCagney & Lacey
1982
TVT. J. Hooker
1982
as Maria
MovieThey All Laughed
1981
as Rita
TVHill Street Blues
1981
MovieTimes Square
1980
as Disco Hostess
MovieEl Super
1979
as Aurelita
