Maria Salud Ramirez Caballero, a Mexican woman who is said to have inspired one the main characters in Pixar's Coco, has passed away at the age of 109.
The Secretary of Tourism for the Mexican state of Michoacan, Roberto Monroy, took to Twitter to confirm her death and said she was a "tireless" role model.
He wrote: "I am deeply saddened by the passing of Doña María Salud Ramírez Caballero, 'Mamá Coco', a tireless woman and example of life, who was the inspiration for this beloved character who went around the world.
"My prayers for her rest and for her family to find peace of mind."
Roberto said Maria had passed away in Santa Fe de la Laguna, the same town she was born in more than a century ago.
Maria was given the nickname Mama Coco, after the character of the same name in the animated film. Mamá Coco was voiced by Ana Ofelia Murguía in the movie.
Disney has never officially acknowledged that Maria was the inspiration for the beloved character, but her family claims a team from Pixar visited their area and extensively photographed her.
They said the team even lived with them for a while.
The Mirror has approached Disney's representatives for comment.
Maria's family insists the architecture in the film is uncannily similar to their home town and that Mamá Coco looks very the same as Maria.
Maria was a clay craftswoman who made pots and other items which she sold to locals.
Her funeral was held at her home on Monday and was attended by family and friends. She is survived by three children, many grandchildren, and several great grandchildren.
Coco was released in 2017 and became a box office hit for Pixar, grossing $210.5million in the US and Canada and $597.4million in other countries.
The heart-warming film follows 12-year-old Miguel Rivera (Anthony Gonzalez) who dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt), despite his family's generations-old ban on music.
Desperate to prove his talent and search for answers about his missing great-grandfather, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colourful Land of the Dead.
After meeting Héctor (Gael García Bernal), the two new friends embark on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history.
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