
Elizabeth Peña
Actor · 1959 – 2014 · Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA
Elizabeth Maria Peña (September 23, 1959 – October 14, 2014) was an American actress, and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right. Peña was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, daughter of Estella Margarita (née Toirac), an arts administrator and producer, and Mario Peña, the Cuban-born actor, writer, and director who jointly founded the Latin American Theatre Ensemble. It is unknown whether Peña was named after the town of her birth. Peña graduated from New York's High School of Performing Arts in 1977. Her classmates included Ving Rhames, alongside whom she would later co-star in Jacob's Ladder, and Esai Morales, alongside whom she would later co-star in La Bamba. She is also a founding member of the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors. In 1979, Peña appeared in her first film, El Super, "an exceptionally moving and melancholy comedy about a family of lower-middle-class Cuban refugees attempting to adjust to life in Spanish Harlem.", New York City. Peña worked once again with film director, Leon Ichaso in his next feature Crossover Dreams opposite Ruben Blades. Peña has appeared in movies such as La Bamba, Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Lone Star, Vibes, and Rush Hour. In 2002, she starred in Showtime's Resurrection Blvd. as Tia Bibi Corrades in the episode "Justicia," which she also directed. During the next year, 2003, she appeared in and directed "It Was Fun While It Lasted," an episode of The Brothers Garcia. She also provided the voice of the character Mirage in Pixar's animated film The Incredibles. She guest starred in the 18th episode of Numb3rs, Season Two, as Sonya Benavides. Although the actress does speak Spanish, she does not dub her own voice for Spanish releases. Peña is also noted for having starred in I Married Dora, a sitcom that lasted only 13 episodes in 1987, as Dora Calderon, the "Dora" of the show's title. In the final show, the cast broke the "fourth wall" of suspended disbelief by announcing their cancellation on-camera and taking a curtain call. Writer-director John Sayles produced the critically acclaimed but short-lived television series Shannon's Deal (1989–1991) co-starring Peña alongside series lead Jamey Sheridan. In 1996 Sayles wrote and directed the mystery film Lone Star and again cast her in a co-starring role. Peña died on October 14, 2014 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California at the age of 55.
Movies24
Movie7.7ActionAdventureBob Parr has given up his superhero days to log in time as an insurance adjuster and raise his three children with his formerly heroic wife in suburbia. But when he receives a mysterious assignment, it's time to get back into costume.
The Incredibles
2004 · 19K votes
Movie7.1ActionComedyWhen Hong Kong Inspector Lee is summoned to Los Angeles to investigate a kidnapping, the FBI doesn't want any outside help and assigns cocky LAPD Detective James Carter to distract Lee from the case. Not content to watch the action from the sidelines, Lee and Carter form an unlikely partnership and investigate the case themselves.
Rush Hour
1998 · 5.9K votes
Movie7.4DramaMysteryAfter returning home from the Vietnam War, veteran Jacob Singer struggles to maintain his sanity. Plagued by hallucinations and flashbacks, Singer rapidly falls apart as the world and people around him morph and twist into disturbing images. His girlfriend, Jezzie, and ex-wife, Sarah, try to help, but to little avail. Even Singer's chiropractor friend, Louis, fails to reach him as he descends into madness.
Jacob's Ladder
1990 · 2K votes
Movie5.9FamilyAdventureJesse becomes reunited with Willy three years after the whale's jump to freedom as the teenager tries to rescue the killer whale and other orcas from an oil spill.
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home
1995 · 664 votes
Movie6.7FamilyComedyIn a soon to be demolished block of apartments, the residents resist the criminal methods used to force them to leave so a greedy tycoon can build his new skyscraper. When tiny mechanical aliens land for a recharge, they decide to stay and help out.
*batteries not included
1987 · 835 votes
Movie7.3DramaMusicLos Angeles teenager Ritchie Valens becomes an overnight rock 'n' roll success in 1958, thanks to a love ballad called "Donna" that he wrote for his girlfriend. But as his star rises, Valens has conflicts with his jealous brother, Bob, and becomes haunted by a recurring nightmare of a plane crash just as he begins his first national tour alongside Buddy Holly.
