Rita Moreno

Rita Delores Alverio, known professionally as Rita Moreno, is a Puerto Rican-born American singer, dancer, and actress. Her Disney roles include Chulita in the Zorro episodes "Adios, El Cuchillo" and "El Bandido", Renee Corliss in The Golden Girls episode "Empty Nests", Queen Camila in Elena of Avalor, Tanya Trunk in Raw Toonage and Bonkers, and Abuela in the Special Agent Oso episodes "For Tamales with Love" and "Piñata Royale", and appeared the 1988 TV special, Walt Disney World 4th of July Spectacular. Additionally, she played Gayle McColl in Grey's Anatomy, Miguel's Mother in Piñero, Theresa in Bless This Mess, and Valentina in the 2021 film version of West Side Story.

Moreno was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico and moved to New York City in 1936 with her mother after she remarried. She spent her teenage years living in the villages of Valley Stream on Long Island, part of the town of Hempstead bordering New York City. She took dance lessons and lent her voice to Spanish-language versions of American films. She had her first Broadway role as "Angelina" in Skydrift, by the age of 13, which caught the attention of Hollywood talent scouts.

Moreno's film career began in the later years of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Some of her early film work includes The Toast of New Orleans, Singin' in the Rain, Garden of Evil, and The King and I. It wasn't until she was casted as Anita in the 1961 adaptation of Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story that she achieved recognition, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as a result. Other notable films include Popi, Carnal Knowledge, Marlowe, The Ritz, The Four Seasons, I Like It Like That, Slums of Beverly Hills, and Rio 2.

In television, Moreno became a main cast member of the children's program The Electric Company from 1971 to 1977. She would appear in various genres throughout her career with shows, like Climax!, The Red Skelton Hour, Father Knows Best, Burke's Law, Medical Center, Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, The Muppet Show, The Carol Burnett Show, The Rockford Files, 9 to 5, The Love Boat, The Cosby Show, Miami Vice, Top of the Heap, The Nanny, Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?, The Cosby Mysteries, The Magic School Bus, Murphy Brown, Touched by an Angel, Oz, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, George Lopez, Ugly Betty, In Plain Sight, Happily Divorced, Jane the Virgin, Nina's World, One Day at a Time, and Green Eggs and Ham.

In theater, she is best known for her role as Googie Gomez in The Ritz which won her a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. She also appeared in The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, Wally's Cafe, The Odd Couple, and Sunset Boulevard.

Among her numerous accolades, Moreno is one of a few performers to have been awarded an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony (EGOT). She has also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the National Medal of Arts, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. a Kennedy Center Honor, and the Peabody Award in 2019.

Rita Moreno

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