Rita Moreno is a popular singer known in the world of Hollywood, Puerto Rican by origin. She continues to be a significant figure in show business, despite her advanced age.
She has several prestigious awards to her credit, including even the Golden Globe Award and the Oscar Award, which is shot by all celebrities. But what was the path of this woman to success?
Childhood and the beginning of Rita Moreno's path to success
The future celebrity was born on December 11, 1931 in the small Puerto Rican town of Humacao. Her father was a farmer and kept an extensive household, and her mother chose the profession of a seamstress. The parents gave the newborn girl the name Rosita Dolores Alverio.
A few years later, they gave birth to a daughter and a younger brother, but relations in the family did not work out. The divorce followed when Rita was only 5 years old.
The girl's brother stayed with her father, and her mother decided to take her daughter and move to New York. In America, Rita graduated from high school, and then received a higher education and began working in one of the local theaters.
In parallel, the future star was engaged in dancing, and her teacher was the popular choreographer Paco Canzino.
As an 11-year-old teenager, Rita took part in the translation of American films into Spanish. But on the way to fame, she had to face a number of difficulties. Initially, Rita was entrusted with only minor roles in films.
In 1944, she was given one of the roles on Broadway. At that time, the girl was only 13 years old. Despite this fact, she demonstrated her own talent in full. This was instantly noticed by Hollywood directors and appreciated by the audience.
Among the most famous performances with Moreno's participation are "Ritz" and "Gantry". For participation in the latter, she was nominated for a Tony theater award. And in 1985, Rita was awarded the Sarah Siddons Award for her participation in the theatrical life of Chicago.
Professional development
After participating in several theatrical productions, the girl was noticed and invited to play in the films New Orleans Darling and Singing in the Rain.
The roles were small, but were of great importance to Rita at the beginning of her journey. Thanks to them, she began to "move up the career ladder" with rapid steps.
Simultaneously with participation in films, Rita did not give up her work on Broadway. She enjoyed considerable popularity among the audience, and soon they began to trust her with the main roles in theatrical productions.
Soon she became a member of the children's TV series The Electric Company, and also took part in many seasons of the Prison of Oz project. At the same time, in the first project, the girl played not one, but several characters at once.
Moreno has received many significant awards in the world of show business. Currently, she is the only representative of the weaker sex who managed to win all the awards in the field of cinema and theater.
Television and the music sphere have not been spared. She was also awarded the US Medal of Freedom for her contribution to the development of American culture.
Recognition of the actress
Rita never suffered from lack of work. She constantly received proposals for filming a movie. True, often in her career there were minor roles, and the stereotype of many movie plots was close to a high mark.
In fact, many directors invited Rita to embody the stereotyped role of the life of Spanish women. Yet it was not always so.
Together with Yul Brynner, the girl starred in the film "The King and I", thanks to which she became world famous. Critics and audiences were ecstatic.
And in 1961, for the musical West Side Story, Rita received the long-awaited Oscar. She showed herself perfectly and won millions of spectator hearts.
Unfortunately, after that, the range of her roles, unfortunately, did not expand, and basically the girl was invited to films about gangsters, even despite the presence of the Oscar.
This led to the fact that Moreno decided to take a break and leave the cinema. It lasted 7 years, and the return took place to participate in the film "The Night of the Next Day" along with Marlon Brando. Movies followed: Poppy, Marlowe, Four Seasons and The Ritz.
Rita was also entrusted with a role in the television series The Rockford Files, for which she was awarded an Emmy Award. Then there were several films and series that were very popular among the audience.
Personal life
According to the actress, in the 1950s she met with Marlon Brando, and this relationship lasted 8 years. There was even a pregnancy, but the chosen one insisted on an abortion.
Rita even tried to commit suicide and swallowed pills, but the doctors managed to save the celebrity's life.
After that, there was an affair with Elvis Presley and Anthony Quinn, and then Moreno became the wife of the famous cardiac surgeon Leonard Gordon. The event happened in 1965. The couple had a daughter, Fernanda. This union has not been dissolved to this day.
The daughter gave the couple two grandchildren. From that moment on, Rita began to worry more not about the main roles in the cinema, but about the family and caring for loved ones. Despite this, she continues to appear on television and delight fans!
