is an American actress and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a
n-born actor, writer, and director who jointly founded the Latin American Theatre Ensemble. It is unknown whether Peña was named after the town of her birth. Peña graduated from New York's
in 1977. Her classmates included
, "an exceptionally moving and melancholy comedy about a family of lower-middle-class
. Peña worked once again with film director,
as Tia Bibi Corrades in the episode "Justicia," which she also directed. During the next year, 2003, she appeared in and directed "It Was Fun While It Lasted," an episode of
Season Two, as Sonya Benavides. Although the actress does speak Spanish, she does not dub her own voice for
that lasted only 13 episodes in 1987, as Dora Calderon, the "Dora" of the show's title. In the final show, the cast broke the "
" of suspended disbelief by announcing their cancellation on-camera and taking a curtain call.
. In 1996, Sayles wrote and directed the
Peña's first marriage, to William Kibler, ended in divorce in 1988. She then married a carpenter, Hans, in 1994. They have two children: one daughter, Fiona, and one son, Kaelan.
| Year |
Title |
Role |
Notes |
| 1979 |
El Super El Súper is a 1979 Spanish-language comedy-drama film directed by Leon Ichaso and Orlando Jiménez Leal, based on a stage play by Iván Acosta. The film is a look at life in the U.S. from the perspective of frustrated Cuban exiles.-Plot summary:...
|
Aurelita |
|
| 1980 |
Times Square Times Square is a 1980 film starring Trini Alvarado, Robin Johnson, and Tim Curry. The plot of the film essentially embodies a punk rock ethic - misunderstood youth forming a band and, through music, articulating their frustrations toward adult authority, personified in the film as parents, the...
|
Disco Hostess |
|
| 1981 |
They All Laughed For the 1937 song by George and Ira Gershwin see They All Laughed They All Laughed is a 1981 film directed by Peter Bogdanovich. It is based on a screenplay by Bogdanovich and Blaine Novak.-Plot:...
|
Rita |
|
| 1985 |
Crossover Dreams Crossover Dreams is a 1985 film. The film follows singer Rudy Veloz on his rise to fame.The film has moments of pathos but it is anything but melancholy. "Its heart has the ebullient salsa beat. Like Rudy Veloz, it appreciates the irony of the sometimes humiliating situations he lands in, but it...
|
Liz Garcia |
|
Cagney & LaceyCagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988...
|
Adelita Carrena |
1 episode: "Ordinary Hero" |
| T.J. Hooker |
Maria |
1 episode: "Rip-off" |
| 1986 |
Down and Out in Beverly Hills Down and Out in Beverly Hills is a 1986 American comedy film based on the French play Boudu sauvé des eaux, which had previously been adapted on film in 1932 by Jean Renoir. Down and Out in Beverly Hills was directed by Paul Mazursky, and starred Nick Nolte, Bette Midler and Richard Dreyfuss...
|
Carmen |
|
| Hill Street Blues Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
|
Alice |
1 episode: "Come and Get It" |
| 1987 |
La BambaLa Bamba is a 1987 American biographical film written and directed by Luis Valdez. The picture features Lou Diamond Phillips, Esai Morales, Rosanna DeSoto, Elizabeth Peña, Danielle von Zerneck, and Joe Pantoliano...
|
Rosie Morales |
|
| *batteries not included *batteries not included is a 1987 family-science fiction film directed by Matthew Robbins about small extraterrestrial living machines that save an apartment block under threat from property development....
|
Marisa Esteval |
|
| I Married Dora I Married Dora is an American sitcom which appeared on the ABC television network. It premiered on September 22, 1987, and its final first-run episode aired on December 18, 1987. The series was created by Michael J...
|
Dora Calderon |
13 episodes (1987–1988) |
| 1988 |
Vibes |
Consuelo |
|
| 1989 |
Blue Steel Blue Steel is a 1990 action thriller film, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, and starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Ron Silver and Clancy Brown.-Plot:Megan Turner is a rookie New York City policewoman who shoots and kills a suspect with her police-issue .38 Special Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolver while he's...
|
Tracy Perez |
|
| Shannon's Deal Shannon's Deal is an American legal drama about a successful Philadelphia corporate lawyer named Jack Shannon who lost his family and his job to a compulsive gambling habit. It aired on NBC, originating as a high-rated two-hour television pilot on June 4, 1989, later becoming a regular series for...
