Rita Moreno celebrates her 90th birthday and a new remake of ‘West Side Story’ from Steven Spielberg

Rita Moreno celebrates her 90th birthday on December 11. As luck would have it, that's just one day after the Steven Spielberg remake of "West Side Story" opens nationwide. She won an Oscar as a supporting actress for the original almost 60 years ago and now returns in a new role and as executive producer.

Few performers have had such a varied and successful career as this dynamic triple-threat. The talented actress, singer and dancer is one of only 16 artists to achieve EGOT status and one of 23 to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting (competitive wins for Oscar, Tony and Emmy) and one of only two people (with Helen Hayes) to accomplish both.

Moreno was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico in 19831 and moved with her mother to New York City as a small child. By the age of 13, she had her first Broadway role and, before long, she and her mother headed to Hollywood.

For much of the 1950s, she received steady work, but the roles were small and stereotypical ethnic characters. One exception was "Singin' in the Rain" (1952), in which she played silent film star Zelda Zanders, a non-Hispanic role. She also had a strong part as Tuptim in "The King and I" (1956). Then in 1961, she won the role that brought her the Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress: Anita in "West Side Story." Proving she could act, sing and dance as well as the top stars of the Golden Era, it seemed like Moreno was finally destined for film stardom. Unfortunately, she still couldn't break past the racial barrier and was offered the same stereotypical roles, leading her to appear in very few films for nearly a decade. However, the 1970s would bring a new level of success to Moreno.

A generation of people know Moreno as the spunky lady yelling, "Hey, you guys!" on the popular kid's show "The Electric Company" from 1971 to 1977, for which she won her Grammy for Best Childrens Album in 1973. During this time, she also appeared in such films as the critically-acclaimed "Carnal Knowledge," as well as on Broadway, earning her Tony for "The Ritz" in 1975. In 1977, she won her first Emmy for an appearance on "The Muppet Show," making her the third person ever, after Richard Rodgers to earn EGOT status. Having won the four awards in 16 years, she also has one of the shortest time spans in which this was accomplished. The following year, she won her second Emmy for her guest role on "The Rockford Files."

Throughout the ensuing decades, Moreno has continued to find success across multiple entertainment mediums, earning three more Primetime Emmy nominations, including a bid in 1983 for Best Comedy Actress for "9 to 5," and four Daytime Emmy nominations, including three consecutive (1995-97) for her voice work on "Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?" In 1993, she was invited to perform at President Bill Clinton's inauguration, and later, to perform at the White House. She's had steady roles on such diverse series as "Oz," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Happily Divorced" and, most recently, the remake of the 1970s sitcom "One Day at a Time," which ended in 2020 after four seasons.

In 2004, President George W. Bush presented Moreno with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor given in the United States. President Barack Obama awarded her the National Medal of Arts in 2009. In 2013, she received the life achievement award from the Screen Actors Guild, and in 2015, she received the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2019, she was presented with the Peabody Award, making her one of only a handful of individuals to achieve "PEGOT" status.

Entering her ninth decade, Moreno doesn't appear to be slowing down any time soon. In October, PBS debuted the American Masters documentary "Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It," in which she reflects on her dissatisfaction with her early stereotyped film roles, her successes, her tempestuous eight-year love affair with Marlon Brando, the ups-and-downs of her marriage to Dr. Leonard Gordon from 1965 to his death in 2010 and the joys brought to her by their daughter and two grandsons.

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