{{short description|Puerto Rican actress (died 2017)}} {{family name hatnote|Colón|Quiles|lang=Spanish}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Míriam Colón | image = Miriam Colon 1962.jpg | caption = Colón in 1962 | birth_name = Míriam Colón y Quiles | birth_date = {{birth date|1936|8|20|mf=y}}<ref name="ACTA DE NACIMIENTO">Some sources cite September 5, 1930 as her year of birth ([https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/9100/records/2903366?tid=&pid=&queryId=0e409bd4-bf10-4c5a-aaca-15d46d75a048&_phsrc=DVC11&_phstart=successSource ACTA DE NACIMIENTO], [https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/2404/records/480085?_gl=1*18lyc5v*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTYwNDYwNTI3Mi4xNzYwNzIxNDIw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*czRkMzIwNGYzLTViYjQtNGU1Ny1iNGY0LWUzZTFhYzNhYjBkNiRvMSRnMSR0MTc2MDcyMTQ3NSRqNCRsMCRoMA..*_ga_LMK6K2LSJH*czRkMzIwNGYzLTViYjQtNGU1Ny1iNGY0LWUzZTFhYzNhYjBkNiRvMSRnMSR0MTc2MDcyMTQ3NSRqNCRsMCRoMA Puerto Rico, U.S., Social and Population Schedules, 1935-1936 for Teodoro Colón De Jesus and family], [https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/2442/records/162560418 1940 United States Federal Census for Mirian Colón Y Ouiles], [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0173125/ IMDb biography])</ref> | birth_place = Ponce, Puerto Rico | death_date = {{death date and age|2017|3|3|1936|8|20|mf=y}} | death_place = New York City, U.S. | known_for = Mama Montana – ''Scarface'' | occupation = Actress | spouse = {{Plain list | * {{marriage|George Paul Edgar|1966|1976|reason=d.}} * {{marriage|Fred Valle|1987|2017}} }} | years_active = 1951–2015 }}
'''Míriam Colón Valle''' ({{nee}} '''Colón y Quiles'''; August 20, 1936<ref name="ACTA DE NACIMIENTO">Some sources cite September 5, 1930 as her year of birth ([https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/9100/records/2903366?tid=&pid=&queryId=0e409bd4-bf10-4c5a-aaca-15d46d75a048&_phsrc=DVC11&_phstart=successSource ACTA DE NACIMIENTO], [https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/2404/records/480085?_gl=1*18lyc5v*_up*MQ..*_ga*MTYwNDYwNTI3Mi4xNzYwNzIxNDIw*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*czRkMzIwNGYzLTViYjQtNGU1Ny1iNGY0LWUzZTFhYzNhYjBkNiRvMSRnMSR0MTc2MDcyMTQ3NSRqNCRsMCRoMA..*_ga_LMK6K2LSJH*czRkMzIwNGYzLTViYjQtNGU1Ny1iNGY0LWUzZTFhYzNhYjBkNiRvMSRnMSR0MTc2MDcyMTQ3NSRqNCRsMCRoMA Puerto Rico, U.S., Social and Population Schedules, 1935-1936 for Teodoro Colón De Jesus and family], [https://www.ancestrylibrary.com/search/collections/2442/records/162560418 1940 United States Federal Census for Mirian Colón Y Ouiles], [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0173125/ IMDb biography])</ref> – March 3, 2017) was a Puerto Rican actress. She was the founder and director of New York City's Puerto Rican Traveling Theater. Beginning her career in the early 1950s, she performed on Broadway and on television. She appeared in several Hollywood films including ''The Appaloosa'', ''The Possession of Joel Delaney'', ''Backroads'', ''Gloria'' and ''Lone Star'' and ''One-Eyed Jacks''.<ref name="Rivera41">{{Harvnb|Rivera|2010|pp=41}}</ref>
Colon appeared on television programs from the 1960s to the 2010s, including ''Sanford and Son'' and ''Gunsmoke''. She is best known as "Mama Montana", the mother of Al Pacino's title character in ''Scarface''.<ref name="Rivera41"/> In 2014, she received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.arts.gov/honors/medals/miriam-colon|title=Miriam Colón|website=www.arts.gov}}</ref> In 1993, Colón received the Obie award for her theatre career, she also received several ACE awards.<ref name="Rivera41"/> She died of complications from a pulmonary infection on March 3, 2017.
