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Everything to Know About EGOT Rita Moreno's Incredible Career
Yes: She has an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony!
A few months away from turning 93, Rita Moreno is a living legend. The actress, singer and dancer, has starred in such classics as Singin' In The Rain, West Side Story and Carnal Knowledge, but she's equally comfortable in comedic roles, like on One Day At A Time and her recurring part on Lopez vs Lopez.
Ahead of her return to Lopez vs Lopez for the Halloween episode on October 25, take a look at the performer's incredible career, which earned her the rare status of EGOT.
Does Rita Moreno have an EGOT?
Yes!
Moreno was born Rosa Dolores Alverio on December 11, 1931 in Humacao, Puerto Rico. Per WomensHistory.org, her family moved to New York when Moreno was 5 years old, and she immediately showed an interest in singing and dance classes. She made her Broadway debut at the age of 13 and later signed a contract with MGM. EGOT status followed in the decades to come.
Rita Moreno won her Oscar in 1962
Moreno played Anita, the feisty girlfriend of the Sharks leader Bernardo, in 1961's West Side Story, singing and dancing in the memorable tune "America." The performance won her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress the following year, making her the first Latina or Hispanic winner of the category.
Rita Moreno won her Grammy in 1973
Moreno and the rest of the cast of the children's program The Electric Company won Best Recording For Children at the 15th Grammy Awards. She starred on the PBS series for six years and famously uttered the show's opening line, "Hey you guys!"
Rita Moreno won her Tony in 1975
The role was tailor-made. Playwright Terrence McNally based the character of Googie Gomez, an aspiring Broadway performer who entertains gay men at a bathhouse, on a bit Moreno would do at parties. “I coughed, I burped, and out came this crazy Puerto Rican," she once said, per PBS. Gomez is a supporting character in McNally's play The Ritz, and Moreno's work nabbed her the Tony for Best Supporting Actress in a Play.
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Rita Moreno won her first Emmy in 1977
Moreno won back-to-back Emmys in 1977 and 1978, first as a supporting actress in a variety or music program for her work on The Muppets, and then as a lead actress in a single episode for The Rockford Files. At the time, she was only the third person in history to achieve EGOT status. She was later given honorary Emmy Awards in 2008 and 2022.
Rita Moreno's role on Lopez vs Lopez
Moreno went on to have a varied career on stage and screen, voicing the titular Carmen Sandiego in a Fox cartoon in the '90s and leading the cast of One Day at a Time. She's the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild.
Moreno made her Lopez vs Lopez debut in Season 1, Episode 8 ("Lopez vs Ghosts") as the ghost of George's grandmother Dolores, and will return in Season 3, Episode 2 ("Lopez vs Halloween"), in the same role. Be sure to tune in!
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