In 1979, Peña made her film debut in
Leon Ichaso's
El Super, a "moving and melancholy comedy about a family of
lower middle class Cuban refugees attempting to adjust to life in
Spanish Harlem". She worked with Ichaso again in the director's next feature,
Crossover Dreams. Peña starred in
I Married Dora, a
sitcom (1987–1988), as the title character. She also starred in
John Sayles's produced critically acclaimed but short-lived television series ''
Shannon's Deal'' (1989–1991). Peña appeared in films such as
Nothing like the Holidays,
La Bamba,
Down and Out in Beverly Hills, ''
Jacob's Ladder, *batteries not included, Blue Steel'', 1997's ''
Gridlock'd as ER Admissions Person (under the name Elizabeth Anne Dickinson), Vibes, and Rush Hour''. In 1996, Sayles wrote and directed the
mystery film Lone Star and again cast Peña in a co-starring role, for which she won the 1996
Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress and a
Bravo Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film from the
National Council of La Raza. In 2002, Peña starred in Showtime's
Resurrection Blvd. as Bibi Corrades in the episode "Justicia"; she directed an episode of the show. In 2003, she appeared in and directed "It Was Fun While It Lasted", an episode of
The Brothers Garcia. Peña was the fourth Latina to join the Directors' Guild of America. Peña also voiced
Mirage in
Pixar's animated film
The Incredibles. She guest-starred in the 18th episode of season 2 of
Numb3rs as Sonya Benavides, and in season 4 of
Modern Family as Pilar, the Colombian mother of Gloria Pritchett. Peña co-founded the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors. She acted in 45 films. ==Personal life and death==