==Early life== Míriam (or Mírian) Colón y Quiles was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico<ref name="Variety">{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/miriam-colon-dead-scarface-actress-dies-1202002194/|title=Miriam Colon, Latina Film and Theater Pioneer Known for 'Scarface', Dies at 80|first=Seth|last=Kelley|work=Variety|publisher=Penske Media Corporation|location=United States|date=March 4, 2017|access-date=March 7, 2017}}</ref> to Teodoro Colón De Jesus and Josefa Quiles Burgos, a seamstress. In the 1940s, her parents divorced, and her mother moved the family to a public housing project called Residencial Las Casas in San Juan. She was an admirer of accomplished Puerto Rican actor José Ferrer.<ref name="Rivera117"/>
Colón attended Román Baldorioty de Castro High School in Old San Juan, where she took part in plays.<ref name="Variety"/> She discovered her interest in theater while performing in a school rendition of ''La Azotea'' at the age of 15.<ref name="Rivera118"/> Her first drama teacher, Marcos Colón (no relation) believed in her talent, and helped her gain permission to observe the students in the drama department of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR).<ref name="Rivera41"/> She was a good student in high school and was awarded scholarships to the Dramatic Workshop and Technical Institute and Lee Strasberg's Actors Studio in New York City.<ref name="MC">{{Cite web|url=http://www.prpop.org/biografias/m_bios/miriam_colon.shtml|title=Miriam Colón|access-date=2010-03-29|archive-date=2012-09-07|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907104935/http://www.prpop.org/biografias/m_bios/miriam_colon.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> In New York, she befriended Dean Zayas, another young Puerto Rican actor and future director.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.elnuevodia.com/entretenimiento/cultura/notas/miriam-colon-pionera-de-la-cultura/|title=Miriam Colón: pionera de la cultura|date=March 4, 2017|website=El Nuevo Día}}</ref>
==Career== {{external media|audio1={{YouTube|9FJf0qb7ZCk|Colón's debut in "Los Peloteros"}}}} In 1951, Colón debuted as "Lolita" in ''Los Peloteros'' (''The Baseball Players''), a film produced by the Puerto Rican Division of Community Education (DIVEDCO) and starring Ramón "Diplo" Rivero.<ref name="MC"/>
Colón travelled to New York at the age of 18 along her mother. There she met a Puerto Rican director named Roberto Rodríguez Suárez, who gave him a script for an adaptation of René Márquez's ''La Carreta''.<ref name="Rivera117"/> The play debuted in a local church, with the author in attendance.<ref name="Rivera117"/>
She was accepted by Actors Studio co-founder Elia Kazan in 1953.<ref>{{cite news|title='Look, Let's Have Justice Around Here'|first=Patricia|last=Bosworth|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/12/archives/-look-lets-have-justice-around-here.html |newspaper=The New York Times|location=New York City|date=September 12, 1971|page=D5|access-date=October 24, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=David|last=Garfield|title=A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio|url=https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf|url-access=registration|year=1980|publisher=MacMillan|location=New York City|isbn=978-0025426504|chapter=Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980|page=[https://archive.org/details/playersplacestor00garf/page/277 277] }}</ref> She was the studio's first Puerto Rican member.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Caragol |first1=Taina |title=Owning and Sharing the Stage: Miriam Colón |url=https://npg.si.edu/blog/owning-and-sharing-stage-miriam-col%C3%B3n |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |access-date=December 21, 2025 |quote=In 1953 she became the first Puerto Rican to be accepted by Elia Kazan at New York’s celebrated Actors Studio.}}</ref>
