Renée Victor (July 25, 1938 — May 30, 2025) was an American actress, dance instructor, and singer. She was best known for her role as Abuelita in the Disney•PIXAR film Coco (2017), the recurring role of Lupita on Weeds (2005–12), and the voice of female Argonians in Bethesda Softworks' video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011). Victor was the eldest of three sisters. She moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s, where she launched her career in entertainment as a singer for prominent bandleaders who spearheaded the popularity of Latin music in the U.S., including Xavier Cugat and Perez Prado. At this time, she also served as a dance instructor, teaching salsa and tango. Having met her husband in these circles, she and her husband traveled globally to perform together under the banner “Ray & Renee” — nicknamed the Latin Sonny & Cher — from 1963 to 1973. In the 1970s, Victor hosted KTLA’s Pacesetters, which highlighted the Chicano Power movement. After joining the Screen Actors Guild in 1973, she eventually transitioned to television and film work in the ’80s, scoring appearances in series like Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1985) and Matlock (1987). Her film credits include The Doctor (1991), alongside William Hurt, as well as The Apostle (1997) and A Night in Old Mexico (2013), featuring close friend Robert Duvall.

Filmography

• 2024The Mealybug — Camila Delgado
• 2023This One Is for the Neighborhood
• 2022Green Ghost and the Masters of the Stone — La Nana
• Walker — Gloria
• With Love — Marta Delgado
• 2020In Other Words — Regina Aragon
• Snowpiercer — Mama Grandé
• All Rise — Lupita
• Dead to Me — Flo Gutierrez
• Undone — Abuelita Fabiola
• Victor and Valentino — Delores (voice)
• A Million Little Things — Inez
• Mayans M.C. — Sister Teresa, Nun
• 2018SuperFly — Esmeralda Gonzalez
• 2017Coco — Abuelita (voice)
• 2017That Motherf**ker — Writer
• 2014Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones — Irma Arista
• Saint George
• 2013A Night in Old Mexico — Josefina Nelly
• Witches of East End — Alma
• 2009Confessions of a Shopaholic — Bag Lady
• 2009Stuntmen — Juanita Villareal
• Childrens Hospital — Gladys
• Women's Murder Club
• 2006All You've Got — Grandmother Rosa
• Weeds — Lupita
• Mister Sterling — Gloria Lopez
• Strong Medicine — Isabel Santana
• Futurama — Pottery Bot / Abuelatron (voice), In Memory Of
• 1999My Brother the Pig — Grandma Berta
• 1998The Prophecy II — Nana
• 1998The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit — Grandmother
• 1997The Apostle — Latin Translator
• The Tony Danza Show — Lydia Cruz
• Men Behaving Badly — Estelle
• 1995The Neon Bible — Choreographer
• The Parent 'Hood
• ER — Florina Lopez
• Bob
• 1991Dolly Dearest — Nun at the Convent
• 1991The Doctor — Lucy
• 1989Blood Screams — The Witch (English-language version only)
• 1989The Flight — Maria
• Matlock — Maid

Appearances as themselves (1)

• 2021Unknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity — Self