Elizabeth Peña died of natural causes after a brief illness on Tuesday, at the age of 55.

The Cuban American actor had many roles on the big and small screens during her decades-long career. While Peña never quite garnered household name status, she was one of the most instantly recognisable and admired actors thanks to her roles across all genres. Peña was also a director, becoming only the fourth Latina member of the Director’s Guild of America when she joined.

After graduating from New York’s High School of Performing Arts in 1977, Peña’s first role was in the 1979 film El Super, a gloomy Cuban comedy about an immigrant family adjusting to life in New York City. The low-budget film was directed by León Ichaso and written by him and Manuel Arce. Peña later went on to star in their 1985 Rudy Veloz biopic, Crossover Dreams, cast as the girlfriend of a salsa star trying to make it big.

Her first big break came in 1986’s Down and Out in Beverly Hills, playing a maid, Carmen, alongside Bette Midler, Richard Dreyfuss and Nick Nolte. According to the BBC, Peña was initially turned down for the role after an agent told her she was not attractive enough for the part of the amorous housekeeper. She eventually won the part by bribing a security guard to let her on to the set to see the casting director.

Her standout performance in that film, led to parts in the UFO comedy Batteries Not Included and to a memorable role as Rosie Morales in the Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba alongside Lou Diamond Phillips. Upon hearing of Peña’s passing, Phillips tweeted: “Elizabeth was not only an amazing actress, she was one of the most vibrant, wonderful people I have ever known.”

Peña then went on to star in her own prime-time, albeit shortlived, sitcom I Married Dora, playing an undocumented housekeeper who marries the single father that she works for in order to stay in the country. The show led to bigger (and better) roles in television, including on LA Law, Resurrection Blvd and Dream On.

In 1990, Peña was cast opposite Tim Robbins in Adrian Lyne’s psychodrama, Jacob’s Ladder. Peña played Jezzie, a postal worker trying to talk her live-in boyfriend through a mental breakdown.

Peña’s most criticallyacclaimed work came in John Sayles’s Lone Star, where she held her own alongside Matthew McConaughey and Chris Cooper. She received an Independent Spirit Award for her understated but believable work as a history teacher who rekindled her romance with Cooper’s sheriff.

Peña won four American Latino Media Arts (Alma) awards during her career, including one for her work in 2001’s Tortilla Soup, an intergenerational MexicanAmerican family drama. “In the United States, all Spanish-speaking people are lumped into one category,” Peña told the Dallas Morning News in 1996 (via the Los Angeles Times). “But we’re all so different. Argentinians are completely different from Mexicans. Mexicans are completely different from Cubans. Cubans are completely different from people from Paraguay and Uruguay.” Actress Eva Longoria tweeted: “Rest in Peace Elizabeth Pena … you paved the way for so many of us!!”

Peña’s work was introduced to a new generation of fans when she took the role of Mirage in Pixar’s 2004 film The Incredibles. She had a memorable moment in Seth MacFarlane’s American Dad and was a regular in the PBS cartoon The Misadventures Of Maya And Miguel and had a recurring role on the Justice League cartoon series as Paran Dul.

In the endearing 2005 film, How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, Peña played a mother undergoing a sexual awakening in her 40s, while her daughter (played by America Ferrera) and her mother (Lucy Gallardo) have their own. Peña was a founding member of the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors and spoke out about the limited roles for Latin American actors. Ferrera tweeted that she was heartbroken over the news of Peña’s passing.

More recently, Peña joined Modern Family for two episodes playing Gloria’s (Sophia Vergara) fiery mother, Pilar. While Gloria herself is a firecracker, it’s clear she inherited it from her mother, who shows up at the christening with a gown, a gun and a determination to see the baby named, Fulgencio, after her dead husband. While the role was shortlived, it showed Peña’s ability to pop into a show and act like she had always been there.

A prolific and in-demand actress to the end, Peña also recently played the mother of the principal character in the recently wrapped first season of El Rey Network’s Matador. The El Rey Network issued a statement about Pena’s death: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of our friend and colleague, Elizabeth Peña. She was a role model, a truly extraordinary performer and an inspiration in every sense of the word. Our thoughts are with Elizabeth’s family and friends during this difficult time. She ‎will be deeply missed.”