Ana Ofelia Murguía, the Mexican actor who voiced the titular character of Disney and Pixar film Coco, has died aged 90.
Her death was announced “with deep sadness” on social media by Mexico’s National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature, which said Murguía’s “artistic career was vital for the performing arts of Mexico”. Her cause of death was not given.
“We send condolences and warm hugs to her family and friends,” the institute added.
Con profunda tristeza lamentamos el sensible deceso de la primera actriz Ana Ofelia Murguía, quien formaba parte del elenco estable de la @CNTeatromx del #INBAL y cuya trayectoria artística fue vital para las artes escénicas de México.
Enviamos condolencias y abrazamos con… pic.twitter.com/BnEkpxG4k2
— Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes y Literatura (@bellasartesinba) December 31, 2023
Murguía, who was born in Mexico City in 1933, voiced the elderly Mamá Coco in the 2017 film, which follows a young boy as he crosses over to the land of the dead during the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos and uncovers a family secret. Coco won two Academy awards, for best animated feature and for best original song for Remember Me, which Murguía sings at the film’s end in a duet with Miguel, Coco’s great-grandson.
Before her role in the Oscar-winning animated film, Murguía was well-known in Mexico and often played villains in more than 100 roles that spanned stage, film and television over seven decades.
She studied acting at Mexico’s National School of Theatre Arts. Her first role was in 1954 in the play Trial By Fire, and her first screen role was a decade later in 1964 film Transit.
She won best supporting actress at the Ariel awards, Mexico’s preeminent acting prizes, in 1979, 1986 and 1996 for films including La Reina de la Noche (The Queen of the Night), about a female cabaret artist who restarts her life in Mexico after leaving Nazi Germany. She was nominated a further three times for best supporting actress, and held the record for best actress nominations without a win, having been nominated five times.
In 2011, Murguía won a lifetime achievement Golden Ariel award recognising significant figures in the Mexican cinema industry. She was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, when the country’s film industry blossomed in the 1940s and 50s.
Her final role was in 2018 series José José: El Príncipe de la Canción, a fictionalised biopic about the Mexican pop singer.
In April, while accepting the Medalla Cátedra Bergman (the Ingmar Bergman chair medal) from the National Autonomous University of Mexico for her contributions to the industry, Murguía told the audience: “Acting has been the passion of my life, I have never worked to collect an award. I have always loved this career, which I found by pure fluke. I’m happy. I feel like a very lucky woman.”