Rita Moreno

Personal context

Summary

Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican actor, singer, dancer, and producer whose work spans West Side Story, The Electric Company, and One Day at a Time. Her public career has repeatedly involved speaking about Hollywood’s stereotypes of Latinos and the barriers facing women and performers of color. She attended the 1963 March on Washington, joined anti-nuclear testing demonstrations, served on a Joe Biden campaign committee, and has publicly supported Latino representation and women’s voices, including discussing #MeToo. After initially dismissing criticism of In the Heights’ representation of Afro-Latinos, she apologized for her remarks.