1945–1959: Theater debut and early films Moreno began her first dancing lessons soon after arriving in New York with a Spanish dancer known as "Paco Cansino", who was a paternal uncle of film star
Rita Hayworth. When she was 11 years old, she lent her voice to Spanish-language versions of American films. She had her first
Broadway role, as "Angelina" in the 1945 production of
Skydrift, by the age of 13, which caught the attention of Hollywood talent scouts. Moreno said she was raped by her agent while she was a teen actor. Moreno's film career began in the later years of the
Golden Age of Hollywood. Moreno and her mother moved to a Culver City "cottage" within walking distance of
MGM. After signing a contract, Moreno began her cinema career, performing under the name of "Rosita Moreno". MGM had her first name abbreviated to Rita. In 1952, she appeared in
Stanley Donen's musical comedy film ''
Singin' in the Rain'' alongside
Gene Kelly,
Debbie Reynolds and
Donald O'Connor. In the film she played silent film star Zelda Zanders. She described having gotten the role by Gene Kelly "wanting her in the movie" and that she "seemed to fit the role for him". Moreno praised Kelly for casting her in a non-stereotypical Hispanic role playing Zelda saying, "he never said 'Oh she's too Latina', he just thought I'd be fine for it". She called the experience working in the film as an "amazing experience" and a "privilege". In March 1954, Moreno was featured on the cover of
Life magazine with the caption "Rita Moreno: An Actress's Catalog of Sex and Innocence". She was the first Puerto Rican featured in this publication. She starred alongside
Yul Brynner and
Deborah Kerr. The film was a critical and financial success. It received nine
Academy Award nominations including five wins including
Best Actor,
Best Art Direction – Color,
Best Costume Design – Color,
Best Original Score, and
Best Sound Recording. In 1959, Moreno appeared as
Lola Montez in Season 3, Episode 23, of the TV western
Tales of Wells Fargo, episode title "Lola Montez".
1960–1969: Breakout with West Side Story '' In 1961, Moreno landed the role of Anita in
Robert Wise and
Jerome Robbins' film adaptation of
Leonard Bernstein's and
Stephen Sondheim's groundbreaking
Broadway musical West Side Story, which had been played by
Chita Rivera on Broadway. Moreno earned acclaim for her performance. Bosley Crowther of
The New York Times described Moreno's performance full of "spitfire".
Variety wrote, "Moreno...presents a fiery characterization and also scores hugely". The film went on to win ten
Academy Awards including for
Best Picture. Moreno won the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for that role. After winning the Oscar, Moreno thought she would be able to continue to perform less stereotypical film roles, but was disappointed: Moreno became frustrated with the situation and left to London, where she joined the cast of
She Loves Me. Moreno had a major role in
Summer and Smoke (1961), released soon after
West Side Story. She did appear in one film during her self-imposed exile from Hollywood –
Cry of Battle (1963) – although it had been filmed directly before and after she won the Academy Award. She made her return to film in
The Night of the Following Day (1968) with
Marlon Brando, and followed that with
Popi (1969), and
Marlowe (1969) with
James Garner. Moreno's Broadway credits include
Last of the Red Hot Lovers (1969), the musical
Gantry (1970), and
The Ritz, for which she won the 1975
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. She appeared in the female version of
The Odd Couple 1970–1999: Established actress '' in 1975 From 1971 to 1977, Moreno was a main cast member on the
PBS children's series
The Electric Company. She screamed the show's opening line, "Hey, you guys!" Her roles on the show included Millie the Helper, the naughty little girl Pandora, and
Otto, a very short-tempered director. Moreno also starred in
Mike Nichols'
Carnal Knowledge (1971) alongside
Jack Nicholson,
Candice Bergen,
Ann-Margret, and
Art Garfunkel. In the film she plays a prostitute named Louise, whom Jack Nicholson plays cards with. The film was a critical success. In 1976 she starred as Googie Gomez in
