Q&A: Rita Moreno on finding self-worth and never giving up

Rita Moreno emigrated with her mother from Puerto Rico at age five

NEW YORK -- Rita Moreno emigrated with her mother from Puerto Rico at age five. By six, she was dancing at Greenwich Village nightclubs. By 16, she was working full time. By 20, she was in “Singin’ in the Rain.” In the documentary “Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It,” Norman Lear says: “I can’t think of anyone I’ve ever met in the business who lived the American dream more than Rita Moreno." In the decades that followed, Moreno won a Tony, a Grammy, an Emmy and and Oscar, for “West Side Story.” (Her entire acceptance speech: “I can't believe it.” ) With seemingly infinite spiritedness, she has epitomized the best of show business while also being a victim to its cruelties. That has made Moreno, who co-stars in Steven Spielberg's upcoming "West Side Story remake, a heroic figure to Latinos, and to others. “I have never given up,” she said in a recent interview by Zoom from her home in Berkeley, California. The reason for the conversation was Mariem Pérez Riera's intimate and invigorating documentary, which opens in theaters Friday after playing virtually at the Sundance Film Festival and in an outdoor premiere at the Tribeca Festival. The film opens with Moreno preparing a Cuban themed party for her 87th birthday. “And I demand costumes,” the screen legend says with a smile.