After earning the four major entertainment awards: an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, Moreno became the first Latina woman to have an “E.G.O.T.” In 2004, she was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her many contributions to the arts. Rita Moreno was born on December 11, 1931 in Humacao, Puerto Rico.
Moreno's early work included supporting roles in the classic musical films Singin' in the Rain (1952) and The King and I (1956), before her breakout role as Anita in West Side Story (1961), which earned her the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, becoming the first Latin American woman to win an Academy Award.
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.
Rita Hayworth HORRIFIC tragedy.. lN€EST, surgeries, powerful men & worse..
What did Rita Moreno say about her husband?
"My husband was a terrific man, just not a good husband. He was a controller." Moreno added that she would never have shared these feelings publicly while Gordon was alive — much less in a documentary. "I would never have talked about him without his permission.
Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress. She is the first and only Hispanic and one of the few performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony and at the time the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award.
Rita Moreno had a tumultuous eight-year on-and-off relationship with actor Marlon Brando. During that time, she became pregnant, however, Brando arranged for her to have an abortion. The procedure was botched and ended up threatening her life as she bled for days after.
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.
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.
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.
At 91, Hollywood legend Rita Moreno is working as much as she ever has, with prominent roles in films like the recent 80 For Brady and the upcoming Fast X.
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.
Her Sagittarius traits are apparent in her personality as she is known for being enthusiastic, optimistic, and adventurous. She has an infectious sense of humor and a lively spirit that makes her a joy to be around.
Born into poverty on a Puerto Rican farm, Moreno and her seamstress mother immigrated to New York City when Moreno was five years old. After studying dance and performing on Broadway, Moreno was cast as any ethnic minority the Hollywood studios needed filled: Polynesian, Native American, Egyptian and more.
As an outspoken advocate for racial and gender equality, childhood education, immigrant families, relief for her homeland of Puerto Rico, and many other causes for which she is impassioned, Rita is a shining example of what can happen when you show up, shake things up, and give back to your community.
A social activist according to the Oxford dictionary is defined as: “a person who works to achieve political or social change, especially as a member of an organization with particular aims.”
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.
