Biography
Born in Puerto Rico as Rosa Dolores Alverio to impoverished parents, Rita Moreno idolized Lana Turner and aspired to major dramatic parts rather than the Latina stereotypes that repeatedly came her way. After the United States entered the war against Cuba and assumed control of the island, her mother sought employment on the mainland and brought young Moreno to New York, where the future performer never again saw her father or younger brother. Language barriers made childhood difficult, leaving her withdrawn until dance classes with Paco Cansino provided an outlet; at age seven she gave her first recital and soon volunteered the Mexican hat dance at every school assembly.
She reached Broadway at thirteen, portraying Angelina in Skydrift, then spent her teenage years headlining nightclubs under the billing “Latin Spitfire.” Her screen debut arrived at nineteen in So Young So Bad, yet subsequent ethnic assignments—an Indian maiden in Jivaro among them—quickly dimmed her hopes of genuine stardom. In 1955 she left MGM for Fox, only to be typecast once more as a tempestuous Latin temptress in Untamed and as a destitute barefoot Native American in Seven Cities of Gold. A measure of progress came with the role of Tuptim in The King and I, but Fox dropped her contract in 1957 and advised her to abandon acting.
Returning to the stage in 1961, Moreno earned the part of Anita in West Side Story and received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress the following year. Under Hal Prince’s direction she appeared in London’s She Loves Me, yet prejudice forced an early departure; the pair relocated to New York for The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window.
Her fortunes improved markedly during the 1960s. She married physician Lenny Gordon in 1965; he later managed her career, and they welcomed a daughter. The 1968 Joseph Jefferson Award recognized her work in The Rose Tattoo. Throughout the next decade she secured varied screen roles in Carnal Knowledge, The Last of the Red Hot Lovers, The Ritz, and Anatomy of Seduction. Television offered further satisfaction when she joined the cast of The Electric Company in 1971, an experience she found especially gratifying for its community impact. A Grammy for the program’s soundtrack followed in 1972, and additional honors—an Emmy for The Muppets and another for The Rockford Files, plus a Tony for The Ritz—made her the first performer listed in the Guinness Book of World Records to claim all four major entertainment awards.
Her solo recording career began in 2000 with a self-titled collection of pop and jazz standards alongside show tunes; a Spanish-language album, Una Vez Más, appeared in 2015. Despite persistent obstacles, Moreno sustained an active presence on stage, screen, and television well into the twenty-first century while supporting arts initiatives and Hispanic communities, amassing credits that include more than twenty-five films and ten Broadway productions.
She reached Broadway at thirteen, portraying Angelina in Skydrift, then spent her teenage years headlining nightclubs under the billing “Latin Spitfire.” Her screen debut arrived at nineteen in So Young So Bad, yet subsequent ethnic assignments—an Indian maiden in Jivaro among them—quickly dimmed her hopes of genuine stardom. In 1955 she left MGM for Fox, only to be typecast once more as a tempestuous Latin temptress in Untamed and as a destitute barefoot Native American in Seven Cities of Gold. A measure of progress came with the role of Tuptim in The King and I, but Fox dropped her contract in 1957 and advised her to abandon acting.
Returning to the stage in 1961, Moreno earned the part of Anita in West Side Story and received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress the following year. Under Hal Prince’s direction she appeared in London’s She Loves Me, yet prejudice forced an early departure; the pair relocated to New York for The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window.
Her fortunes improved markedly during the 1960s. She married physician Lenny Gordon in 1965; he later managed her career, and they welcomed a daughter. The 1968 Joseph Jefferson Award recognized her work in The Rose Tattoo. Throughout the next decade she secured varied screen roles in Carnal Knowledge, The Last of the Red Hot Lovers, The Ritz, and Anatomy of Seduction. Television offered further satisfaction when she joined the cast of The Electric Company in 1971, an experience she found especially gratifying for its community impact. A Grammy for the program’s soundtrack followed in 1972, and additional honors—an Emmy for The Muppets and another for The Rockford Files, plus a Tony for The Ritz—made her the first performer listed in the Guinness Book of World Records to claim all four major entertainment awards.
Her solo recording career began in 2000 with a self-titled collection of pop and jazz standards alongside show tunes; a Spanish-language album, Una Vez Más, appeared in 2015. Despite persistent obstacles, Moreno sustained an active presence on stage, screen, and television well into the twenty-first century while supporting arts initiatives and Hispanic communities, amassing credits that include more than twenty-five films and ten Broadway productions.
Albums
Singles
