Pixar’s Lee Unkrich Pays Tribute to Mamá Coco, Ana Ofelia Murguía

Photo: Jam Media (Getty Images)

Over the holiday weekend, Ana Ofelia Murguía, Mexican actress and voice of Mamá Coco from Pixar’s award-winning animated feature Coco, passed away. Deadline confirmed the death of the 90-year-old national treasure, whose performance in the film won the hearts of audiences worldwide.

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Murguía’s warm-hearted turn as Mamá Coco was a key part of the film’s sweet tale of generational love during Latin America’s remembrance holiday, Dia de Los Muertos. Coco director Lee Unkrich (a Pixar veteran who also made Toy Story 3 and co-directed Finding Nemo, among others) took to Instragram to remember her. “I just heard the sad news that Ana Ofelia Murguía, the beloved Mexican actress who voiced Mamá Coco, has passed away at the age of 90. She’ll be a treasured addition to our ofrenda this year,” he shared as seen in the post below.

Murguía was the emotional core of Disney and Pixar’s two-time Oscar-winning animated feature; her performance of “Remember Me” with Anthony Gonzales (who voiced Miguel) still drives us to tears. The actress leaves a lasting legacy in Mexican cinema’s golden age of film and TV with a career spanning over 40 years.

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