|
Lucy Acosta |
television film |
| 1990 |
11 episodes (1990–1991) |
| Drug Wars: The Camarena Story Drug Wars: The Camarena Story is a 1990 TV mini-series based on Elaine Shannon’s book Desperados and the Time magazine article of the same name. It was directed by Brian Gibson and starred Steven Bauer, Miguel Ferrer, Benicio del Toro, Treat Williams and Craig T. Nelson...
|
Mika Camarena |
TV mini-series |
Jacob's LadderJacob's Ladder is a 1990 American psychological thriller/horror film directed by Adrian Lyne, based on a screenplay by Bruce Joel Rubin.-Plot:Jacob Singer is a U.S. soldier deployed in the Mekong Delta during the Vietnam War...
|
Jezzie |
|
| 1992 |
The Waterdance The Waterdance is a 1992 semi-autobiographical movie about a young writer who becomes paralyzed in a hiking accident and works to rehabilitate his body and mind at a rehabilitation center. It stars Eric Stoltz, Wesley Snipes, William Forsythe and Helen Hunt as a married woman with whom he is...
|
Rosa |
|
| Fugitive Among Us |
Flo Martin |
television film |
| 1993 |
Dream OnDream On is an American adult-themed situation comedy about single New Yorker, Martin Tupper. The show used a gimmick where old black and white clips were used to punctuate the main character's feelings or thoughts...
|
Debra |
1 episode: "Super Freak" |
L.A. LawL.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
|
Jinx Baldasseri |
4 episodes (1993–1994) |
| 1994 |
Dead Funny |
Viv Saunders |
|
| Roommates |
Lisa |
television films |
| 1995 |
Two |
Elizabeth Gaitan |
| Across the Moon |
Carmen |
|
| The Outer Limits The Outer Limits is an American television series that originally aired on Showtime,the Sci Fi Channel and in syndication between 1995 and 2002...
|
Dr. Jennifer Martinez |
1 episode: "Living Hell" |
| Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home is a 1995 family film, directed Dwight H. Little, and released by Warner Bros. under its Family Entertainment banner. It is a sequel to the 1993 film Free Willy, also starring Jason James Richter and August Schellenberg. Free Willy 3: The Rescue, was subsequently...
|
Kate Haley |
|
The InvadersThe Invaders, a Quinn Martin Production , is an ABC science fiction television program created by Larry Cohen that ran in the United States for two seasons, from January 10, 1967 to March 26, 1968...
|
Ellen Garza |
television films |
| 1996 |
It Came from Outer Space II |
Ellen Fields |
| Lone Star Lone Star is an American mystery film written and directed by John Sayles and set in a small town in Texas. It features Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peña, Kris Kristofferson and Matthew McConaughey and deals with a sheriff's investigation into who murdered one of his predecessors.-Plot:In this ensemble...
|
Pilar |
|
| Recon |
|
|
| 1997 |
Contagious |
Det. Luisa Rojas |
television films |
| The Second Civil War The Second Civil War is a satirical/comedy film made for the HBO cable television network and first shown on March 15, 1997.Directed by Joe Dante, the film is a satire about anti-immigrant sentiment in the melting pot that is the United States....
|
Christina |
| Gridlock'd Gridlock'd is a 1995 crime dramedy starring Tupac Shakur, Tim Roth, and Thandie Newton. It was the directorial debut of Vondie Curtis-Hall, who also wrote the story and screenplay. The film's opening was relatively low, despite critical acclaim; its opening weekend netted only $2,678,372 and it...
|
Admissions Person |
|
| Dead Man's Gun Dead Man's Gun was a western anthology series which ran on Showtime from 1997 to 1999. The series followed the travels of a gun as it passed to a new character in each episode. The gun would change the life of whomever possessed it....
|
Gisella |
1 episode: "Fortune Teller" |
| 1998 |
The Pass |
Zeena |
|
| Rush Hour |
Johnson |
|
| The Eddie Files |
Aunt Ida |
1 episode: "Charts & Graphs: The Dessert Derby" |
| Strangeland Strangeland is an American horror film released in 1998. The movie was directed by John Pieplow and written by Dee Snider. The film focuses on the body modification underground culture's rituals.-Plot:...
