Marlee Matlin

In 2004, she starred in the film What the #$*! Do We know!? as Amanda. Bush. She was nominated for a 2004 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for a performance on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In June 2004, she became the first Hispanic to be awarded the "Presidential Medal of Freedom" by President George W. In 2002, she published her first novel, Deaf Child Crossing, which is loosely based on her own childhood. Rita Moreno became the first Puerto Rican to have been awarded the Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Grammy's. They have a daughter (Sarah Rose, born 1996) and two sons (Brandon, born 2000; Tyler, born 2002). Rita Moreno's real contribution has been her ability to transcend the discriminatory practices of Hollywood and set a precedent for hispanic actors to be recognized by talent rather than ethnicity.

Matlin married Kevin Grandalski on August 29, 1993 (in Henry Winkler's back yard). Rita Moreno has participated in more than 50 productions, combining her television, movie and theatrical works. She is actively involved with a number of charitable organisations, including the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation, the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the Starlight Foundation, and the Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet. During the late 1990s, she gained exposure to a new generation of viewers as she played a Catholic nun trained as a psychologist in the popular HBO series, Oz. She had recurring roles in The West Wing and Blue's Clues. series. She played the lead female role in the television series Reasonable Doubts (1991–1993), and won an Emmy Award for an appearance in Picket Fences. She also made appearances in the Rockford Files T.V.

Other films followed, as well as television work. Moreno's popularity grew even more in the 1970s when she appeared on the PBS series The Electric Company and the Muppet Show. It was this role for which she got her Golden Globe and Academy Awards. Moreno also appeared in "Singing in the Rain" (1952) and Tennessee Williams "Summer and Smoke". As an adult, she appeared in a supporting role in the play Children of a Lesser God, which led to her being cast in the lead for the film version of the play in 1986. Rita Moreno married Doctor Lenny Gordon on June 18, 1965, who still remains her husband and manager, and later had a daughter, Fernanda Gordon. She made her stage debut at the age of seven, as Dorothy in a children's theatre version of The Wizard of Oz, and continued to appear with the same children's theatre group throughout her childhood. Moreno was the second person in history to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony Award, the first and only Hispanic entertainer to have done so.

(She lost all hearing in her right ear, and 80% of hearing in her left ear.). Moreno gained fame and an "Oscar" as the best supporting actress that year. Born in Morton Grove, Illinois, Matlin lost most of her hearing at the age of 18 months, following a bout of measles. Finally, in 1961 she landed the role of "Anita" in Robert Wises film "West Side Story", an epic film about the lives of the Puerto Ricans in New York during the 1950's. She began acting on stage at the age of seven, and her film début brought her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama and an Academy Award for Best Actress (at 21, the youngest person ever to receive the award) — an achievement even more remarkable because she is almost completely deaf. For the next ten years Rita played roles in movies which she felt degrading. Marlee Beth Matlin (born August 24, 1965) is an American actress. She had her first Broadway role by the time she was thirteen, which caught the attention of Hollywood talent scouts.

When she was eleven years old Rita lent her voice to Spanish-language versions of American films. At the age of five Rita and her mother moved to New York. Rosita Dolores Alverio (b.December 11, 1931), born in Humacao, Puerto Rico is better known as Rita Moreno, an actress who has achieved fame both in Hollywood and Broadway.