Trivia of Rita Moreno

Trivia of Rita Moreno (11 December 1931)

*She moved from Puerto Rico to New York with her mother when she was 5, separated with her young brother Francisco whom she would not see again until 2021.

*Was dancing professionally in a Greenwich Village nightclub at age 9, as arranged by her dance teacher, Rita Hayworth's uncle.

*Her first big-screen appearance was in So Young, So Bad (1950). She was credited as Rosita Moreno, but soon thereafter she took the first name Rita.

*Moreno subsequently appeared in several notable films—including the musicals Singin’ in the Rain (1952) and The King and I (1956), playing a starlet and a slave, respectively—her early career was hampered by studios wanting to cast her in stereotypical ethnic roles or as a sexpot.

*From 1954 to 1962, Moreno was in an on-and-off relationship with Marlon Brando.She revealed in her memoir that she became pregnant by Brando and he arranged for an abortion. The abortion was botched, she went home and bled as the fetus died inside her and she had to be rushed to the hospital to have it surgically removed. Soon after, Brando fell in love with his co-star on Mutiny on the Bounty, yet returned to her; Moreno attempted suicide by overdosing on Brando's sleeping pills.Later years she and Brando reunited in action drama "The Night of Following Day". Rita Moreno said that her character getting into a fight with Marlon Brando's character helped her to get over whatever lingering feelings that she had for ex-boyfriend Brando.

*In 1961, Moreno landed the role of Anita in musical movie West Side Story.Moreno earned acclaim for her performance. The New York Times described Moreno's performance full of "spitfire".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: "Ha, ha. I showed them. I didn't make another movie for seven years after winning the Oscar. Before West Side Story, I was always offered the stereotypical Latina roles. The Conchitas and Lolitas in westerns. I was always barefoot. It was humiliating, embarrassing stuff. But I did it because there was nothing else. After West Side Story, it was pretty much the same thing. A lot of gang stories."

*Moreno has achieved what is called the Triple Crown of Acting, with individual competitive Academy, Emmy and Tony awards for acting; as well as the EGOT.In 1962, she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for West Side Story. In 1972, she received a Grammy Award for Best Children's Album for The Electric Company. In 1975, she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for The Ritz.