--- description: Rita Moreno is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century. title: Rita Moreno: 100 Women of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt489cdf8562cff4a5/698a0aef4ee26228ac317281/social-1961_Rita-Moreno.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 1961: Rita Moreno ## Video: FIRSTS Rita Moreno [Watch (HLS stream): FIRSTS Rita Moreno](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jc6GROeW.m3u8) (3:08)  _Published 2017-09-06. Rita Moreno is the FIRST Latina to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony._ Mar 5, 2020 11:37 AM CUT  Loomis Dean—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2020 11:37 AM CUT [Rita Moreno’s](https://time.com/collection/firsts/4898542/rita-moreno-firsts/ "undefined") 1961 breakout role in West Side Story almost led her to quit acting. Make-up artists colored her skin darker and Moreno, a native Puerto Rican, felt her accent “didn’t make any sense.” She resented being asked to sing “America,” which had lines like “Puerto Rico, you ugly island, island of tropic diseases.” She spoke up, and the lyrics were changed. In her nearly 70-year career, Moreno has never stopped fighting against typecasting and for fair representation of Latinos. The daughter of a seamstress and a farmer, Moreno grew up in poverty and faced discrimination, especially in her early Hollywood roles. She persevered, and after West Side Story was a hit, she went on to appear in the Electric Company, Oz, and as the voice of Carmen Sandiego. At 88, her career continues to flourish, with TV roles on Bless This Mess and One Day at a Time. In 1962, she became the [first Latina to win an Oscar](https://labs.time.com/story/oscars-diversity/ "undefined"), going on to take home an Emmy, a Grammy and a Tony—a feat only 15 entertainers have ever accomplished. She’s one of 24 to win what’s called the Triple Crown of Acting, snagging competitive Academy, Emmy and Tony Awards. In 2020, she’ll serve as an executive producer on a remake of the film that launched her to fame nearly 60 years ago. —_Soledad O’Brien_ _O’Brien is a journalist and documentarian_ --- _This article is part of_ [_100 Women of the Year_](https://time.com/100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined")_, TIME’s list of the most influential women of the past century. Read more_ [_about the project_](https://time.com/5793734/time-100-women-of-the-year-issue/ "undefined")_, explore the_ [_100 covers_](https://time.com/5793732/time-100-women-of-the-year-covers/ "undefined") _and sign up for our_ [_Inside TIME newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters?newsletter%5Fname=INSIDE%5FTIME&source=article-woy-footer "undefined") _for more._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5793606/rita-moreno-100-women-of-the-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5793606/rita-moreno-100-women-of-the-year/"},"headline":"1961: Rita Moreno","datePublished":"2020-03-05T11:37:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:21:05.218Z","description":"Rita Moreno is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century.","url":"https://time.com/5793606/rita-moreno-100-women-of-the-year/","keywords":["Women of the Year"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt489cdf8562cff4a5/698a0aef4ee26228ac317281/social-1961_Rita-Moreno.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt489cdf8562cff4a5/698a0aef4ee26228ac317281/social-1961_Rita-Moreno.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SOCIAL - Women of the Year: 1961_Rita-Moreno","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5793606/rita-moreno-100-women-of-the-year/","name":"1961: Rita Moreno"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"FIRSTS Rita Moreno","description":"Rita Moreno is the FIRST Latina to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/jc6GROeW/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-09-06T13:46:01.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/jc6GROeW.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5793606/rita-moreno-100-women-of-the-year/","duration":"PT3M8S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5793606/rita-moreno-100-women-of-the-year/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```