In New York, she worked in theater and later landed a role on the soap opera ''Guiding Light''. She attended a performance of René Marqués' ''La Carreta'' (''The Oxcart''). She was inspired to form the first Hispanic theater group, with the help of La Carreta's producer, Roberto Rodrígue. It was called "El Nuevo Círculo Dramatico".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prpop.org/noticias/ene06/rauldavila_ene04.shtml|title=Danny en 'Coincidencias'… y en San Juan|date=31 October 2014|access-date=29 March 2010|archive-date=13 June 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613151513/http://prpop.org/noticias/ene06/rauldavila_ene04.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[File:James Arness Miriam Colon Gunsmoke.jpg|thumb|Colón and James Arness in ''Gunsmoke'', 1970]] In 1954, she appeared on stage in "In The Summer House" at the Play House in New York City.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/23/Miriam-Colon.html|title=Miriam Colon biography|work=Film Reference Library|publisher=TIFF Bell Lightbox|location=Toronto|access-date=March 7, 2017}}</ref>
Between 1954 and 1974, she made guest appearances in television shows such as ''Peter Gunn'' and ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents''. She appeared mostly in westerns such as ''Gunsmoke'', ''Bonanza'', ''The High Chaparral'', and ''Have Gun, Will Travel''. She appeared in the 1961 film ''One-eyed Jacks'' as "the Redhead". For her audition, Marlon Brando requested that she improvised instead of reading the script.<ref name="Rivera117">{{Harvnb|Rivera|2010|pp=117}}</ref> She also worked with Brando in ''The Appaloosa'' and gained respect for him.<ref name="Rivera117"/>
In 1962, she was featured as the co-star in a teleplay written by Frank Gabrielsen, and produced for the TV series ''The DuPont Show of the Week''. The title of the hour-long episode is "The Richest Man in Bogota", airing on June 17, 1962.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=June 16–22, 1962 |title=The Richest Man in Bogotá | magazine=TV Guide |volume=10 |issue=24 }}</ref> It starred Lee Marvin as Juan de Núñez, and Miriam Colón as "Marina". (Her character was called Medina-Saroté in the original H.G. Wells story, ''The Country of the Blind'').
She co-starred as Anita Chavez in the film ''Thunder Island'' (1963). That year she also guest starred on ''Gunsmoke'', playing a Comanche woman who marries a white settler. The pair must deal with discrimination and the racial hatred of others in this episode, entitled “Shona” (S8E22). In 1966, Colón sponsored a translation of ''La Carreta'' along then-husband George P. Edgar.<ref name="Rivera118">{{Harvnb|Rivera|2010|pp=118}}</ref> A young Raúl Juliá attendee the auditions, later starring along Lucy Boscana in the play directed by Lloyd Richards.<ref name="Rivera118"/>
Colón has appeared in Puerto Rican productions, including the mini-series ''El Callejón de los Cuernos''.<ref name="Rivera41"/> In 1979, she starred alongside fellow Puerto Rican actors José Ferrer, Raúl Juliá, and Henry Darrow in ''Life of Sin''.<ref name="Rivera41"/> She portrayed Isabel la Negra, an historic Puerto Rican brothel owner. In 1983, she was cast as the mother of Tony Montana in ''Scarface''. Colón has said that she based her performance on her own mother.<ref name="NYT" /> She was cast as María in the 1999 film ''Gloria'', starring Sharon Stone.
She continued to perform on stage and appeared in several plays including ''Las Troyanas'', ''La Casa de Bernarda Alba'' and ''Floating Alba''.<ref name="Rivera117"/> Her television career continued with appearances in ''Dr. Kildare'', ''LA Law'' and ''NYPD Blue''.<ref name="Rivera117"/>
In 2013, she was cast in the role of Ultima, a New Mexico Hispanic healer, in the movie ''Bless Me, Ultima'', based on the novel by Rudolfo Anaya.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/miriam-colon-iconic-u-s-latina-movie-theater-actress-dies-article-1.2988398|title=Miriam Colon, iconic U.S. Latina movie, theater actress, dies at 80|agency=Associated Press|work=Daily News|publisher=Daily News, L.P.|location=New York City|date=March 3, 2017|access-date=March 7, 2017}}</ref> She appeared in Season 1 of the TV series ''Better Call Saul'' in 2015, as Abuelita.
