Rita Moreno

Bush. Besides a strong domestic reputation gained through a widely varied list of roles in theater and television drama, film director Aki Kaurismäki's films have brought Kati Outinen international attention and even adulation, particularly in Germany and France. In June 2004, she became the first Hispanic to be awarded the "Presidential Medal of Freedom" by President George W. Her breakthrough role was as a tough girl in the generational classic youth film Täältä tullaan elämä by Matti Kassila. Rita Moreno became the first Puerto Rican to have been awarded the Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Grammy's. Having studied under Jouko Turkka during his "reign" of drama studies in Finland, she nevertheless has never been associated with the "turkkalaisuus" school of acting methodology. 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. Kati Outinen (born August 17, 1961) is a Finnish actress who has often played leading female roles in Aki Kaurismäki's films.

Rita Moreno has participated in more than 50 productions, combining her television, movie and theatrical works. 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. series. She also made appearances in the Rockford Files T.V.

Moreno's popularity grew even more in the 1970s when she appeared on the PBS series The Electric Company and the Muppet Show. Moreno also appeared in "Singing in the Rain" (1952) and Tennessee Williams "Summer and Smoke". Rita Moreno married Doctor Lenny Gordon on June 18, 1965, who still remains her husband and manager, and later had a daughter, Fernanda Gordon. 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.

Moreno gained fame and an "Oscar" as the best supporting actress that year. 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. For the next ten years Rita played roles in movies which she felt degrading. 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.