ADVERTISEMENTAmerican actress Renée Victor, who voiced the scene-stealing, sandal-throwing Abuelita in Disney’s animated hit film Coco and played the wisecracking Lupita in the TV show Weeds has died aged 86.
Victor’s death was confirmed on Monday by a representative, Julie Smith, who said the actress had lymphoma for several years. She died Friday at her home in Sherman Oaks, California, Smith said, with family by her side.
Victor appeared in 22 episodes of Weeds as sassy housekeeper Lupita between 2005 and 2012, among many other TV credits including ER, Matlock and The Addams Family.
But she was perhaps best known for her voice work on Coco, the 2017 gem that explored death through the journey of a young Mexican boy to the land of the dead.
A post on the Instagram feed of Pixar, which produced Coco, said: “We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of Renée Victor, the voice (of) Abuelita in ‘Coco’ and an incredible part of the Pixar family. We will always remember you.”
Born in San Antonio, Texas, on 25 July 1938, Victor began her performing career as a singer and dancer. She moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s, according to biography material provided by her representatives, where she launched her career singing with prominent big band leaders Xavier Cugat and Pérez Prado. She also taught Latin dancing, including salsa and tango.
She met her future husband, Ray, during that period, and from 1963 to 1973, they performed together as “Ray & Renée,” a variety show took them around the world.
By the ’80s, she had moved into TV and film work. Her film credits included The Doctor with William Hurt (1991), The Apostle (1997) directed by and starring Robert Duvall and A Night in Old Mexico (2013), also with Duvall. In 2004, she had a recurring role as Florina Lopez on TV’s ER, and the following year was cast in Weeds. Other series credits included Snowpiercer (2020-2021), Mayans M.C. (2022), Dead to Me (2020-2022), and With Love (2021-2023). Her final film role was in 2023’s Moe.
Victor is survived by her daughters, Raquel and Margo Victor.
