Lee Unkrich, the film's director, said that Mama Coco was not based on any real person they met while traveling, Entertainment Tonight reported. The character in the movie was voiced by Ana Ofelia Murgua.

And Mara's family have claimed since the Disney film came out, that the production team took a picture of the grandma which they believed the character was based off. However in 2024, Unkrich tweeted that Mam Coco was not based upon a real person. He added: "She sprang solely from our imagination."