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Rita Moreno
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Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931) is a singer, dancer and actress of Puerto Rican descent. She is the first and only Hispanic female and one of nine performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony and at the time the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award.
no was born Rosita Dolores Alverío in Humacao, Puerto Rico, to Rosa María, a seamstress, and Paco Alverío, a farmer.
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Encyclopedia
Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931) is a singer, dancer and actress of Puerto Rican descent. She is the first and only Hispanic female and one of nine performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony and at the time the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award.
Early years
Moreno was born Rosita Dolores Alverío in Humacao, Puerto Rico, to Rosa María, a seamstress, and Paco Alverío, a farmer. She moved with her mother to New York City at the age of five, and took the surname of her stepfather, Edward Moreno. When she was eleven years old, she lent her voice to Spanish-language versions of American films.
She had her first Broadway role (as "Angelina" in Skydrift) by the time she was 13, which caught the attention of Hollywood talent scouts. She played a small role in Singin' in the Rain as a silent screen vamp but disliked most of her other work during this period.
West Side Story
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, which was played by Chita Rivera on Broadway. Moreno won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for that role.
Moreno went on to be the first actress, and the first Hispanic, to win an Emmy (1977), a Grammy(1972), an Oscar (1962) and a Tony (1975). In 1985, she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago.
Other roles
Moreno appeared in Singin' in the Rain (1952), The King and I (1956), Summer and Smoke (1961), The Night of the Following Day (1968) and Carnal Knowledge in (1971). In the 1970s, she appeared on the PBS children's series The Electric Company notably as Millie the Helper (in fact it was Rita who screamed the show's opening line, "HEY, YOU GUYS!"); the often naughty little girl, Pandora; and as "Otto", the very short-tempered director. Moreno also appeared in the family variety series The Muppet Show. She made guest appearances on television series such as The Rockford Files, The Love Boat, The Cosby Show, George Lopez, The Golden Girls, and Miami Vice. She was also a regular on the short-lived sitcom version of Nine to Five (based on the hit film) during the early 1980s.
Broadway and television
Moreno's Broadway credits include The Last of the Red Hot Lovers,
Gantry, The Ritz, for which she won the 1975 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress, and the female version of The Odd Couple.
In 1993 she was invited to perform at President Bill Clinton's inauguration and later that month was asked to perform at the White House. During the mid 1990s, Moreno provided the voice of Carmen Sandiego on the hit animated FOX show Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?
In the late 1990s, she gained exposure to a new generation of viewers, as she played Sister Pete, a nun trained as a psychologist in the popular HBO series, Oz. She made a guest appearance on The Nanny as Coach Stone, Maggie's (Nicholle Tom) tyrannical gym teacher, whom Fran Fine (Fran Drescher) also remembered from her school as Ms. Wickavich.
Performing in the 21st century
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 seen on Law and Order: Criminal Intent as the dying mother of Detective Goren. She was a regular on the short-lived TV series Cane, which starred Jimmy Smits and Hector Elizondo.
Family
On June 18, 1965, Moreno married Leonard Gordon, who remains her husband and manager. They have one daughter, Mrs. Fernanda Luisa Fisher.
Awards
Among Moreno's awards and recognitions are the following:
Filmography
Film
Television
See also
External links
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