Moreno was born in aHumacao, Puerto Rico hospital to Rosa María (née Marcano), (1912-1999) a seamstress who was born in 1912, and Francisco José "Paco" Alverío, a farmer who was born in 1908. She was nicknamed "Rosita" and raised in nearbyJuncos.[6][7] Her maternal grandparents were Justino Marcano (b. Puerto Rico) and Trinidad from Spain.[8] Moreno's mother moved to New York City in 1936, taking her daughter, but not her son, Moreno's younger brother, Francisco, whom Moreno would not see again until 2021.[9] Moreno adopted the surname of her first stepfather, Edward Moreno, Rosa Maria's second husband. She spent her teenage years living in the NYC suburb ofValley Stream onLong Island.[10]
Career
1945–1959: Theater debut and early films
Rita Moreno in 1954
Moreno began her first dancing lessons soon after arriving in New York with a Spanish dancer known as "Paco Cansino", who was a paternal uncle of film starRita Hayworth.[11] When she was 11 years old, she lent her voice to Spanish-language versions of American films. She had her firstBroadway role, as "Angelina" in the 1945 production ofSkydrift, 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.[12][13]
Moreno's film career began in the later years of theGolden Age of Hollywood. Moreno and her mother moved to a Culver City "cottage" within walking distance ofMGM.[14] She acted steadily in films throughout the 1950s, usually in small roles, including inThe Toast of New Orleans (1950)[15] In 1952, she appeared inStanley Donen's musical comedy filmSingin' in the Rain alongsideGene Kelly,Debbie Reynolds andDonald O'Connor. In the film she played silent film star Zelda Zanders. She described having gotten the role by Gene Kelly "wanting her in the movie" and that she "seemed to fit the role for him". Moreno praised Kelly for casting her in a non-stereotypical Hispanic role playing Zelda saying, "he never said 'Oh she's too Latina', he just thought I'd be fine for it". She called the experience working in the film as an "amazing experience" and a "privilege".[16]
After winning the Oscar, Moreno thought she would be able to continue to perform less stereotypical film roles, but was disappointed:
Ha, ha. I showed them. I didn't make another movie for seven years after winning the Oscar.... BeforeWest Side Story, I was always offered the stereotypical Latina roles. The Conchitas and Lolitas in westerns. I was always barefoot. It was humiliating, embarrassing stuff. But I did it because there was nothing else. AfterWest Side Story, it was pretty much the same thing. A lot of gang stories.[23]
Moreno had a major role inSummer and Smoke (1961), released soon afterWest Side Story. She did appear in one film during her self-imposed exile from Hollywood –Cry of Battle (1963) – although it had been filmed directly before and after she won the Academy Award. She made her return to film inThe Night of the Following Day (1968) withMarlon Brando, and followed that withPopi (1969), andMarlowe (1969) withJames Garner. Moreno's Broadway credits includeLast of the Red Hot Lovers (1969), the musicalGantry (1970), andThe Ritz, for which she won the 1975 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress. She appeared in the female version ofThe Odd Couple[18] that ran in Chicago, for which she won theSarah Siddons Award in 1985.[22] Her costar Struthers later stated in an interview onGilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast that it was an unpleasant experience until Rita Moreno, who Struthers alleges was mean-spirited towards her, left the play and was replaced byBrenda Vaccaro.[24]
From 1971 to 1977, Moreno was a main cast member on thePBS children's seriesThe Electric Company. She screamed the show's opening line, "Hey, you guys!" Her roles on the show included Millie the Helper, the naughty little girl Pandora, andOtto, a very short-tempered director. Moreno also starred inMike Nichols'Carnal Knowledge (1971) alongsideJack Nicholson,Candice Bergen,Ann-Margret, andArt Garfunkel. In the film she plays a prostitute named Louise, whom Jack Nicholson plays cards with. The film was a critical success. In 1976 she starred as Googie Gomez inRichard Lester's film adaptation of the comedyfarceThe Ritz alongsideJack Weston,Jerry Stiller, andF. Murray Abraham.Charles Champlin of theLos Angeles Times wrote that the film made the transition from the stage "surprisingly well, given the odds," with "two of the most flamboyantly entertaining and skillful comedy performances of the year" by Jack Weston and Rita Moreno.[25]
In 1993, Moreno was invited to perform at PresidentBill Clinton's inauguration and later that month was asked to perform at the White House.[28] During the mid-1990s, Moreno provided the voice ofCarmen Sandiego onFox's animated seriesWhere on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?[29] In the franchise's2019 animated series, Moreno voices the character Cookie Booker. In the late 1990s, Moreno playedSister Pete, a nun trained as a psychologist in the popularHBO seriesOz, for which she won severalALMA Awards. She made a guest appearance onThe Nanny as Coach Stone,Maggie's tyrannical gym teacher, whomFran Fine also remembered from her school as Ms. Wickavich.[30]
Since then, she has continued to work in film, including a small voice role in the 2014 filmRio 2, perhaps her most commercially successful film. In September 2011, Moreno began performing a solo autobiographical show at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre,Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup written by the theatre's artistic director Tony Taccone after hours of interviews with Moreno.[17] In 2014, Moreno appeared in the NBC television filmOld Soul, alongsideNatasha Lyonne,Fred Willard andEllen Burstyn.[32] The film was intended as a pilot for a television series, but it was not picked up.
