"It is through art that we will prevail and we will endure. It lives on after us and defines us as people."
Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931 in Humacao, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican actress, singer and dancer.
A star of stage, film, and television for more than six decades, Moreno is the first — and thus far the only — Latin American to have won an Emmy, Oscar, Grammy, and Tony, as well as one of only two people (along with Helen Hayes) to have completed both the EGOT and the Triple Crown of Acting.
Following what she has described as a "tumultuous" relationship with Marlon Brando in the 1950s and early '60s, she was married to cardiologist Leonard Gordon from 1965 until his death in 2010; they had one daughter together.
Selected works:
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Theatre roles
- The Ritz (1975) as Googie Gomez, a role she reprised in the film version.
- The Odd Couple (1985) as Olive Madison
Film roles
- So Young, So Bad (1950) as Dolores Guerrero
- The Ring (1952) as Lucy Gomez
- Singin' in the Rain (1952) as Zelda Zanders
- The King and I (1956) as Tuptim
- West Side Story (1961) as Anita Palacio
- West Side Story (2021) as Valentina
- Marlowe (1969) as Dolores Gonzáles
- Carnal Knowledge (1971) as Louise
- The Four Seasons (1981) as Claudia Zimmer
- Angus (1995) as Madame Rulenska
- Slums of Beverly Hills (1998) as Belle Abromowitz
- 80 for Brady (2023): Maura
- Fast X (2023): Abuela Toretto
- Family Switch (2023)
Television roles
- Father Knows Best (1958) as Chanthini (1 episode)
- Playhouse 90 (1960) as Rita (1 episode)
- Zorro (1960) as Chulita (2 episodes)
- Burke's Law (1963) as Margaret Cowls (1 episode)
- The Electric Company (1971–77) as Carmela/Otto the Director/Pandora the Little Girl/Millie the Helper
- Hec Ramsey (1973) as Lina Ramirez (1 episode)
- Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1975) as Herself (1 episode)
- The Carol Burnett Show (1976) as Herself (1 episode)
- The Muppet Show (1976) as Herself (1 episode)
- The Rockford Files (1978–79) as Rita Capkovic (3 episodes)
- Trapper John, M.D. (1981) as Liz Boyce (1 episode)
- The Love Boat (1983) as Gladys Gordon (2 episodes)
- The Cosby Show (1987) as Mrs. Granger (1 episode)
- The Golden Girls (1987) as Renee (1 episode)
- Miami Vice (1989) as Congresswoman Madelyn Woods (1 episode)
- Hearts Afire (1993) as Senator Rhonda Hall (1 episode)
- The Nanny (1994) as Miss Wickervitch/Mrs. Stone (1 episode)
- The Larry Sanders Show (1994) as Herself (1 episode)
- The Cosby Mysteries (1994–95) as Angie Corea
- Murphy Brown (1997) as Dr. Goldman (1 episode)
- Touched by an Angel (1997) as Amanda Revere (1 episode)
- Oz (1997–2003) as Sister Peter Marie Reimondo
- Strong Medicine (2003) as Lydia (1 episode)
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2005) as Mildred Quintana (1 episode)
- Law & Order: Trial by Jury (2005) as Mildred Quintana (1 episode)
- Law & Order: Criminal Intent (2006–07) as Frances Goren (3 episodes)
- The George Lopez Show (2007) as Luisa Diaz (1 episode)
- Cane (2007) as Amalia Duque (13 episodes)
- Ugly Betty (2007) as Aunt Mirta (1 episode)
- In Plain Sight (2010) as Rita Ramirez (1 episode)
- Happily Divorced (2011–13) as Dori Newman
- Jane the Virgin (2015–19) as Liliana De La Vega (5 episodes)
- Grace and Frankie (2016) as Lucy (1 episode)
- Grey's Anatomy (2016) as Gayle McColl (1 episode)
- One Day at a Time (2017–20) as Lydia Riera
- Bless This Mess (2019–20) as Theresa (3 episodes)
Voice roles
- Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? (1994–98) as Carmen Sandiego
- Carmen Sandiego: Junior Detective Edition as Carmen Sandiego
- Carmen Sandiego (2019) as Cookie Booker (3 episodes)
- The Magic School Bus (1995) as Dr. Carmina Skeledon (1 episode)
- Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico (2003) as Doña Dolores
- Special Agent Oso (2011) as Abuela (1 episode)
- Rio 2 (2014) as Mimi
- Nina's World (2015–18) as Abuelita
- Elena of Avalor (2018) as Queen Camila (2 episodes)
Tropes associated with her roles
- Ability over Appearance: She praised Gene Kelly for casting her in Singin' in the Rain for this reason."He never said 'Oh she's too Latina', he just thought I'd be fine for it."
- Career Resurrection: She ended up taking a six year hiatus from Hollywood after her Oscar win for West Side Story, because she was getting offered nothing but stereotypical parts. Carnal Knowledge and The Electric Company (1971) proved to be the proper comeback for her.
- The Cast Show Off: She has sung in many of her roles, in fact singing in her very first film So Young, So Bad. She even won a Grammy for her contribution to The Electric Company (1971).
- Creator Backlash: She disliked the fact that she had to wear Brownface in West Side Story (1961) to match the other Sharks, even though she was the only Puerto Rican in the main cast. She also persuaded some of the lyrics to "America" to be changed so they were less demeaning to Puerto Ricans.
- Creator Breakdown: She broke down when filming the scene of Anita nearly being raped by the Jets, as it brought back traumatic memories of an experience from her childhood. The actors playing the Jets quickly broke character and tried to comfort her, all while pointing out to her that the moviegoers were going to hate them for what they were doing. History Repeats in the 2021 version, where Rita's character symbolically saving Anita from being raped was an especially surreal experience for her.
- Dawson Casting: So Young, So Bad is set in a correctional school for teenage girls. Rita was twenty playing Dolores.
- Fake Nationality:
- In The King and I, she plays Tuptim, who is Thai.
- In a guest spot in Father Knows Best, she played an Indian exchange student.
- In One Day at a Time (2017), she plays a Cuban matriarch.
- Many other films had her playing "the ethnic girl", Indian, Polynesian, Native American, Russian, etcetera.
- I Am Not Spock: Despite her extremely lengthy and varied career, which continued well into her eighties, she is best known as Anita from West Side Story.
- Non-Singing Voice:
- She was dubbed by Leona Gordon for The King and I. But she did her own singing for "Small House of Uncle Thomas".
- Marni Nixon (who already dubbed Natalie Wood) dubbed her for some high notes in West Side Story (1961), and Betty Ward dubbed her for "A Boy Like That". Rita sings "America" and "Quintet" herself though.
- Old Shame: She hated many of the stereotypical Spicy Latina roles she played in westerns, and only did them because she needed the work."Before West 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."
- Playing Against Type: Around the time she was starring in the children's series The Electric Company (1971), she showed up playing a prostitute in Carnal Knowledge.
- Remake Cameo: In West Side Story (2021) (on which she was an executive producer), she plays Valentina, who fills the Doc role from the original. Of course it's hardly a cameo, and actually a significant supporting role; she even gets to sing "Somewhere".
- Unbuilt Casting Type: Typecast as a Spicy Latina early in her career, it's surprising that her debut film So Young, So Bad serves to deconstruct it. Her character Dolores has suffered bullying and discrimination because of her immigrant parents, and she has severe mental health problems.
- What Could Have Been: Legend has it that Dorothy Dandridge was the first choice for Tuptim in The King and I, but was advised to turn it down because the character was a slave.
