Disney’s Coco voice actor Ana Ofelia Murguía dies at 90 years.

Ana Ofelia Murguía, the Mexican actress who voiced great-grandmother Mama Coco in the Oscar-winning Disney Pixar animation Coco, has died aged 90.

She played a significant role in the movie about a young Mexican boy who ventures into the Land of the Dead to pursue his dream of becoming a musician, only to uncover his family’s hidden secrets.

The movie highlights the Day of the Dead and celebrates Mexico’s culture.

Its National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature said her career was “vital for the performing arts of Mexico”.

One of Coco’s most memorable moments was the scene where Mama Coco and her great-grandson Miguel sing Remember Me together.

He sings: “For even if I’m far away I hold you in my heart,” and she joins in to sing: “Until you’re in my arms again… Remember me.”

The film is set during the Day of the Dead festival held each year in South American countries, including Mexico, celebrating the cycle of life and death.

Big parades are held and people often paint their faces to look like skulls, remembering friends and family who have died and passed into the afterlife.

“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,” the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature added.

Murguía was born in Mexico in 1933. She had a successful career spanning more than 40 years in stage, film and television.

 In recognition of her work, she won a special lifetime achievement Golden Ariel award in 2011. At the same ceremony, director and writer Jorge Fons also received the award.

Throughout her career, Murguía won Best Supporting Actress at the Ariel Awards three times – in 1979, 1986, and 1996.

One of her notable films was 1994’s La Reina de la Noche (The Queen of the Night), which tells the story of a female cabaret artist who leaves Berlin after an incident with the Nazis and remakes her career in Mexico.

Celebrating Coco’s double Oscar win in 2018 for Best Animated Film and Best Original Song, one of its producers, Lee Unkrich, said his biggest thanks went to Mexico and that the film could not have existed without its “endlessly beautiful culture and traditions”.

“With Coco, we tried to take a step forward toward a world where all children can grow up seeing characters in movies that look and talk and live like they do,” he told the audience.

“Marginalised people deserve to feel like they belong. Representation matters.”

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