Rita Moreno: Breaking Barriers Through Song, Dance, and Screen

Sep 27, 2025

Born in Puerto Rico and raised in New York City, Rita Moreno became one of the most celebrated performers of the 20th century. Trained in dance from a young age, she entered show business as a teenager and by 13 had made her Broadway debut.

Her star turn came in 1961 as Anita in West Side Story, where her powerful vocals in “America” helped win her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress—making her the first Latina actress to win an Oscar. In the 1970s, Moreno showed her versatility, starring on the groundbreaking PBS series The Electric Company, where she won a Grammy Award (1972) for the show’s soundtrack. She went on to claim the Tony Award (1975) for The Ritz and two Emmy Awards by the late 1970s, becoming the first Latina and only the third person ever to achieve the coveted EGOT.

Through music, television, and film, Moreno broke barriers of representation and inspired generations of performers. Her legacy is not only in her accolades, but in her determination to prove that Latina women could be leading figures in American entertainment.