Rita Moreno facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno (1963)
Born	Rosa Dolores Alverío December 11, 1931 (1931-12-11) Humacao, Puerto Rico
Occupation	Actress, singer, dancer
Years active	1950–present
Spouse(s)	Leonard Gordon (1965-2010; his death; 1 child)

Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004

Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican dancer, singer and actress. She is one of the few performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, a Golden Globe, and a Tony Award. In 2014 she was honored with a Screen Actors Guild Award for lifetime achievement. She has won numerous other awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor.

Her career has spanned over 70 years; among her notable acting work are supporting roles in the musical films Singin' in the Rain (1952), The King and I (1956) and West Side Story (1961), as well as a 1971 to 1977 stint on the children's television series The Electric Company, and a supporting role as Sister Peter Marie Reimondo on the 1997 to 2003 HBO series Oz. 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). She voiced the titular role of Carmen Sandiego in Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? from 1994 to 1999. For theater, she is best known for her role as Googie Gomez in The Ritz.

She is also widely known for the role of the matriarch Lydia Margarita del Carmen Inclán Maribona Leyte-Vidal de Riera in the 2017 remake of One Day at a Time.

Personal life

Moreno had an eight-year-long affair with actor Marlon Brando when he was young. She also dated Elvis Presley.

On June 18, 1965, Moreno married Leonard Gordon. Gordon was a cardiologist and also her manager. He died on June 30, 2010.

Filmography

Moreno in 2000

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1950	So Young, So Bad	Dolores Guererro	Credited as Rosita Moreno
1950	Toast of New Orleans, TheThe Toast of New Orleans	Tina
1950	Pagan Love Song	Terru
1952	The Ring	Lucy Gomez
1952	Singin' in the Rain	Zelda Zanders
1952	The Fabulous Senorita	Manuela Rodríguez
1952	Cattle Town	Queli
1953	Fort Vengeance	Bridget Fitzgibbon
1953	Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation	Soubrette	Uncredited
1953	Latin Lovers	Christina
1953	El Alamein	Jara
1954	Jivaro	Maria
1954	The Yellow Tomahawk	Honey Bear
1954	Garden of Evil	Cantina Singer
1955	Untamed	Julia
1955	Seven Cities of Gold	Ula
1956	Lieutenant Wore Skirts, TheThe Lieutenant Wore Skirts	Sandra Roberts
1956	King and I, TheThe King and I	Tuptim
1956	Vagabond King, TheThe Vagabond King	Huguette
1957	The Deerslayer	Hetty Hutter
1960	This Rebel Breed	Lola Montalvo
1961	West Side Story	Anita	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Laurel Award for Best Supporting Performance Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
1961	Summer and Smoke	Rosa Zacharias
1963	Cry of Battle	Sisa
1968	Night of the Following Day, TheThe Night of the Following Day	Vi
1969	Popi	Lupe
1969	Marlowe	Dolores Gonzáles
1971	Carnal Knowledge	Louise
1976	The Ritz	Googie Gomez	Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1977	Voodoo Passion
1978	Boss' Son, TheThe Boss' Son	Esther Rose
1980	Happy Birthday, Gemini	Lucille
1981	Four Seasons, TheThe Four Seasons	Claudia Zimmer
1991	Age Isn't Everything	Rita
1993	Italian Movie	Isabella
1994	I Like It Like That	Rosaria Linares
1995	Carmen Miranda: Bananas is My Business	Herself	Documentary
1995	Angus	Madame Rulenska
1998	Slums of Beverly Hills	Belle Abromowitz	Nominated—ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film in a Crossover Role
1999	Carlo's Wake	Angela Torello
1999	Puerto Ricans: Our American Story, TheThe Puerto Ricans: Our American Story	Herself	Documentary
2000	Blue Moon	Maggie
2001	Piñero	Miguel's Mother
2003	Casa de los Babys	Señora Muñoz
2003	Scooby-Doo! and the Monster of Mexico	Dona Dolores and Woman No. 3 (voice)
2003	Beyond Borders: John Sayles in Mexico	Herself	Documentary
2004	King of the Corner	Inez
2006	Play It By Ear	Ruth
2014	Rio 2	Mimi (voice)
2014	Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks	Ida Barks
2020	West Side Story	Valentina	Post-production; also executive producer

