Mexican actress Ana Ofelia Murguia, voice of Mama Coco in Disney’s Coco, dies at 90

Mexico City – Ana Ofelia Murguia, one of Mexico’s most acclaimed actresses, whose voice acting as Mama Coco in the animated movie Coco (2017) brought her international recognition, died on Dec 31. She was 90.

Her death was confirmed by Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts and National Theatre Company, which did not specify the cause of death.

The theatre company described Murguia on social media as “one of Mexico’s greatest actresses”. In a statement, Ms Lucina Jimenez Lopez, director of the fine arts institute, described Murguia’s career as one that “marked an entire era”.

In the film Coco, made by Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios, Murguia plays the key role of Mama Coco. She is the great-grandmother of the boy protagonist Miguel, who finds himself in the land of the dead on a journey to uncover his family’s history.

At the emotional climax of the film, Miguel and Mama Coco sing the song Remember Me together.

The movie, which is built around the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday, was celebrated for its portrayal of Mexican culture and its handling of weighty subjects such as death in a children’s movie. It won for best animated feature film and best original song, for Remember Me, at the 2018 Oscars.

Coco introduced Murguia to a global audience, but she was well-known in her home country long before.

Murguia was born on Dec 8, 1933, in Mexico City. She studied acting at Mexico’s National School of Theatre Arts and made her debut in 1954 in the play Trial By Fire. Her first screen role was in the 1964 film Transit.

She would go on to appear in more than 70 plays and 90 films, working with some of Mexico’s best film-makers. Hailed for her versatility, she often played the role of the villain or antagonist, according to a statement from the fine arts institute and theatre company.

At Mexico’s prestigious Ariel awards, Murguia won best supporting actress for her performances in Cadena Perpetua, in 1979; Los Motivos De Luz, in 1986; and La Reina De La Noche (The Queen Of The Night), in 1996.

She was nominated for best actress five times, but never won. In 2011, she was recognised with a Golden Ariel special lifetime achievement award.

In April 2023, she was awarded the Ingmar Bergman Medal from the National Autonomous University of Mexico for leaving an “indelible mark” on Mexican film and theatre. NYTIMES