Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer. She is noted for her work on stage and screen in career spanning over seven decades. Among her numerous accolades, she is one of a few performers to have been awarded an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony (EGOT) and the Triple Crown of Acting, with individual competitive Academy, Emmy and Tony awards. She has also received 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 work includes 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 1961 film West Side Story, which earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She made history becoming the first Hispanic woman to win an Academy Award. She later portrayed Valentina in the 2021 remake directed by Steven Spielberg. Her other notable films include Popi (1969), Carnal Knowledge (1971), The Four Seasons (1981), I Like It Like That (1994) and the cult film Slums of Beverly Hills (1998).
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 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).
Early years
Moreno was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico, to Rosa María (née Marcano), a seamstress, and Francisco José "Paco" Alverío, a farmer. She was nicknamed "Rosita". Moreno, whose mother was 17 at the time of her birth, was raised in nearby Juncos. Her maternal grandparents were Justino Marcano (b. Puerto Rico) and Trinidad from Spain. 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. Moreno adopted the surname of her first stepfather, Edward Moreno, Rosa Maria's second husband. She spent her teenage years living in the villages of Valley Stream on Long Island, part of the town of Hempstead bordering New York City.
