When I first saw the news of this passing I got the identity confused. Primarily because of the picture they showed. Did Selena's assassin finally die in jail? Not quite. Close though.
Actress Lupe Ontiveros passed away this past Thursday after losing her battle with liver cancer. She was 69-years-old.
It's rather sad that the one thing she will be most known for was that role in "Selena". Even worse that that role was a backstabbing cold-blooded murderer. That's the way it is sometimes though. I have seen that movie so many times now that her face is the synonymous with that part. I recognize her before I would the actual murderer.
To be fair, Lupe did have other parts in movies and shows that I liked. She was in the Black film "This Christmas" in 2007. She played the house helper (maybe she was officially a housekeeper but I don't know what the politically correct name is for those anymore). It wasn't a big part but enough so that I was glad she had something more positive I could associate with her.
Oddly enough, she also had a recurring role on "Desperate Housewives" for the past several seasons. I say 'oddly enough' for a couple of reasons. For one, her character as Eva Longoria's suspicious mother-in-law got killed off a couple of seasons ago. But not only that, you may remember that another "Desperate Housewives" star actress (Kathryn Joosten) also recently passed away in real life. So that's two characters from the show that died recently on the show AND in real life.
Unfortunately, those two roles along with everything else she's done (and according to IMDB, she had a pretty expansive resume) were overshadowed by her "Selena" role. Too bad it couldn't have been the actual person instead of Lupe.
Rest in peace, Ms. Ontiveros.
