Rita's professional career began before she reached adolescence. From the age of nine, she performed as a professional dancer in New York night clubs. At age 11, she landed her first movie experience, dubbing Spanish-language versions of US films.
Around the age of 6, Moreno began taking Spanish dance lessons from Paco Cansino, the teacher and uncle of Rita Hayworth. At the age of 9, Moreno had her first performance dancing at a nightclub in Greenwich Village. Throughout her early teens, she would perform at clubs around New York, often going by herself.
But in what would be her first clear experience of how little power she had in that era, the teenager known as Rosa Dolores Alverio was forced to change her name. "They didn't know what to do with me because of my name," she says. "I didn't like the name Rita but they chose it because I liked the actress Rita Hayworth.
The West Side Story star shares daughter Fernanda Luisa Gordon with her late husband Leonard Gordon. Moreno and Leonard, a former doctor who later managed Moreno's career, got married in 1965 and welcomed Fernanda a year later. Leonard died in June 2010 at 90 years old.
But offstage, her night was only getting started: After accepting the award from Hudson, she ran into Joan Crawford backstage, who was there to present the best actor award and, as Moreno put it, “drunk as a skunk on vodka.” “She hugged me so hard she covered my face entirely,” Moreno said.
When she was 11 years old, she lent her voice to Spanish-language versions of American films. She had her first Broadway role, as "Angelina" in the 1945 production of Skydrift, by the age of 13, which caught the attention of Hollywood talent scouts. Moreno said she was raped by her agent while she was a teen actor.
Given the nickname “Rosita,” when she was young, Moreno's birth name was Rosa Dolores Alverío. She spent much of her childhood on a Puerto Rican farm until she was five years old. Her mother saved enough money for them to move to New York, but Moreno's little brother Francisco had to be left behind.
Although Moreno only did some of her own singing decades ago, she now gets to perform one of West Side Story's most iconic songs, “Somewhere”. Indeed, with these talented and groundbreaking stars, it is no wonder that West Side Story has become one of the most critically acclaimed films of the decade.
Family is very important to Moreno; she also loves cooking, especially Puerto Rican and Cuban food. Her go-to dish is rice and beans with sweet plantains.
Rita Moreno, an American actor, singer, and dancer, won many awards for her work. She performed in films, television shows, and plays. Moreno was the third person and the first Hispanic performer to win all four major North American entertainment awards.
In 1945, at age 13, she made her Broadway debut in Skydrift. Her first big-screen appearance was in So Young, So Bad (1950). She was credited as Rosita Moreno, but soon thereafter she took the first name Rita.
Rita Moreno does not currently have a husband. Her late husband, her only husband, was Leonard Gordon. Gordon was a cardiologist and internist before retiring from medicine to become his wife's manager.
Rita's professional career began before she reached adolescence. From the age of nine, she performed as a professional dancer in New York night clubs. At age 11, she landed her first movie experience, dubbing Spanish-language versions of US films.
She broke racial and gender barriers through her portrayals of an Irish teacher, Italian widow, evangelist, English lady and southern belle, helping pave the way for non-traditional casting of Latinas.
With a career spanning nearly 80 years in the entertainment industry, Moreno is one of a few individuals to have won the four major annual American entertainment awards: an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony.
Rita Moreno was hooked when she was tapped to play a ghost in the television comedy "Lopez vs. Lopez," starring comedian George Lopez and his daughter, Mayan Lopez.
