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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.

The Song of Sway Lake
as Marlena

Grandma
as Carla

Ana Maria in Novela Land
as Sra. Soto

Girl on the Edge
as Esther

Plush
as Dr. Lopez

Blaze You Out
as Dona

In the Dark
as Dr. Weinette

Charlie's Angels
as Warden Gloria Galvez

The Perfect Family
as Christina Rayes

Down for Life
as Mrs. Castro

Mother and Child
as Lawyer

Modern Family
as Pilar Ramírez

Nothing Like the Holidays
as Anna Rodriguez

A Single Woman
as Storyteller

Racing for Time
as Flores

Love Comes Lately
as Esperanza

Dragon Wars: D-War
as Agent Linda Perez

Goal II: Living the Dream
as Rosa Maria

Adrift in Manhattan
as Isabel Parades

Sueno
as Mirabela

Ghost Whisperer
as Marla

The Lost City
as Miliciana (Zoraida) Muñoz

Keep Your Distance
as Holly

Down in the Valley
as Gale

Transamerica
as Margaret

American Dad!
as Store Owner (voice)

How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer
as Lolita

Numb3rs
as Sonya Benavides

The Incredibles
as Mirage (voice)

Maya & Miguel
as Rosa Santos (voice)

Suburban Madness
as Clara Harris

The Hollywood Mom's Mystery
as Theresa Shoe

Justice League Unlimited
as Paran-Dul (voice)

Justice League: Starcrossed - The Movie
as Paran Dul (voice)

NCIS
as Lina Reyes

Without a Trace
as Rosie Diaz

CSI: Miami
as Mercedes Escalante

Ten Tiny Love Stories

Zig Zag
as Ms. Tate

Impostor
as Midwife (as Elizabeth Pena)

Justice League
as Paran Dul (voice)

On the Borderline
as Connie

Things Behind the Sun
as Carmen

Tortilla Soup
as Leticia Narnjo

Boston Public
as Superintendent Elizabeth Vasquez

Resurrection Blvd.
as Beatrice 'Bibi' Corrales

Seven Girlfriends
as Martha

A Piece of the Action: Behind the Scenes of Rush Hour
as Self

Border Line
as Maria Rodriguez

Aldrich Ames: Traitor Within
as Rosario Ames

Strangeland
as Toni Gage

Rush Hour
as Johnson

The Pass
as Zeena

The Second Civil War
as Christina Fernandez

Dellaventura
as Simone

Gridlock'd
as Admissions Person

Contagious
as Det. Luisa Rojas

Two
as Elizabeth Gaitan
Recon
as Officer Santiago

Lone Star
as Pilar Cruz