Elizabeth Peña

Elizabeth Peña (born September 23, 1961) is an American actress and television director. --- 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. 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 actresses. 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". Peña worked once again with film director, Leon Ichaso in his next feature Crossover Dreams opposite Rubén Blades. Peña has appeared in movies such as La Bamba, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Jacob's Ladder, Lone Star, *batteries not included, 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 season 2 of Numb3rs as Sonya Benavides, and as Pilar, the Colombian mother of Gloria Pritchett, in season 4 of Modern Family. Although she speaks 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" 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's first marriage, to William Kibler, ended in divorce in the early 1990s. She then married a carpenter, Hans Rolla, in 1994. They have two children: one daughter, Fiona, and one son, Kaelan.