Modern Family recurring actress Elizabeth Pena passed away after a brief illness, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles last Tuesday. She was 55 years old. This was confirmed by her nephew, Film reviewer Mario-Francisco Robles, in an article in Latino-Review on Wednesday. The nature of her illness, however, has not been disclosed.
" We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and colleague, Elizabeth Pena. She was a role model, a truly extraordinary performer and an inspiration in every sense of the word," El Ray mentioned in a statement.
Pena, who's been in the industry for almost 40 years, is widely known for her dramatic portrayal in movies such as Lone Star and La Bamba. She grew up in a family of artists, as her father, Mario Pena, was a Cuban actor, writer and director, while her mother, Estella Margarita Pena, was an arts administrator and producer. The Cuban-American actress graduated from New York's High School of Performing Arts in 1977.
Shortly after graduation, she became part of the movie El Super as the Cuban teenage daughter Aurelita, who lived in exile in New York City. But her break-out role was in the movie Lone Star, where she played a sensual, world-weary history teacher. Lone Star director John Sayles praised Pena for her performance, saying she was perfect for the role. " It was that kind of combination of intelligence, emotion and sexuality," Sayles remarked.
Pena was also noticed for her portrayal in the Adrian Lyne horror movie "Jacob's Ladder" in 1990. She said in an interview that she worked very hard to get her role in the said movie. " At first, they wanted Julia Roberts, Andie MacDowell or Michelle Pfeiffer. At some point they wanted Susan Sarandon, and Madonna wanted the part. They auditioned all of them. I begged to be auditioned. I begged and begged and when I auditioned, the chemistry was right and Adrian and I were just taken with each other. I auditioned for six months, twice a week. The reason I kept going back was because Adrian was literally fighting for me to get the role," Pena recalled.
The Latina-American actress who starred in "Down And Out in Beverly Hills" and "Rush Hour," also lent her voice as the female villainess Mirage of the animated movie The Incredibles in 2004. She recently played the mother to Sofia Vergara's character in Modern Family, and completed work on the TV series Matador.