|
Toni Gage |
|
| Aldrich Ames: Traitor Within |
Rosario Ames |
television films |
| 1999 |
Border Line Border Line is a 2002 drama film, and the feature film debut of Korean-Japanese film director Sang-il Lee. It observes the lives of three un-related characters, a son, a father and a mother, each of whom has a troubled family background....
|
Maria Rodriguez |
| Seven Girlfriends Seven Girlfriends is a 1999 romantic comedy film starring Tim Daly.-Cast:*Tim Daly .... Jesse Campbell*Laura Leighton .... Anabeth*Mimi Rogers .... Marie*Olivia d'Abo .... Hannah*Melora Hardin .... Laura*Jami Gertz .... Lisa...
|
Martha |
|
| 2001 |
Ten Tiny Love Stories |
|
|
| Things Behind the Sun Things Behind the Sun is a 2001 film starring Kim Dickens and Gabriel Mann and directed by Allison Anders. Its title is taken from a song by Nick Drake....
|
Carmen |
|
| Tortilla Soup Tortilla Soup is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Maria Ripoll. The screenplay by Tom Musca, Ramón Menéndez, and Vera Blasi is based on the film Eat Drink Man Woman, which was written by Hui-Ling Wang, Ang Lee, and James Schamus.-Plot:...
|
Leticia Naranjo |
|
| Resurrection Blvd. Resurrection Blvd. is an American dramatic series which aired on Showtime for three seasons from 2000 to 2002.-Plot:In East Los Angeles, California, the Santiago family has had three generations of boxers within the family. They continue their battle to become boxing champions while struggling with...
|
Beatriz 'Bibi' Corrales |
1 episode: "Arriba Y Abajo" |
| On the Borderline |
Connie |
|
| 2002 |
Impostor Impostor is a 2002 American science fiction film based upon a short story of the same name, written by Philip K. Dick in 1953.-Plot:The movie takes place in the year 2079. Forty-five years earlier, Earth was attacked by a hostile alien civilization from Alpha Centauri...
|
Midwife |
|
| ZigZag ZigZag is a 2002 film directed by David S. Goyer. The film was shot in Los Angeles, CA.-Plot:Dean Singer has terminal cancer, yet is determined to spend his last days taking care of his 15 year-old 'big brother program' protégé, Louis 'Zig Zag' Fletcher. Dean got Louis a dishwasher job in...
|
Ms. Tate |
|
Boston PublicBoston Public is an American drama television series created by David E. Kelley and broadcast on Fox. It centered on Winslow High School, a fictional public high school located in Boston, Massachusetts. The show was named for the real public school district in which it takes place...
|
Superintendent Elizabeth Vasquez |
1 episode: "Chapter Forty-Seven" |
| 2003 |
1 episode: "Chapter Fifty-Four" |
CSI: MiamiCSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
|
Mercedes Escalante |
1 episode: "Simple Man" |
| 2004 |
The Hollywood Mom's Mystery |
Theresa Shoe |
television films |
| Suburban Madness Suburban Madness is a drama based on a true story starring Sela Ward as PI Bobbi Bacha of Blue Moon Investigations.Suburban Madness is based on the true story of 44 year old Clara Harris a successful Texas dentist and mother of young twins, who hired private investigator Bobbi Bacha, played by...
|
Clara Harris |
Maya & MiguelMaya & Miguel is a children's television animated series for children aged 6-12 produced by Scholastic Studios. It appears on PBS as part of the PBS Kids GO! lineup and on the CBBC channel in the UK...
|
Rosa Santos (voice) |
1 episode: "Rhymes with Gato" |
The IncrediblesThe Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by...
|
Mirage (voice) |
|
NCISNCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
|
FBI Agent Lina Reyes |
1 episode: "Terminal Leave" |
Justice LeagueJustice League is an American animated television series about a team of superheroes which ran from 2001 to 2004 on Cartoon Network. The show was produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It is based on the Justice League of America and associated comic book characters published by DC Comics... /Justice League UnlimitedJustice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
|
Paran Dul (voice) |
4 episodes (2004–2005) |
| 2005 |
How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer is a 2005 American movie starring America Ferrera. The film is rated R by the MPAA for "sexual content and some language." It was not released on DVD until May 16, 2008....
