Oscars ‘In Memoriam’ Snubs Lupe Ontiveros, Twice

Last night's Oscars 'In Memoriam' reel left out actress Lupe Ontiveros. The Mexican-American actress passed away on July 26, 2012.

By Jorge Rivas Feb 25, 2013

Last night’s Oscars ‘In Memoriam’ reel left out actress Lupe Ontiveros. The Mexican-American actress passed away on July 26, 2012. 

Ontiveros worked steadily throughout her 35 year career and her credits include films like "Selena," "Real Women Have Curves," and "El Norte." 

The Academy posted a supplementary ‘In Memorium’ online gallery on it’s website to cover its bases with a slideshow honoring those who didn’t make the telecast but Ontiveros was left out the online slideshow too.

Ontiveros was typecasted as a Latina maid early in her career, which she figured she had played more than 150 times in television and films, like James L. Brooks’s "As Good as It Gets" and Steven Spielberg’s "Goonies."

"They don’t know we’re very much a part of this country and that we make up every part of this country," she told The New York Times in 2002. "When I go in there and speak perfect English, I don’t get the part."

But she did not regret playing so many maids, she said, because it allowed for steady work and for portraying working people with dignity.

"I’m proud to represent those hands that labor in this country," she told The Times.

"I’ve given every maid I’ve portrayed soul and heart," Ontiveros said.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the group that votes for the Oscars, is nearly 94 percent white and 77 percent male, according to a 2012 Los Angeles Times investigation. Blacks make up about 2 percent of the academy, and Latinos are less than 2 percent.

UPDATE 2/28/13 2:15pm EST: 

On Wednesday evening the Academy added Ontiveros to the online ‘In Memoriam’ slideshow

UPDATE 2/25/13 5:08pm EST:

A commenter below also notes Native American actor Russell Means was also left out of the ‘In Memoriam’ reel and The Academy’s online slideshow. In the 1990s Means appeared in films such as "The Last of the Mohicans," "Natural Born Killers" and was the voice of Powhatan in Disney’s "Pocahontas." .