Richard Lester's film adaptation of the comedy
farce The Ritz alongside
Jack Weston,
Jerry Stiller, and
F. Murray Abraham.
Charles Champlin of the
Los Angeles Times wrote that the film made the transition from the stage "surprisingly well, given the odds," with "two of the most flamboyantly entertaining and skillful comedy performances of the year" by Jack Weston and Rita Moreno. Moreno's appearance on
The Muppet Show earned her a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program in 1977. As a result, she became the third person (after
Richard Rodgers and
Helen Hayes) to have won an
Oscar (1962), a
Grammy (1972), a
Tony (1975), and an
Emmy (1977), frequently referred to as an "
EGOT". She won another Emmy award the following year, 1978, this time a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, for her portrayal of former
call girl Rita Kapcovic on a three-episode arc on
The Rockford Files. In the 1980s, Moreno starred as Lucille in
Richard Benner's comedy-drama film
Happy Birthday, Gemini alongside
Madeline Kahn. She was in
Alan Alda's
The Four Seasons (1981) which was a financial and critical hit and starred Alda,
Carol Burnett,
Len Cariou,
Sandy Dennis, and
Jack Weston. She was a regular on the three-season network run of
9 to 5, a sitcom based on
the film hit, during the early 1980s. Rita Moreno has made numerous guest appearances on television series in the 1980s, including
The Love Boat,
The Cosby Show,
The Golden Girls, and
Miami Vice. For her performance in
Two Ladies of Broadway (1992), Moreno drew inspiration from the "
Spanglish" spoken by her mother, who visited the show in person. In 1993, Moreno 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
Fox's animated series
Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? In the franchise's
2019 animated series, Moreno voices the character Cookie Booker. In the late 1990s, Moreno played
Sister Pete, a nun trained as a psychologist in the popular
HBO series
Oz, for which she won several
ALMA Awards. She made a guest appearance on
The Nanny as Coach Stone,
Maggie's tyrannical gym teacher, whom
Fran Fine also remembered from her school as Ms. Wickavich.
2000s–2010s She released an eponymous album of nightclub songs in 2000 on the
Varèse Sarabande label, with liner notes by
Michael Feinstein. In 2006, she portrayed Amanda Wingfield in
Berkeley Repertory Theatre's revival of
The Glass Menagerie. She had a recurring role on
Law & Order: Criminal Intent as the dying mother of Detective
Robert Goren. She played the family matriarch on the 2007 TV series
Cane, which starred
Jimmy Smits and
Hector Elizondo. She played the mother of
Fran Drescher's character in the 2011–13 TV sitcom
Happily Divorced. Since then, she has continued to work in film, including a small voice role in the 2014 film
Rio 2, perhaps her most commercially successful film. In September 2011, Moreno began performing a solo autobiographical show at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre,
Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup written by the theatre's artistic director Tony Taccone after hours of interviews with Moreno. The film was intended as a pilot for a television series, but it was not picked up. Moreno plays the matriarch of a Cuban-American family in the Netflix sitcom
One Day at a Time, a remake produced by
Norman Lear of Lear's
1975–84 sitcom. The first season premiered in January 2017. Critics overall praised the show, and especially the performances of Moreno and the series' star,
Justina Machado. Also that year, Moreno and others contributed to
Lin-Manuel Miranda's single "
Almost Like Praying" where proceeds from the song went to the
Hispanic Federation's UNIDOS Disaster Relief program to benefit those affected by
Hurricane Maria that devastated the island of Puerto Rico.
2020s In 2020–21, Moreno starred in and executive-produced the
Steven Spielberg–directed
adaptation of West Side Story. Moreno plays a newly created character, Valentina; she famously won the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Anita in
the 1961 original movie. The film was released on December 10, 2021. Justin Chang of
NPR wrote, "Sixty years later, Moreno is an executive producer on Spielberg's West Side Story. She also gives a poignant performance in the new role of Valentina, the widow of Doc, the drugstore owner. By her presence, Moreno teaches us how to approach this movie, as both an affectionate tribute and a gentle corrective." ceremony in 2022 On August 29, 2021, Moreno took part in the "
Wicked in Concert" special on
PBS, PBS.org and the PBS Video App, performing "The Wizard and I". Moreno's life was profiled in the feature documentary entitled
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It which was produced by
Lin-Manuel Miranda. The film premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival and received positive reviews.
The Guardian declared, "Overall, she emerges just as vampish, feisty and fun as you’d expect, and as a gracious giver of speeches at ceremonies where she collects endless lifetime achievement awards". In 2023, Moreno starred in the
sports comedy 80 for Brady about four elderly women who travel to see
Tom Brady and the
New England Patriots play at the
Super Bowl LI. Moreno co-starred alongside
Jane Fonda,
Lily Tomlin, and
Sally Field, and played Abuelita Toretto, the grandmother of Dom (
Vin Diesel), Jakob (
John Cena), and Mia (
Jordana Brewster) in
Fast X, the tenth installment of the
Fast & Furious franchise. Moreno played Angelica in
Family Switch. ==Personal life==