By Derrik J. Lang, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Elizabeth Pena, the versatile actress who shifted between dramatic roles in such films as "Lone Star" and comedic parts in TV shows like "Modern Family," has died. She was 55.
Pena's manager, Gina Rugolo, said Wednesday the Cuban-American actress died Tuesday in Los Angeles of natural causes after a brief illness. No other details were provided.
Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to Cuban immigrant parents, Pena's Hollywood career spanned four decades and included roles in such movies as "La Bamba," ''Down and Out in Beverly Hills," ''Jacob's Ladder" and "Rush Hour." In filmmaker John Sayles' "Lone Star," she memorably portrayed a history teacher who rekindles a romance with an old flame, played by Chris Cooper.
Pena appeared on such TV shows as "L.A. Law," ''Dream On," ''Resurrection Blvd." and "Modern Family," where she played the mother of Sofia Vergara's character, Gloria.
She starred in the 1980s sitcom "I Married Dora" in the titular role as a housekeeper from El Salvador who weds her employer to avoid deportation.
Pena also provided her voice to Disney-Pixar's "The Incredibles," the "Justice League" cartoon series and Seth MacFarlane's "American Dad."
Pena most recently appeared on the El Rey Network drama "Matador."
"She was a role model, a truly extraordinary performer and an inspiration in every sense of the word," the network said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with Elizabeth's family and friends during this difficult time. She ?will be deeply missed."
She is survived by her husband, two children, mother and sister.
Harvey Weinstein hit with new sex crime charge in New York
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a new sex crime charge in New York, as he awaits retrial in his landmark #MeToo case.
Details of the new allegations were not immediately available. He was charged with committing a criminal sex act.
The jailed ex-movie mogul has long maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
Prosecutors revealed last week that Weinstein had been indicted on additional sex crime charges that weren't part of the case that led to his now-overturned 2020 conviction. But the new indictment was sealed until his arraignment.
Prosecutors have said that the grand jury heard evidence of up to three alleged assaults — two in hotels in the Tribeca neighborhood and one at a lower Manhattan residential building. The purported incidents took place from the mid-2000s to 2016, prosecutors said.
But it's not clear whether any of those allegations underlie the new indictment.
While bracing for the new charges, Weinstein also is awaiting retrial after New York state's highest court this spring overturned his 2020 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges involving two women. The high court, called the Court of Appeals, ordered a new trial, which is tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 12.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the then-trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that were not part of the case. That judge's term expired in 2022, and he is no longer on the bench.
Prosecutors have said they'll seek to fold the new charges into the retrial, but Weinstein's lawyers say it should be a separate case.
Weinstein, who also was convicted in 2022 in a Los Angeles rape case, remains behind bars while awaiting his New York retrial.
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