E.J. Tamara
FILE - This Aug. 21, 2008 file photo shows actress Lupe Ontiveros at the 23rd Annual Imagen Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif. Ontiveros, the popular Texan actress known for her portrayal of Yolanda Saldivar in "Selena," died Thursday, July 26, 2012, of cancer at the Presbyterian Hospital in the City of Whittier, Calif., according to friend and comedian Rick Najera. She was 69. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas, file)
July 27, 2012 - 1:54 PM
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Veteran actress Lupe Ontiveros (LOO-pay ahn-tee-VEHR-oos), best known for her role in the movie "Selena," has died.
Close friend Rick Najera says the actress who also appeared in dozens of films and TV shows over her 35-year-career died Thursday night of cancer. She was 69.
Najera said she was surrounded by family and friends, including actors Esai Morales and Edward James Olmos, when she died at a hospital in Whittier, Calif., a suburb southeast of Los Angeles
Ontiveros played Yolanda Saldivar in "Selena." Her other credits include "As Good As It Gets," ''Real Women Have Curves," ''The Goonies," and "Chuck & Buck."
The actress, born Guadalupe Moreno in Texas, once estimated she had played a maid more than 300 times.
News from © The Associated Press, 2012