==Puerto Rican Traveling Theater== thumb|right|Puerto Rican Traveling Theater {{Main|Puerto Rican Traveling Theater}} In the late 1960s, Colón founded The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater company on West 47th street in Manhattan, New York. The company presents Off-Broadway productions onsite and also goes on tour. During her tenure, PRTT focused on Puerto Rican plays.<ref name="Rivera118"/> She was the director of the company and she appeared in the following PRTT productions:<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.prtt.org/about.html |title=The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater |access-date=2008-09-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813064054/http://www.prtt.org/about.html |archive-date=2016-08-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref> * ''The Ox Cart'' (1966–1967)<ref>{{iobdb title|3454|The Ox Cart}}</ref> * ''The Boiler Room'' (1993)<ref>{{iobdb title|1020|The Boiler Room}}</ref> * ''Simpson Street'' * ''Señora Carrar's Rifles''
The play ''The Ox Cart'' (''La Carreta''), written by Puerto Rican dramatist René Marqués, was first produced in 1953. It was directed by Roberto Rodríguez and starred Colón. The success of the play allowed Rodríguez and Colón to form the first permanent Hispanic theatrical group, and for the group to have its own space, Teatro Arena, located in Manhattan on Sixth Avenue between 43rd and 44th street.<ref name=Kanellos273>{{cite book|last1=Kanellos|first1=Nicolás|title=Hispanic Literature of the United States: A Comprehensive Reference|date=2003|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|page=273}}</ref>
==Recognition== thumb|right|National Medal of Arts In 1993, Colón received an Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater. In 2000, she received the HOLA Raúl Juliá Founders Award, presented by the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA). Colón's biography, ''Míriam Colón: Actor and Theater Founder'', was written by Mayra Fernandez in 1994. In 2014, President Barack Obama awarded Colón the National Medal of Arts for her contributions as an actress. The citation reads as follows: "Ms. Colón has been a trailblazer in film, television, and theater, and helped open doors for generations of Hispanic actors."<ref name="auto"/>
==Personal life== Colón was married to George Paul Edgar from 1966 until his death in 1976.<ref name="NYT">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/05/movies/miriam-colon-actress-puerto-rico-dies.html?_r=0|title=Miriam Colón, 80, Actress and Founder of Puerto Rican Traveling Theater, Dies|first=Anita|last=Gates|work=The New York Times|location=New York City|date=March 5, 2017|access-date=March 7, 2017}}</ref> In 1987, she married actor and physician Freddy Valle, with whom she continued living at New York.<ref name="Rivera117"/>
She was an avid collector of ancestral arts including pre-Columbian, tribal African, historic Native American, and other tribal art. She collected Mid-East artifacts, abstract paintings, and modern sculpture. A Pablo Picasso sketch she owned, she signed with a crayon, and it was auctioned for $6500 on June 16, 2019. At her death, she owned at least six signed movie posters of Al Pacino's ''Scarface'' and at least seven signed ''Scarface'' soundtrack albums.<ref>[https://www.liveauctioneers.com/search/?keyword=m%C3%ADriam%20col%C3%B3n&sort=-relevance&status=archive Results], liveauctioneers.com. Accessed October 15, 2025.</ref>
