Rita Moreno: A Memoir

In this luminous memoir, Rita Moreno shares her remarkable journey from a young girl with simple beginnings in Puerto Rico to Hollywood legendand one of the few performers, and the only Hispanic, to win an Oscar, Grammy, Tony and two Emmys. Born Rosita Dolores Alverio in the idyll of Puerto Rico, Moreno, at age five, embarked on a harrowing sea voyage with her mother and wound up in the harsh barrios of the Bronx, where she discovered dancing, singing, and acting as ways to escape a tumultuous childhood. Making her Broadway debut by age thirteenand moving on to Hollywood in its Golden Age just a few years latershe worked alongside such stars as Gary Cooper, Yul Brynner, and Ann Miller. When discovered by Louis B. Mayer of MGM, the wizard himself declared: She looks like a Spanish Elizabeth Taylor. Cast by Gene Kelly as Zelda Zanders in Singin in the Rain and then on to her Oscar-winning performance in West Side Story, she catapulted to fameyet found herself repeatedly typecast as the utility ethnic, a role she found almost impossible to elude. Here, for the first time, Rita reflects on her struggles to break through Hollywoods racial and sexual barriers. She explores the wounded little girl behind the glamorous faadeand what it took to find her place in the world. She talks candidly about her relationship with Elvis Presley, her encounters with Howard Hughes, and the passionate romance with Marlon Brando that drove her to attempt suicide. And she shares the illusiveness of a perfect marriage and the incomparable joys of motherhood. Infused with Rita Morenos quick wit and deep insight, this memoir is the dazzling portrait of a stage and screen star who longed to become who she really isand triumphed.