Rita Moreno

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Alverío and the second or maternal family name is Marcano.

Rita Moreno
Moreno in 2019
Born
Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano

(1931-12-11) December 11, 1931 (age 92)
Humacao, Puerto Rico
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • dancer
Years active1943–present
WorksFull list
Spouse
Leonard Gordon
​
​
(m. 1965; died 2010)​
Children1
AwardsFull list

Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano;[1] December 11, 1931) is an American actress, dancer, and singer.[2] She has performed on stage and screen in a career spanning over eight decades. Moreno is one of the last remaining stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood. Among her numerous accolades, she is one of the few actors to have been awarded an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony (EGOT)[3][4] and the Triple Crown of Acting, with individual competitive Academy, Emmy, and Tony awards. Additional accolades include the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004, the National Medal of Arts in 2009, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2013, the Kennedy Center Honor in 2015, and a Peabody Award in 2019.

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.[5] Her other films include Popi (1969), Carnal Knowledge (1971), The Four Seasons (1981), I Like It Like That (1994), Slums of Beverly Hills (1998), My Father's Dragon (2022) and Fast X (2023). Moreno portrayed the major supporting role of Valentina in the acclaimed and award winning 2021 remake of West Side Story directed by Steven Spielberg.

In theater, she starred as Googie Gomez in the 1975 Terrence McNally musical The Ritz earning her the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She reprised her role in the 1976 film directed by Richard Lester which earned her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress nomination. She also acted in Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window in 1964 and in Neil Simon's The Odd Couple in 1985.

She was a cast member on the children's television series The Electric Company (1971-1977), and played Sister Peter Marie Reimondo on the HBO series Oz (1997-2003). She received two consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for her roles on The Muppet Show in 1977 and The Rockford Files in 1978. She gained acclaim for her roles in Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? (1994-1999), The CW series Jane the Virgin (2015–2019), and the Netflix revival of One Day at a Time (2017–2020). Her life was profiled in Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It (2021).

  1. ^ Gettell, Oliver (January 18, 2014). "SAG Awards 2014: Rita Moreno receives lifetime achievement award". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 14, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "Rita Moreno | Biography, West Side Story, Movies, Oscar, & Facts". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  3. ^ "16 stars who are EGOT winners". Entertainment Weekly. July 27, 2020. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
  4. ^ Nicole Lyn Pesce; Joe Dziemianowicz; Margaret Eby (March 3, 2014). "Oscars 2014: Bobby Lopez becomes youngest person to get an EGOT with Best Original Song win for 'Let It Go'". Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  5. ^ "Rita Moreno becomes the first Hispanic woman to win an Oscar". History Channel. Retrieved January 20, 2022.