|
Lolita |
|
Without a TraceWithout a Trace is an American television drama which originally ran on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009. The series was set in New York City and concerned a fictitious FBI Missing Persons Unit.-Premise:...
|
Rosie Diaz |
1 episode: "Neither Rain Nor Sleet" |
TransamericaTransamerica is a 2005 independent comedy-drama film produced by IFC Films and The Weinstein Company. The film tells the story of Bree, a transsexual woman , who goes on a road trip with her long-lost son Toby ....
|
Margaret |
|
| Down in the Valley |
Gale |
|
| Keep Your Distance |
Holly |
|
The Lost CityThe Lost City is a 2005 American drama film directed by Andy García. It stars Garcia, Dustin Hoffman, Ines Sastre, and Bill Murray.-Plot:...
|
Miliciana Muñoz |
|
| Sueño Sueño is a 2005 comedy-drama film directed by Renée Chabria that stars John Leguizamo, Ana Claudia Talancón, and Elizabeth Peña.-Cast:* John Leguizamo - Antonio* Ana Claudia Talancón - Nina* Elizabeth Peña - Mirabela* Nestor Serrano - El Zorro...
|
Mirabela |
|
Numb3rsNumb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes...
|
Sonya Benavides |
1 episode: "Assassin" |
| 2006 |
Minoriteam Minoriteam is an animated television series on Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim. The pilot episode premiered on November 6, 2005...
|
Maria / Gold Digger (voice) |
1 episode: "Landon in Love" |
| 2007 |
Adrift in Manhattan Adrift in Manhattan is a 2007 film directed by Alfredo De Villa and written by Nat Moss. The film features an ensemble cast, including Heather Graham, Victor Rasuk, Dominic Chianese, Elizabeth Peña, and William Baldwin....
|
Isabel Parades |
|
American Dad!American Dad! is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane and owned by Underdog Productions and Fuzzy Door Productions. It is produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television...
|
Store Owner (voice) |
1 episode: "American Dream Factory" |
D-WarD-War , is a 2007 South Korean fantasy action film released in North America as Dragon Wars: D-War, War of the Dragons in Malaysia, and sometimes referred to colloquially and in some marketing materials as Dragon Wars. It is written and directed by Shim Hyung-rae...
|
Agent Linda Perez |
|
| Goal II: Living the Dream |
Rosa Maria |
|
| Love Comes Lately Love Comes Lately is a 2007 film written for the screen and directed by Jan Schütte. The film is based on the short stories of Isaac Bashevis Singer.-Plot:...
|
Esperanza |
|
| 2008 |
Racing for Time Racing for Time is a 2008 Lifetime Original Movie, starring Charles S. Dutton, and Elizabeth Pena.-Synopsis:Cleveland "Stack" Stackhouse is a guard with the Texas Correctional Youth Authority who witnesses the cycle of destructive choices and racial tensions among female teen offenders and decides...
|
Flores |
television film |
| Nothing Like the Holidays |
Anna Rodriguez |
|
| 2009 |
Ghost WhispererGhost Whisperer is an American television supernatural drama, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005 to May 21, 2010.The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon , who has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts...
|
Marla |
1 episode: "This Joint's Haunted" |
| Down For Life Down for Life is a 2010 American dramatic film directed by Alan Jacobs based on the true story of a 15-year old Latino gang leader in Watts, Los Angeles. The story follows one day in her life as she struggles to break away from her gang...
|
Mrs. Castro |
|
| Becoming Eduardo |
Leticia |
|
A Single WomanA Single Woman is a 2009 film made by Nevada Shakespeare Company and Heroica Films. It was directed by Kamala Lopez and produced by Cameron Crain, Richard Shelgren and Kamala Lopez. The screenplay was by Jeanmarie Simpson based on her play with the same title.-Artists:The film stars Jeanmarie...
|
Storyteller |
|
| 2011 |
Off the Map Off the Map is a medical drama created by Jenna Bans, who also served as an executive producer, with colleagues from Grey's Anatomy, Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers...
|
Inez |
1 episode: "I'm Home" |