Rita Moreno

Biography

Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican-American actress, singer, and dancer whose career spans more than eight decades. Born Rosa Dolores Alverío in Humacao, Puerto Rico, she moved with her mother to New York City as a child and began performing professionally at a young age.

Moreno started her career as a child performer and appeared in films during the 1940s and 1950s. She became one of Hollywood's most versatile performers, appearing in musicals, dramas, comedies, and television productions. Her early notable films included So Young So Bad (1950), Singin' in the Rain (1952), The King and I (1956), and West Side Story (1961).

Her breakthrough came with West Side Story, in which she played Anita, a role that earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her performance also established her as one of the leading Latina performers in American entertainment.

Moreno continued to appear in major films, including The Night of the Following Day (1968), directed by Hubert Cornfield, in which she played Vi, a member of a kidnapping group alongside Marlon Brando and Richard Boone. She later appeared in films such as Popi (1969), Carnal Knowledge (1971), The Ritz (1976), and I Like It Like That (1994).

She also achieved considerable success on television. Moreno became widely known for her role as Sister Peter Marie on the HBO series Oz and later appeared in productions including One Day at a Time, The Electric Company, and Jane the Virgin. She has also lent her voice to animated productions and continued performing well into the 21st century.

Moreno is one of the relatively small group of performers to have won the EGOT—the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004 and the Kennedy Center Honors in 2015, among numerous other distinctions.

Rita Moreno remains an influential figure in American entertainment. She is celebrated for breaking barriers for Latina performers while maintaining a remarkably long and diverse career in film, television, theatre, music, and dance.