Renée Victor, the actress known for voicing Abuelita in Disney and Pixar‘s Coco and starring as Lupita in Showtime’s Weeds, has died. She was 86.
Victor died at her home in Sherman Oaks on Friday night surrounded by her family after a battle with lymphoma, her representative told The Hollywood Reporter.
After being born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1938, she moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s where she grew her career as a musician. Victor worked alongside the likes of Xavier Cugat and Perez Prado, who helped popularize Latin music in the States before she and her husband began performing as the duo named “Ray & Renée” from 1963 to 1973.
She began her pivot into television in the 1970s when she hosted Pacesetters, a KTLA program that spotlighted the Chicano movement. Victor went on to be featured in an episode of Masquerade in 1984, Scarecrow and Mrs. King in 1985 and Matlock in 1987.
She ventured into voice acting in 1992 with the animated The Addams Family series, with her additional credits including The Doctor, Confessions of a Shopaholic, A Night in Old Mexico and Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, among others.
In 2005, she joined the cast of Weeds, where she starred as Lupita, the housekeeper to Mary-Louise Parker’s character.
Victor starred in Coco as the protective Aubelita, and the film went on to garner two Academy Awards for best animated feature and best original song, “Remember Me,” written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Notably, Coco featured an all-Latin cast.
After Disney announced Coco 2 was in development at Disney’s Annual Shareholder Meeting earlier this year, Victor showed her excitement for the project on Instagram.
“It was my great pleasure and experience working with the incredibly talented Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina! We get to do it again,” she wrote, though the official cast for Coco 2 has not yet been confirm. “This is what we’ve all been waiting for! I’m so excited! Coco shared a Mexican tradition that is now celebrated around the world in unity. An amazing amount of work and talent goes into the creation of this unique film.”
Following the news of her death, Pixar shared a statement in honor of Victor on Instagram. “We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of Renée Victor, the voice Abuelita in Coco and an incredible part of the Pixar family. We will always remember you,” they wrote Saturday.
Gloria Calderón Kellett, whom Victor starred alongside in Prime Video’s With Love, shared a heartfelt Instagram post Saturday, recalling when they first crossed paths on the set of The Ortegas and “she radiated talent, humor and grace.”
“It’s hard to say goodbye to the incomparable Renee Victor,” she wrote. “Years later, she would become my TV mom, Marta, on With Love — a role named after my paternal grandmother. It felt like destiny. She brought that character to life with such warmth, sharp wit, and elegance. And let’s be honest — she had the best legs in the biz!”
“Renee was a true pro. A scene-stealer. A joy. A blessing. Her artistry made everything better, and her presence made every set brighter,” she wrote in the conclusion of the post.
Survivor include her two daughters, Raquel and Margo.
