Coco voice actor Ana Ofelia Murguía dies aged 90

Mexican actress Ana Ofelia Murguía, perhaps best known for voicing great-grandmother Mama Coco in the Disney Pixar animated film Coco, has passed away at the age of 90.

The film took home Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song at the 2017 Academy Awards. It also won a BAFTA, two Critics’ Choice Movie Awards, one Golden Globe Award and thirteen Annie Awards, honouring the best of the year’s animated movies.

Celebrating Mexican culture, particularly Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), Coco follows the adventures of the young 12-year-old Miguel who is transported to the Land of the Dead after he seeks the help of his musical great-great-grandfather to help him persuade his family to lift their ban on music, something Miguel has never understood.

Ana Ofelia Murguía’s Mama Coco is the matriarch of the family. In one of the film’s most touching and memorable scenes, Mama Coco joins Miguel in singing an emotional version of ‘Remember Me’, the film’s Oscar-winning song.

As reported by the BBC, the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature referred to Murguía’s career as “vital for the performing arts of Mexico”. It wrote, “With deep sadness we regret the sensitive death of the leading actress Ana Ofelia Murguía, who was part of the stable cast of the National Theater Company of Mexico, and whose artistic career was vital for the performing arts of Mexico."

Murguía was born in Mexico City, Mexico, in 1933. She went on to have an illustrious career, culminating in a special lifetime achievement Golden Ariel Award in 2011 which celebrated her contributions to Mexican cinema. Murguía also won Best Supporting Actress at the Ariel Awards three times, in 1979, 1986, and 1996.

GAMINGbible extends its condolences to Ana Ofeia Murguía’s family, friends, and colleagues.