Renée Victor

Renée Victor, the actress whose distinctive voice brought Coco's Abuelita to life in the popular animated film by Pixar, died May 30, 2025, of lymphoma at her home in Sherman Oaks, California at the age of 86.?

Victor got her start in entertainment as a singer and dance instructor, singing for Latin bandleaders like Xavier Cugat and Perez Prado, then launching her acting career in the mid-1980s with appearances on "Matlock" and "George Burns Comedy Week." Her roles were largely small parts in shows like "ER" until the 2005 show "Weeds." There, she was cast as the memorable huosekeeper, Lupita. Her best-known performances, however, came via her voice work: in addition to portraying the lizard-like Argonians in the hugely popular video game "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim," she was the voice of Abuelita in Pixar's popular animated film "Coco." Other work includes playing Mama Grandé in the TV series "Snowpiercer," extensive voice work for the 1990s animated version of "The Addams Family," and a role as Consuela Hernandez on "Tyler Perry's House of Payne."

"We got the opportunity to work with her on our movie 'In Other Words,'" writer and director Cristina Nava said on Facebook. "In fact, she was struggling with Stage 4 cancer and she didn't breathe a word of it to us, that was 2018. She was strong… She was a force, she was a great talent, and my one regret is that I didn't get to work with her again."

By Eric San Juan

(Image: Omar Vega/Invision for KFPR/AP Images)