La Bamba
1987 · 831 votes
Movie6.0DramaTempted away from Newcastle United to join Real Madrid, rising star Santiago Munez finds this latest change of fortune the greatest challenge yet - personally as well as professionally. He is reunited with Gavin Harris, though they must compete to be on the team, and estranged from fiancee Roz, whose nursing career keeps her back home.
Goal II: Living the Dream
2007 · 715 votes
Movie5.8ThrillerRookie cop Megan Turner orders a burglar to drop his gun. He whirls to shoot. Too late. Turner fires, killing him instantly. When someone lifts the assailant's gun from the crime scene, the police hold Turner accountable for killing an unarmed man. That same someone carves Turner's name into the bullets and uses them in a series of murders. Turner teams up with detective Nick Mann to clear her name and catch the killer. But she is drawn into a deadly game of wits with a psychopath who's always one step ahead… and much closer than she thinks!
Blue Steel
1990 · 472 votes
Movie5.9DramaRomanceOn a trip to the beach, a teenage girl named Tobe meets a charismatic stranger named Harlan, who dresses like a cowboy and claims to be a former ranch hand. The pair feel an instant attraction and begin a relationship, but her father, a lawman, is suspicious of her lover.
Down in the Valley
2005 · 245 votes
Movie4.6FantasyDramaEthan learns he carries the spirit of a warrior who battled dragons in 16th-century Korea -- and one day he'll find a tattooed girl carrying the spirit of that warrior's beloved. Years later, he meets Sarah and dragons soon descend on Los Angeles seeking out the two souls of the ancient lovers.
Movie6.1ActionScience FictionA top-secret government weapons designer is arrested by a clandestine government organization on suspicion of being a clone created by the hostile alien race wanting to take over Earth.
Impostor
2001 · 497 votes
Movie7.0DramaAdventureA transgender woman takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she had a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York.
Transamerica
2005 · 541 votes
Movie5.9ComedyBeverly Hills couple Barbara and Dave Whiteman find their lives altered by the arrival of a vagrant who tries to drown himself in their swimming pool.
Down and Out in Beverly Hills
1986 · 288 votes
Movie6.6DramaRomanceThe lives of three women have a commonality: adoption. Karen is a physical therapist who regrets that, as a teenager, she gave up her daughter for adoption. Elizabeth was an adopted child and is now a successful lawyer, but her personal life lacks warmth. Lucy and her husband have failed to conceive and now hope to adopt a baby to make their family complete.
Mother and Child
2009 · 167 votes
Movie7.1DramaMysteryWhen the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.
Lone Star
1996 · 433 votes
Movie6.2DramaRomanceIn Havana, Cuba in the late 1950's, a wealthy family, one of whose sons is a prominent nightclub owner, is caught in the violent transition from the oppressive regime of Batista to the Marxist government of Fidel Castro. Castro's regime ultimately leads the nightclub owner to flee to New York.
The Lost City
2005 · 127 votes
Movie5.6RomanceActionMedium Sylvia Pickel and psychometrist Nick Deezy meet at a psychic research facility in New York. Not long after, they're contacted by Harry Buscafusco, who offers them $50,000 to find his lost son in South America, in the heart of Incan territory where they discover an ancient mystical secret, and each other.
Vibes
1988 · 87 votes
Movie6.0DramaAuthor Joel Garcia breaks his neck while hiking, and finds himself in a rehab center with Raymond, an exaggerating ladies man, and Bloss, a racist biker. Considerable tension builds as each character tries to deal with his new found handicap and the problems that go with it, especially Joel, whose lover Anna is having as difficult a time as he is.
The Waterdance
1992 · 44 votes
Movie6.4ComedyDramaSelf-described misanthrope Elle Reid has her protective bubble burst when her 18-year-old granddaughter, Sage, shows up needing help. The two of them go on a day-long journey that causes Elle to come to terms with her past and Sage to confront her future.
Grandma
2015 · 393 votes
Movie4.5DramaComedyA Mexican immigrant new to Los Angeles enters into a love triangle with two very different women.