==Death== Colón died on March 3, 2017, in New York City from complications from a pulmonary infection.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/entertainment/articles/2017-03-03/miriam-colon-iconic-us-latina-movie-theater-actress-dies|title=U.S. News: Miriam Colón, Iconic US Latina Movie, Theater Actress, Dies|work=U.S. News & World Report|publisher=U.S. News & World Report, L.P.|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=March 3, 2017|agency=Associated Press|date=March 3, 2017|first=Russell|last=Contreras}}</ref> Among those who paid tribute to her were Rosalba Rolón, Marc Anthony (whom she had coached as an actor and briefly appeared with on television), and Lin-Manuel Miranda.<ref name="american-theatre">{{cite web |last1=Rolón |first1=Rosalba |title=Miriam Colón: Opening Doors |url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2017/03/09/miriam-colon-opening-doors/ |website=American Theatre |publisher=Theatre Communications Group |access-date=26 December 2022 |date=9 March 2017}}</ref>
==Filmography== {{Div col|colwidth=30em}} * 1951 ''Los Peloteros'' as Lolita * 1955 ''Danger'' (TV series) (Season 5 Episode 20: "No Passport for Death") * 1955 ''Star Tonight'' (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 28: "The Ring of General Maclas") * 1956 ''Crowded Paradise'' * 1956 ''Soraya'' (TV series) (60 episodes) * 1956–1958 ''Studio One'' (TV series) **(Season 8 Episode 38: "Flight") (1956) as Rosie **(Season 10 Episode 42: "Tag-Along") (1958) as Mrs. Talavera * 1957 ''The Big Story'' (TV series) (Season 8 Episode 14: "House Divided") as Esperanza Martinez * 1958 ''Decoy'' (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 32: "Fiesta at Midnight") as Maria * 1958 ''Playhouse 90'' (TV series) (Season 2 Episode 38: "A Town Has Turned to Dust") as Dolores * 1959 ''Lux Playhouse'' (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 13: "The Dreamer") as Mrs. Flores * 1959 ''State Trooper'' (TV series) (Season 3 Episode 7: "Case of the Barefoot Girl") as Francesca * 1959 ''One Step Beyond'' (TV series) (Season 2 Episode 15: "The Hand") as Alma Rodriguez * 1959 ''Markham'' (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 2: "Woman of Arles") as Esperanza * 1959 ''Mike Hammer'' (TV series) (Season 2 Episode 23: "See No Evil") as Tarano * 1959 ''Peter Gunn'' (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 37: "The Coffin") as Maria DeCara * 1959 ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' (TV series) (Season 4 Episode 2: "Desert Showdown") as Rita * 1959 ''Wanted Dead or Alive'' (TV series) (Season 2 Episode 11: "Desert Seed") as Mrs. Gomez * 1961 ''One-Eyed Jacks'' as Redheaded Lady * 1961 ''Battle at Bloody Beach'' as Nahni * 1961 ''The Outsider'' as Anita * 1962 ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' (TV series) (Season 7 Episode 19: "Strange Miracle") as Lolla Siqueras * 1962 ''The New Breed'' (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 31: "My Brother's Keeper") as Dolores Madero * 1962 ''The DuPont Show of the Week'' (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 28: ''The Richest Man in Bogota'' as Marina * 1962 ''Doctor Kildare'' (TV series) (2 episodes) **(Season 1 Episode 19: "The Glory Hunter") as Rani Stewart **(Season 2 Episode 8: "The Cobweb Chain") as Pila * 1962 ''The Defenders'' (TV series) (Season 2 Episode 12: "The Savage Infant") as Carmella Lopez * 1962–1974 ''Gunsmoke'' (TV series) (8 episodes) **(Season 7 Episode 21: "He Learned About Women") (1962) as Kisla **(Season 8 Episode 22: "Shona") (1963) as Shona **(Season 14 Episode 3: "Zavala") (1968) as Amelita Avila **(Season 15 Episode 7: "Charlie Noon") (1969) as Woman **(Season 16 Episode 1: "Chato") (1970) as Mora **(Season 18 Episode 1: "The River: Part 1") (1972) as Paulette Duvalier **(Season 18 Episode 2: "The River: Part 2") (1972) as Paulette Duvalier **(Season 19 Episode 19: "The Iron Blood of Courage") (1974) as Mignon Anderson * 1963 ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' (TV series) (Season 6 Episode 24: "Caravan") as Punya * 1963 ''Laramie'' (TV series) (Season 4 Episode 23: "The Unvanquished") as Winema * 1963 ''Death Valley Days'' (TV series) (Season 11 Episode 22: "Phantom Procession") as Maria * 1963 ''Harbor Lights'' as Gina Rosario * 1963 ''Ben Casey'' (TV series) (Season 3 Episode 2: "Justice to a Microbe") as Eva Rosario * 1963 ''The Great