Lupe Ontiveros

Lupe Ontiveros married Elías Ontiveros in 1966 and moved to California to start a business in the automobile industry. Her husband encouraged her to pursue the path of acting when she grew unhappy with her career in social work.

The couple had three children together, Nicholas Ontiveros, Alejandro Ontiveros, and Elias Ontiveros. Two of them are hearing-impaired.

Lupe Ontiveros suffered from liver cancer and died at the age of 69 on July 26, 2012, at Presbyterian Hospital in Whittier, California. She was buried at the Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier and was survived by her husband, three sons, and two grandchildren.

Guadalupe “Lupe” Moreno was born in El Paso, Texas, on September 17, 1942, to middle-class Mexican parents Luz "Lucita" Castañón and Juan Moreno. Her parents overcame financial and educational barriers to become successful owners of a tortilla factory and two restaurants in El Paso. Their struggle taught Lupe the importance of higher education.

She went to El Paso High School for her graduation and later enrolled at the Texas Woman's University in Denton from where she received her bachelor's degree in social work.

After completing her bachelor’s degree in social work, Lupe Ontiveros started working as a social reformer; however, after not being satisfied with her career in social work, she decided to follow a career in acting. Married by now, she received full support from her husband.

She began her acting career as a film extra and soon successfully evolved into a supporting actress. Around the same time, she also started working at Nosotros, a community theater in Los Angeles.

In 1983, she appeared in the film ‘El Norte’ as a maid who supports an immigrant girl from Guatemala as a mentor. She later admitted the film was something very special for her, something that “will always remain with her”. She also appeared as a housekeeper/maid in films like ‘The Big Fix’ in 1978, ‘California Suite’ in 1978, ‘The Goonies’ in 1985, and also in ‘Dolly Dearest’ in 1991.

She once conceded that she had played the character of a maid too many times in her life, a role she was typecast in as a result of her being a Latino. However, she happily acknowledged that she was proud to represent the section of the mass in the country who had given their all to build the nation.

In 1993, Lupe did a cameo appearance in the movie ‘Blood in Blood Out’, playing the character of ‘Carmen’, a drug dealer who gets busted in an undercover operation from the cops.

Lupe Ontiveros had appeared in many television shows in her career and most of them were in special or guest roles. Her most important television work was the portrayal of Louisa in ‘Veronica's Closet’ which won her an ALMA Award in 1998. Her performances in ‘Pasadena’ as ‘Pilar’, and ‘Greetings from Tucson,’ where she played the role of a grandmother, were also appreciated.

She did a recurring role in the American prime time soap opera series ‘Desperate Housewives’ for which she received an Emmy nomination for ‘Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series’.