Movie6.1DramaComedyWhen a planeload of Pakistani orphans are shipped to his state for permanent relocation, the governor of Idaho defies the president and closes the state's border. News Net Television, a cable news program that makes hay by reporting on political scandals, quickly spins the racist act into an overnight media sensation, creating a divide in national opinion over the issue.
The Second Civil War
1997 · 57 votes
Movie6.6ComedyCrimeAfter a friend overdoses, Spoon and Stretch decide to kick their drug habits and attempt to enroll in a government detox program. Their efforts are hampered by seemingly endless red tape, as they are shuffled from one office to another while being chased by drug dealers and the police.
Gridlock'd
1997 · 252 votes
Movie5.9ComedyRomanceNew York's Odyssey Detective Agency is hired by two different clients to follow two women suspected of infidelity. Ladies' man John Russo trails Angela Niotes, the elegant wife of a wealthy Italian industrialist, while Charles Rutledge and Arthur Brodsky follow Dolores Martin, the beautiful young wife of a jealous husband. Their respective cases are complicated when John falls for Angela, and Charles falls for Dolores.
They All Laughed
1981 · 61 votes
Movie6.4ComedyDramaA Mexican-American master chef and father to three daughters has lost his taste for food but not for life.
Tortilla Soup
2001 · 57 votes
Series24
TV7.0AnimationComedyThe series focuses on an eccentric motley crew that is the Smith family and their three housemates: Father, husband, and breadwinner Stan Smith; his better half housewife, Francine Smith; their college-aged daughter, Hayley Smith; and their high-school-aged son, Steve Smith. Outside of the Smith family, there are three additional main characters, including Hayley's boyfriend turned husband, Jeff Fischer; the family's man-in-a-goldfish-body pet, Klaus; and most notably the family's zany alien, Roger, who is "full of masquerades, brazenness, and shocking antics."
American Dad!
2005 · 2.4K votes
TV7.6CrimeDramaFrom murder and espionage to terrorism and stolen submarines, a team of special agents investigates any crime that has any connection to Navy and Marine Corps personnel, regardless of rank or position.
NCIS
2003 · 2.6K votes
TV7.9ComedyThe Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan is a wonderfully large and blended family. They give us an honest and often hilarious look into the sometimes warm, sometimes twisted, embrace of the modern family.
Modern Family
2009 · 3.5K votes
TV7.7DramaMysteryThe show follows Crime Scene Investigators working for the Miami-Dade Police Department as they use physical evidence, similar to their Las Vegas counterparts, to solve grisly murders. The series mixes deduction, gritty subject matter, and character-driven drama in the same vein as the original series in the CSI franchise, except that the Miami CSIs are cops first, scientists second.
CSI: Miami
2002 · 1.7K votes
TV7.2CrimeMysteryThe series follows the ventures of a Missing Persons Unit of the FBI in New York City.
Without a Trace
2002 · 283 votes
TV8.1Sci-Fi & FantasyMysteryNewlywed Melinda Gordon tries to help the dead communicate with loved ones, but sometimes the messages she receives are intense and confusing. Most of Melinda's efforts involve resolving conflicts that are preventing the spirits from passing over.
Ghost Whisperer
2005 · 1.9K votes
TV7.0DramaWar & PoliticsL.A. Law is an American television legal drama series that ran for eight seasons on NBC from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it contained many of Bochco's trademark features including a large number of parallel storylines, social drama and off-the-wall humor. It reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s, and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot-topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights, homophobia, sexual harassment, AIDS, and domestic violence. The series often also reflected social tensions between the wealthy senior lawyer protagonists and their less well-paid junior staff. The show was popular with audiences and critics, and won 15 Emmy Awards throughout its run, four of which were for Outstanding Drama Series.
L.A. Law
1986 · 80 votes
TV7.0CrimeDramaInspired by actual cases and experiences, Numb3rs depicts the confluence of police work and mathematics in solving crime as an FBI agent recruits his mathematical genius brother to help solve a wide range of challenging crimes in Los Angeles from a very different perspective.
Numb3rs
2005 · 453 votes
TV7.6DramaCrimeA realistic glimpse into the daily lives of the officers and detectives at an urban police station.
