Rita Moreno Biography

Rita Moreno Biography
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Birth Name(s) : Rosita Dolores Alverio

Date of Birth: December 11, 1931

Status: Married

Partner: Lenny Gordon

Profession: Actor

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Full Rita Moreno Biography

This charismatic lit tle firecracker exploded onto movie screens as the tempestuous Anita in West Side Story (1961), delivering a dynamic performance for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award. It was the shining moment in an extensive screen career: Moreno debuted on film at the age of 14 in A Medal for Benny (1945), and played supporting roles (usually fiery Latins) in nearly two dozen movies during the 1950s. Among the best: a small but noticeable role as starlet Zelda Zanders in Singin' in the Rain (1952) and a plummier part as Tuptim in The King and I (1956).

Since West Side Story her film output has been sporadic, but she's had memorable supporting roles in Marlowe (1969, as a stripper), Carnal Knowledge (1971, as a worldly hooker who services Jack Nicholson), and The Ritz (1976, in which she recreated her hilarious Broadway performance as the spectacularly untalented bathhouse entertainer Googie Gomez). The versatile Moreno was also a charter cast member of the 1970s landmark children's TV show "The Electric Company." (In fact, a spinoff recording earned her a Grammy Award to go along with her Oscar, her Tony for "The Ritz," and two Emmys, for guest shots on "The Rockford Files" and "The Muppet Show.") In 1990 the ever-energetic performer released a very successful exercise video. Still active on television, Moreno's prodigious talent has only barely been tapped; it seems there's nothing she can't do, and do well.

Additional Rita Moreno Biography

Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931, in Humacao, Puerto Rico) is a singer, dancer and an Academy Award-winning actress and the first and only Puerto Rican actress in history (as well as one of only nine people) to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award.

Moreno (born Rosita Dolores Alverío) moved with her mother to New York City at the age of five. When she was eleven years old, she lent her voice to Spanish-language versions of American films. She had her first Broadway role (Angelina in Skydrift) by the time she was thirteen, which caught the attention of Hollywood talent scouts. For the next ten years, Moreno played roles in movies which she considered degrading.

Finally, in 1961, Moreno landed the role of "Anita" in Robert Wise's film adaptation of Leonard Bernstein's and Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking Broadway musical, West Side Story. Moreno gained fame and an Academy Award as the Best Supporting Actress for that role.

Moreno went on to be the second actor, and the first Hispanic, to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar (as mentioned), and a Tony. In 1985 she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre.Rita Moreno on the 1962 album cover for Academy Award Winner Rita Moreno Sings

Moreno dated Marlon Brando, her co-star in The Night of the Following Day (1968) and is rumored to have attempted suicide after their relationship ended.

Moreno's Broadway credits include The Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Gantry, The Ritz, and the female version of The Odd Couple.

Moreno continues to be active on stage and screen. In 2006, she portrayed Amanda Wingfield in the Berkeley Repertory Theater's revival of The Glass Menagerie. She was also seen on Law and Order: Criminal Intent as the dying mother of Detective Goren.

Perhaps Moreno's main contribution to the Hispanic community has been her ability to transcend what some have viewed as the widespread discriminatory practices of Hollywood.

Among Moreno's many awards and recognitions are the following:Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004
- Academy Award Best Supporting Actress, "West Side Story" (1961).
- "The Joseph Jefferson Award" Best Chicago Theatre Actress (1968).
- Grammy Award The Electric Company Album (1972).
- Tony Award Best Featured Actress, "The Ritz" (1975).
- 2 Emmy Awards "The Muppet Show" (1977), and "The Rockford Files" (1978).
- "The Golden Apple" Cue Magazine Award.
- "The Sarah Siddons Awards" for her portrayal of Olive Madison in the female version of the Odd Couple.
- "Special Recognition Award" from the International Latin Music Hall of Fame (2001).
- "Presidential Medal of Freedom" from President George W. Bush in June 2004.
- Rita Moreno has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7083 Hollywood Blvd.
- On August 20, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver announced that Rita Moreno will be inducted into the California Hall of Fame this December 5, 2007 located at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts in Sacramento.

On June 18, 1965 Moreno married Lenny Gordon, who remains her husband and manager. They have one daughter, Fernanda (Gordon) Fisher.

Puerto Rico Portal
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- List of Puerto Ricans in the Academy Awards
- List of people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award

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Rita Moreno Quote(s)

It is very important that women of this country be made aware of the dangers of osteoporosis in the sense that it is a silent and invisible disease with no symptoms whatsoever.

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