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1958	Father Knows Best	Chanthini	Episode: "Fair Exchange" (November 24, 1958)
1960	Bourbon Street Beat	Manuela Ruiz	Episode: "Suitable for Framing" (May 16, 1960)
1963	Burke's Law	Margaret Cowls	Episode: "Who Killed Julian Buck?" (October 18, 1963)
1971–1977	Electric Company, TheThe Electric Company	Carmela Otto The Director Pandora the Little Girl, Millie the Helper	Cast member
1974	Dominic's Dream	Anita Bente
1974	Out to Lunch	Various	Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in Variety or Music
1975	Mister Rogers' Neighborhood	Herself	Episode #1399
1976	Muppet Show, TheThe Muppet Show	Herself	Episode #1.5 Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in Variety or Music
1978	Rockford Files, TheThe Rockford Files	Rita Capkovic	3 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
1979	Anatomy of a Seduction	Nina	TV movie
1979	Muppets Go Hollywood, TheThe Muppets Go Hollywood	Herself/Host	Special
1981	Evita Perón	Renata Riguel	TV movie
1982–1983	9 to 5	Violet Newstead	Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy
1982	Working	Waitress
1982	Portrait of a Showgirl	Rosella DeLeon	Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
1986	The Golden Girls	Renee	Episode: "Empty Nests"
1987	Cosby Show, TheThe Cosby Show	Mrs. Granger	Episode: "You Only Hurt the One You Love"
1989	Miami Vice	Congresswoman Madelyn Woods	Episode: "Miami Squeeze"
1989–1990	B.L. Stryker	Kimberly Baskin	2 episodes
1994	The Nanny	Miss Wickervich/Mrs. Stone	Episode: "The Gym Teacher"
1994–1998	Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?	Carmen Sandiego (voice)	Nominated—Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program (1995, 1996, 1997)
1994–1995	Cosby Mysteries, TheThe Cosby Mysteries	Angie Corea	16 episodes
1995	Wharf Rat, TheThe Wharf Rat	Mom
1995	Magic School Bus, TheThe Magic School Bus	Dr. Camrina Skeledon (voice)	Episode: "The Busasaurus"
1997–2003	Oz	Sister Peter Marie Reimondo	55 episodes ALMA Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series (1998–1999, 2002) Nominated—ALMA Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series (2000–2001)
1998	The Spree	Irma Kelly
1999	Resurrection	Mimi
2003	The Guardian	Caroline Novak	Guest stars as Louisa Olsen's (Wendy Moniz) mother
2004	Copshop	Mary Alice
2005	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Mildred Quintana	Episode: "Night"
2005	Law & Order: Trial by Jury	Mildred Quintana	Episode: "Day"
2006–2007	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Frances Goren	3 episodes: "Endgame"; "The War at Home" and "Brother's Keeper"
2007	George Lopez	Luisa Diaz	Episode: "George Testi-Lies for Benny"
2007	Ugly Betty	Aunt Mirta	Episode: "A Tree Grows in Guadalajara"
2007	Cane	Amalia Duque	13 episodes
2010	In Plain Sight	Rita Ramirez	Episode: "Coma Chameleon"
2011	Special Agent Oso	Abuela (voice)	Episode: "For Tamales with Love/Pinata Royale"
2011–2013	Happily Divorced	Dori Newman
2013	Welcome to the Family	Lita	Episode: "Date Night"
2013	Nicky Deuce	Tutti	TV movie
2014	Old Soul	Rita	TV movie
2015	Getting On	Sister Lily Claire	Episode: "Reduced to Eating Boiled Magazines and Book Paste"
2015–2019	Jane the Virgin	Liliana De La Vega	5 episodes: "Chapter Eighteen", "Chapter Thirty-Three", "Chapter Thirty-Two", "Chapter Thirty-One", "Chapter One-Hundred" Online Film & Television Association Award for Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
2015–present	Nina's World	Abuelita (voice)
2015	A Gift of Miracles	Beverly	TV movie
2016	Grey's Anatomy	Gayle	Episode: "Odd Man Out"
2016	Grace and Frankie	Lucy	Episode: "The Vitamix"
2017–present	One Day at a Time	Lydia	Main cast
2018	Elena of Avalor	Queen Camila (voice)	2 episodes
2019	Carmen Sandiego	Cookie Booker	Voice role