Moreno plays the matriarch of a Cuban-American family in the Netflix sitcomOne Day at a Time, a remake produced byNorman Lear of Lear's1975–84 sitcom. The first season premiered in January 2017. Critics overall praised the show, and especially the performances of Moreno and the series' star,Justina Machado.[33] Also that year, Moreno and others contributed toLin-Manuel Miranda's single "Almost Like Praying" where proceeds from the song went to theHispanic Federation's UNIDOS Disaster Relief program to benefit those affected byHurricane Maria that devastated the island of Puerto Rico.[34]
2020s
In 2020–21, Moreno starred in and executive-produced theSteven Spielberg–directedadaptation ofWest Side Story.[35] Moreno plays a newly created character, Valentina; she famously won theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Anita inthe 1961 original movie. The film was released on December 10, 2021. Justin Chang ofNPR wrote, "Sixty years later, Moreno is an executive producer on Spielberg's West Side Story. She also gives a poignant performance in the new role of Valentina, the widow of Doc, the drugstore owner. By her presence, Moreno teaches us how to approach this movie, as both an affectionate tribute and a gentle corrective."[36]
On August 29, 2021, Moreno took part in the "Wicked in Concert" special onPBS, PBS.org and the PBS Video App, performing "The Wizard and I".[37][38]
Moreno's life was profiled in the feature documentary entitledRita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It which was produced byLin-Manuel Miranda. The film premiered at theSundance Film Festival and received positive reviews.The Guardian declared, "Overall, she emerges just as vampish, feisty and fun as you’d expect, and as a gracious giver of speeches at ceremonies where she collects endless lifetime achievement awards".[39]
From 1954 to 1962, Moreno was in an on-and-off relationship withMarlon Brando.[40] She revealed in her memoir that she became pregnant by Brando and he arranged for an abortion. The abortion was botched, she went home and bled as the fetus died inside her and she had to be rushed to the hospital to have it surgically removed. Soon after, Brando fell in love with his co-star onMutiny on the Bounty, yet returned to her; Moreno attempted suicide by overdosing on Brando's sleeping pills.[41]
In 1965, Moreno married cardiologist and internist Leonard Gordon,[42] who became her manager after he retired from medicine.[43][44] In 1995, they relocated toBerkeley, California.[45] They remained together until his death in 2010.[46] Moreno and Gordon have one daughter, Fernanda Gordon Fisher, and two grandsons.[47] Moreno said she once considered leaving her husband, but did not to avoid breaking up the family.[48]
Acting credits and accolades
Moreno with President Bush in 2004, prior to receiving the Medal of Freedom
^Mangan, Jennifer (May 4, 1994)."'Educating Rita".Chicago Tribune.Archived from the original on September 15, 2011. RetrievedOctober 2, 2010.
^"Rita Moreno".All American Entertainment Speakers. All American Speakers Bureau.Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. RetrievedFebruary 10, 2020.
^Guthrie, Julian (September 18, 2011)."Rita Moreno reflects on her remarkable career".SFGATE. RetrievedOctober 26, 2021."I would call my story an American story," Moreno said, sitting in her Berkeley hills home, where she has lived for the past 16 years.
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