Adventure'' (TV series) (2 episodes) as Sarah Crow **(Season 1 Episode 2: "The Death of Sitting Bull") **(Season 1 Episode 3: "The Massacre at Wounded Knee") * 1963 ''Thunder Island'' as Anita Chavez * 1963 ''The Dick Van Dyke Show'' (TV series) (Season 3 Episode 11: "Turtles, Ties, and Toreadors") as Maria * 1964 ''The Nurses'' (TV series) (Season 2 Episode 19: "Is There Room for Edward?") as Maria Marissa * 1964 ''Slattery's People'' (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 6: "Question: "What Became of the White Tortilla?") as Elena Delgado * 1966 ''The Legend of Jesse James'' (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 16: "The Empty Town") as Theresa * 1966 ''The Appaloosa'' as Ana * 1967 ''N.Y.P.D.'' (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 22: "Macho") as Teresa * 1967 ''The Fugitive'' (TV series) (Season 4 Episode 24: "The Savage Street") as Mercedes Anza * 1967 ''The Virginian'' (TV series) (Season 6 Episode 1: "The Reckoning") as Eva Talbot * 1967 ''Christmas in the Marketplace'' (TV movie) as Virgin Mary / Mercedes * 1968 ''The High Chaparral'' (TV series) (Season 2 Episode 3: "Follow Your Heart") as Trinidad 'Trini' Butler * 1969 ''The Desperate Mission'' (TV movie) as Claudina, Otilia's Servant * 1969 ''Bonanza'' (TV series) (Season 11 Episode 6: "To Stop a War") as Anita Lavez * 1971 ''They Call It Murder'' (TV movie) as Anita Nogales * 1972 ''The Possession of Joel Delaney'' as Veronica * 1974 ''Dr. Max'' (TV movie) as Mrs. Camacho * 1974 ''Sanford & Son'' (TV series) (Season 4 Episode 10: "Julio and Sister and Nephew") as Carlotta * 1976 ''The Hemingway Play'' (TV movie) * 1979 ''A Life of Sin'' as Isabel * 1980 ''The Edge of Night'' (TV soap opera) (8 episodes) as Dr. Marie Santos **(Episode 6247) (uncredited) **(Episode 6248) (uncredited) **(Episode 6249) **(Episode 6251) (uncredited) **(Episode 6254) (uncredited) **(Episode 6255) (credit only) **(Episode 6256) (credit only) **(Episode 6258) * 1981 ''Back Roads'' as Angel * 1981 ''ABC Afterschool Specials'' (TV series) (Season 10 Episode 2: "Starstruck") as Yolanda * 1983 ''Scarface'' (1983) as Mama Georgina Montana * 1984 ''Best Kept Secret'' (TV movie) as Ina Dietz * 1985 ''Lady Blue'' (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 7: "Portrait of Death") as Dona Maria * 1986 ''Kay O'Brien'' (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 8: "Dollars and Sense") as Mrs. Amaro * 1987 ''Highway to Heaven'' (TV series) (Season 4 Episode 4: "The People Next Door") as Anna Martinez * 1988 ''Deadline: Madrid'' (TV movie) * 1989–2002 ''Guiding Light'' (TV soap opera) (4 episodes) **(Episode dated January 18, 1989) as Mother Superior **(Episode dated September 4, 2001) as Maria Santos **(Episode dated Thursday, January 3, 2002) as Maria Santos (uncredited) **(Episode dated Monday, January 16, 2002) as Maria Santos (credit only) * 1991 ''L.A. Law'' (TV series) (Season 5 Episode 14: "The Gods Must Be Lawyers") as Gaby Sifuentes * 1991 ''Law and Order'' (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 18: "The Secret Sharers") as Mrs. Anna Rivers * 1991 ''Lightning Field'' (TV movie) * 1991 ''City of Hope'' as Mrs. Ramirez * 1992 ''Murder, She Wrote'' (TV series) (Season 8 Episode 19: "Day of the Dead") as Consuela Montejano * 1993 ''The House of the Spirits'' as Nana * 1994 ''The Cosby Mysteries'' (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 4: "Only You") * 1994 ''NYPD Blue'' (TV series) (Season 2 Episode 8: "You Bet Your Life") as Valeria Santiago * 1995 ''Streets of Laredo'' (TV miniseries) (3 episodes) as Estrella **(Season 1 Episode 1) **(Season 1 Episode 2) **(Season 1 Episode 3) * 1995 ''Sabrina'' as Rosa * 1995 ''All My Children'' (TV soap opera) as Lydia Flores * 1996 ''Edipo alcalde'' as Deyanira * 1996 ''Lone Star'' as Mercedes Cruz * 1996 ''Mistrial'' (TV movie) as Mrs. Cruz * 1996 ''Cosby'' (TV series) (Season 1 Episode 8: "The Two Mr. Lucases") as Lillian * 1996–1997 ''One Life to Live'' (TV soap opera) as Maria 'Abuelita' Delgado * 1999 ''Gloria'' as María * 2000 ''For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story'' (TV movie) as Cirita Sandoval * 2000 ''All the Pretty Horses'' as Doña Alfonsa * 2001 ''Third Watch'' (TV series) (2 episodes) as Theresa Caffey **(Season 2 Episode 15: "Requiem for a Bantamweight") **(Season 2 Episode 16: "Unfinished Business") * 2001 ''The Blue Diner'' as Meche * 2001 ''Almost a Woman'' (TV movie) as Tata * 2005 ''Jonny Zero'' (TV series) (2 episodes) as Lupe **(Season 1 Episode 1: "Pilot") **(Season 1 Episode 4: "Who's Your Daddy") * 2005 ''Goal!'' as Mercedes * 2007 ''Goal! 2: Living the Dream...'' as Mercedes * 2007 ''The Cry'' as Gloria The Curandera * 2009 ''Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (TV series) (Season 10 Episode 19: "Selfish") as Yolanda * 2009 ''Goal! 3: Taking on the World'' as Mercedes (uncredited) * 2010–2011 ''How to Make It in America'' (TV series) (6 episodes) as Cam's Grandma **(Season 1 Episode 1: "Pilot") (2010) **(Season 1 Episode 2: "Crisp") (2010) **(Season 1 Episode 5: "Big in Japan") (2010) **(Season 1 Episode 8: "Never Say Die") (2010) **(Season 2 Episode 1: "I'm Good") (2011) **(Season 2 Episode 7: "The Friction") (2011) * 2011 ''Gun Hill Road'' as Gloria * 2011 ''The Bay'' (TV series) (Episode: "Far from the Bay: Part 1") as Grandma Andrews * 2011 ''Hawthorne'' (TV series) (2 episodes) as Mama Renata **(Season 3 Episode 3: "Parental Guidance Required") **(Season 3 Episode 6: "Just Between Friends") * 2011 ''Foreverland'' as Esperanza * 2013 ''Bless Me, Ultima'' as Ultima * 2013 ''Unhallowed'' as Bruja (rumored) * 2014 ''Top Five'' as Chelsea's Grandmother * 2014 ''On Painted Wings'' (not distributed) as Manuela * 2015 ''Better Call Saul'' (TV series) (2 episodes) as Abuelita Salamanca **(Season 1 Episode 1: "Uno") **(Season 1 Episode 2: "Mijo") * 2015 ''The Girl Is in Trouble'' as Grandma * 2015 ''The Southside'' as Abuelita Sanchez {{div col end}}
==Broadway== *''In The Summer House'' (1954) *''The Innkeepers'' (1956) *''The Wrong Way Lightbulb'' (1969)
==See also== {{Portal|Puerto Rico|Biography}} *List of Puerto Ricans *History of women in Puerto Rico {{Clear}}
==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|0173125}} * {{IBDB name|105057}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20151106162931/http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?keyword=Miriam+Colon&COMMITT=YES&search_by=ALL&Go.x=23&Go.y=19 Míriam Colón biography] at the Internet Off-Broadway Database * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160813064054/http://www.prtt.org/about.html The Puerto Rican Traveling Theater] *[http://nbclatino.com/2012/10/31/cafecito-miriam-colon-from-scarface-to-bless-me-ultima-still-paving-the-way-for-latino-actors/ Míriam Colón Interview on NBC Latino] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119074211/http://nbclatino.com/2012/10/31/cafecito-miriam-colon-from-scarface-to-bless-me-ultima-still-paving-the-way-for-latino-actors/ |date=2015-11-19 }} *[https://www.wnyc.org/story/interview-with-miriam-colon/ Míriam Colón Interview] at the [https://www.wnyc.org/archives WNYC Archives]
{{National Medal of Arts recipients 2010s}} {{Portal bar|United States|Puerto Rico|Biography|Film|Television|Theatre}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colon, Miriam}} Category:1930s births Category:2017 deaths Category:Obie Award recipients Category:Puerto Rican film actresses Category:Puerto Rican television actresses Category:Puerto Rican soap opera actresses Category:Puerto Rican stage actresses Category:Actresses from Ponce, Puerto Rico Category:Western (genre) television actors Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:Respiratory disease deaths in New York (state) Category:Infectious disease deaths in New York (state) Category:Deaths from respiratory tract infection Category:Age controversies