Hill Street Blues
1981 · 129 votes
TV6.5DramaCrimeSergeant Thomas Jefferson Hooker is a tough-as-nails veteran police officer with the LCPD who turns his back on a gold badge and goes back to patrolling the streets and training recruits. Along with his young partners in blue, Hooker take on Lake City's toughest criminals.
T. J. Hooker
1982 · 98 votes
TV7.6DramaPrincipal Steven Harper runs Winslow High School as best as he can while dealing with the demands of the faculty, the students and their parents.
Boston Public
2000 · 53 votes
TV7.0CrimeDramaMary Beth Lacey and Chris Cagney are teamed up as NYPD police detectives. Their opposing personalities (one is tough and the other sensitive) mesh to make this one of the great crime-fighting duos of all time.
Cagney & Lacey
1982 · 74 votes
TV7.7DramaSci-Fi & FantasyAnthology series composed of distinct story episodes, sometimes with a plot twist at the end, with occasional recurring story elements that were often tied together during season-finale clip shows.
The Outer Limits
1995 · 247 votes
TV8.3AnimationAction & AdventureThe galaxy's most powerful superheroes return to battle the allied villains and criminal plots that endanger the universe.
Justice League Unlimited
2004 · 895 votes
TV8.2Action & AdventureAnimationThe long-awaited rebirth of the greatest superhero team of all time: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Hawkgirl, Green Lantern, and Martian Manhunter.
Justice League
2001 · 626 votes
TV6.9ComedyThe family life, romantic life, and career of Martin Tupper, a divorced New York City book editor. The show distinctively interjected clips from older black and white television series to punctuate Tupper's feelings or thoughts.
Dream On
1990 · 47 votes
TV8.3DramaThe Santiagos are a proud East Los Angeles Latino family whose hopes and dreams are rooted in the world of professional boxing.
Resurrection Blvd.
2000 · 3 votes
TV6.8DramaComedyTravis Marks and Wes Mitchell are two partners who – apart from their polarity and odd couple behavior – have a seven-year track record as the Los Angeles Police Department's best detectives in the Robbery-Homicide Division. Since their constant bickering is interfering with work, their new-age captain – who found counseling changed his life – sends them to couples' therapy.
Common Law
2012 · 37 votes
TV6.6AnimationKidsCentering around the lives of pre-teen Hispanic twins named Maya and Miguel Santos and their friends, the program is aimed at promoting multiculturalism and education in general. It is geared to the 5-9 age range. Part of the dialogue in each episode in the English version is in Spanish but only individual words or phrases which are explained in English.
Maya & Miguel
2004 · 7 votes
TV6.3DramaTwo is an American drama series which aired from September 1996 to June 1997. It featured Michael Easton as Gus McClain, a man framed for the murder of his wife by his twin brother Booth Hubbard. Hubbard, whose existence had previously been unknown to McClain, committed several murders while assuming McClain's identity, leaving Gus on the run from the FBI. The primary FBI investigator in the case was Terry Carter, whose partner was a victim of Hubbard. It featured Andrew Sikes as a recurring character trying to help McClain. Due to low ratings, the show was canceled after one year.
Two
1996 · 3 votes
TV5.2Action & AdventureCrimeEveryone deserves a second chance—even a thief, a street racer and a cop who got in a little too deep. After all, the three women who solve cases for their elusive boss, Charlie Townsend, are no saints. They're angels... Charlie's Angels.
Charlie's Angels
2011 · 61 votes
TV7.7DramaShannon's Deal is an American legal drama. The show centers on a successful Philadelphia corporate lawyer named Jack Shannon, who lost his family and his job to a compulsive gambling habit. The saga of Shannon, who leaves a prestigious law firm after years of becoming unhappy with the legal system and being forced to take his clients to court, and whom subsequently opens his own low-rent practice
Shannon's Deal
1990 · 3 votes
TV6.5DramaCrimeFact-based story of undercover DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena who, while stationed in Guadalajara, uncovered a massive marijuana operation in Northern Mexico that led to his death and a remarkable investigation of corruption within the Mexican government.
Drug Wars: The Camarena Story
1990 · 10 votes
TV8.0CrimeDramaDellaventura is a former cop, now a private eye, who helps people when the law can't.
Dellaventura
1997 · 1 votes