{{short description|Puerto Rican actress}} {{Use American English|date=July 2020}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Edith Diaz | image = Cropped_Photo_of_Edith_Díaz.jpg | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1939|10|23}} | birth_place = Mayagüez, Puerto Rico | death_date = {{Death date and age|2009|11|19|1939|10|23}} | death_place = Los Angeles, California | other_names = | known_for = | occupation = | years_active = }}
'''Edith Diaz''' (October 23, 1939 – November 19, 2009) was a Puerto Rican actress known for the roles in film, television, and stage. She co-founded the Screen Actors Guild's Ethnic Minorities Committee in 1972.<ref name=thr>{{cite news|title=Actress Edith Diaz dies at 70 |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ib96053a9e47796d757c159ec4834e12a |work=The Hollywood Reporter |date=2010-02-08 |accessdate=2010-03-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604210539/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/actress-edith-diaz-dies-70-20403 |archive-date=June 4, 2011 }}</ref> In Hollywood, Díaz appeared in ''Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), ''Sister Act'' (1992), ''Sister Act 2: Back in the habit'' (1993), ''Nick of Time'' (1995), ''Theodore Rex'' (1996), ''Scenes from a Class Struggle in Beverly Hills'' (1989), ''First Watch'' (2003) and ''Oh Baby!'' (2008). <ref name="Rivera67"/> She also starred in ''Popi'', the first Latin situation comedy in English-language television.<ref name="Rivera67">{{Harvnb|Rivera|2010|pp=67}}</ref>
==Life and career== ===Early life and education=== Diaz was born in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.<ref name=thr /> She had a sister and a brother, Arcadio, who later became a professor at Princeton University.<ref name="Rivera67"/> Díaz studied within the University of Puerto Rico's (UPR) drama department and participated in plays such as ''La Espera''.<ref name="Rivera67"/> After leaving for New York, she studied under noted acting teacher Stella Adler and at the Actors Studio in the New York City.<ref name=thr /> There, Díaz joined the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater.<ref name="Rivera67"/> During this time, she began her participation in television roles. In 1973, Díaz joined the New York Shakespeare Festival, with whom she acted in ''Two gentlemen of Verona''.<ref name="Rivera67"/>
===Film=== Her film credits included ''Born on the Fourth of July'' (1989), ''Sister Act'' (1992), ''Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit'' (1993), ''Nick of Time'' (1995), and her final appearance, ''Oh Baby!'' (2008). Convinced that she could land a role in one of Federico Fellini's films, Díaz travelled to Italy. <ref name="Rivera67"/> There she succeeded in landing a role in ''La città delle donne'' (1980). There, she also aided Irene de Bari by arranging an interview with Fellini for her brother.<ref name="Rivera67"/>
===Television=== On television, Diaz appeared in the short-lived 1975-76 CBS television series, ''Popi'', which starred Hector Elizondo. ''Popi'', which aired on CBS for eleven episodes, was one of the first television series on American network television to feature a Hispanic theme and cast.<ref name=thr/> Her other television credits included guest roles on ''Emergency!'',''Quincy, M.E.,'' ''Police Woman,'' ''St. Elsewhere'', ''All in the Family'', ''The F.B.I.'', ''Barney Miller'' and ''The Twilight Zone''.<ref name=thr/> In 1991, she played Desi Arnaz's mother, Dolores, in the television movie ''Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter'', on CBS.<ref name=thr/> In the 1973 episode "A Bullet for El Diablo", on ''Hawaii Five-O'', Diaz appeared in a dual role as half-sisters Rita Salazar and Maria Ramos.<ref name=thr/>
===Activism=== Diaz co-founded the Screen Actors Guild Ethnic Minorities Committee in 1972 with Henry Darrow, Carmen Zapata and Ricardo Montalbán.<ref name=thr/>
==Death== Edith Diaz died of heart failure on November 19, 2009, at a nursing home in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, at the age of 70.<ref name=latimes>{{cite news|title=PASSINGS: Jimmy Wyble, Edith Diaz|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2010-jan-25-la-me-passings25-2010jan25-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=2010-01-25 |access-date=2010-03-23 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Actress Miluka Rivera, who had served with her on the SAG Ethnic Minorities Committee, called Diaz a "gifted performer, a union Latino rights activist and a loving friend."<ref name=thr/>
==Filmography== {|class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Notes |- |1971|| ''Brute Corps'' || Lupe || |- |1975|| ''Cage Without a Key'' || Angel Perez || |- |1989|| ''Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills'' || Rosa || |- |1989|| ''Born on the Fourth of July'' || Madame - Villa Dulce || |- |1992|| ''Sister Act'' || rowspan="2"|Choir Nun #11 || |- |1993|| ''Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit'' || |- |1995|| ''Nick of Time'' || Irene || |- |1995|| ''Theodore Rex'' || Ella || |- |1996|| ''The Fan'' || Elvira || |- |1998|| ''Archibald the Rainbow Painter'' || || |- |2003|| ''First Watch'' || Linda || Video |- |2008|| ''Oh Baby!'' || Yolanda at party || |}
==References== '''Footnotes''' {{reflist|2}} '''Bibliography''' *{{cite book|title=Legado Puertorriqueño en Hollywood: Famosos y Olvidados| first=Miluka|last=Rivera|publisher=Kumaras Center for the Arts and Etiquette|date=2010|isbn=9780578069937|ref={{sfnref|Rivera|2010}}}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0224971|Edith Diaz}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Diaz, Edith}} Category:1939 births Category:2009 deaths Category:20th-century Puerto Rican actresses Category:American film actresses Category:American television actresses Category:Actors from Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Category:Actresses from Los Angeles Category:20th-century American actresses