Renée Victor, Actress Who Voiced Abuelita in ‘Coco,' Dies at 86
Renée Victor, best known for voicing the strict but loving grandmother in the Pixar film 'Coco,' died Friday night at her home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. She was 86.
The cause was lymphoma, a representative for Ms. Victor confirmed on Sunday.
Ms. Victor appeared in a number of television series through her decades-long career, including as Lupita on the comedy series 'Weeds.' But her most well-known role came in 2017 as the grandmother in 'Coco,' which follows a 12-year-old boy in Mexico who is transported to the land of the dead.
In a post on social media, Pixar said it was 'heartbroken' about Ms. Victor's death. 'We will always remember you,' the company added, possibly referring to the signature song in 'Coco.'
Renée Victor was born on July 25, 1938, in San Antonio. She was raised in a traditional Catholic family and went to an all-girls school. When she was 10, Ms. Victor danced in a production of the opera 'Carmen,' according to the entertainment database IMDb.
Ms. Victor's early career included a run as a singer and dancer at the Stardust Hotel in Las Vegas, according to IMDb. She went on to do more stage work internationally, including in Australia, Europe and Latin America.
Ms. Victor later returned to Los Angeles and hosted the local talk show 'Pacesetters,' a public affairs program. She also worked as a translator and interpreter at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, as well as for the BBC.
In 1996, Ms. Victor starred in the short film 'Libertad,' portraying a family matriarch fighting to keep her fractured family together. The next year, she played the Hispanic translator in Robert Duvall's 'The Apostle.' She had roles in two other films with Mr. Duvall: 'Assassination Tango' and 'A Night in Old Mexico.'
The director Frank Aragon said Ms. Victor was deft at balancing humor and drama in a way that 'unleashes colorful, quirky personas that tickle the funny bone.' She also played the grandmother in the 2014 horror film 'Paranormal Activity 5: The Marked Ones.' Her character was originally meant to die midway through the movie, according to Ms. Victor's IMDb biography, but studio executives decided against that fate because 'she's too lovable and the audience won't accept it.'
She also had recurring roles on the shows 'ER,' 'Dead to Me' and 'Snowpiercer.'
In an interview in 2017 about her role in 'Coco,' Ms. Victor said that the film would bring a broader awareness of Mexican culture to those who 'don't know enough' about it.
Of doing voice-over work, she said, 'I love it, because a microphone doesn't care what you look like.'
She added, 'It's what you're projecting into that microphone that's important.'
She is survived by her two daughters, Raquel and Margo Victor.
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