Top 66 Rita Moreno Quotes

I was the artsy one, and my husband took care of all our finances. It was the Latino way – the man is in charge of the money.

I am not exactly Mrs. Good Housekeeping, although I love to cook, bake, even iron, but only because it’s not mandatory.

I think Mike Nichols is brilliant, but I think Jerry Robbins was a genius.

If you saw me in ‘The King and I,’ I had that angelic, virginal face.

You can never fight for a part or can’t beg them to do another audition. You can try, but that rarely works.

I love performing for kids, but you can’t play down to them, of course. Then it would be ‘Captain Kangaroo.’

I was determined that with perseverance and faith, at some point, someone would say, ‘This girl has talent,’ and would cast me in something meaningful.

Beyonce moves a lot. She’s astonishing, dances and sings at the same time. She is buff.

If I get a hangnail, I don’t dare complain! Life is good. I wake up humming.

Actors very often are people who think it’s always about ‘me,’ and I can see why! No one else is going to support you or say, ‘Gosh, I’m sorry about that,’ or, ‘Here, let me give you a job.’ It doesn’t happen that way.

I sing Broadway stuff in the shower, mostly.

I was born in Puerto Rico – I used to sit in the sun until I looked like a piece of bacon. It’s a wonder now that I don’t look like an old wallet. I’m a very fortunate person.

I wore so much rubber when I was at MGM, I bumped into the wall once, and I ricocheted.

Lupe Velez was way before me; Dolores Del Rio was way before me, so I had no one. So the only one I could think of that I identified with was this gorgeous creature named Elizabeth Taylor, so she became my role model.

I can’t dwell on past mistakes.

I’m a person who perseveres. You know, you fall down, you get up.

I figure if I keep my spirit in shape, the bones will take care of themselves.

I’ve always believed that I had talent, even when I felt like a very inferior sort of person, which I spent a lot of time living my life feeling that I wasn’t worthy.

I never had an easy time making friends in the past, for many reasons. I didn’t go into therapy for nothing.

The thing I get the most that I really love is that people don’t so much mention films I’ve been in or shows I’ve been in as they say, instead, ‘I love you. I just love your perseverance.’ That really pleases me.

What musical performers bring to straight characterizations is that physical flexibility that comes with knowing your body so well. A lot of actors are terribly awkward. Terribly. And I think it’s so important for them, when they’re young, to work on their physical selves.

If you’re in a business where Latinos only play Indian maidens and what I call ‘Conchita Lolita’ parts – the little fiery spitfires – you do what you have to do.

I’m a raucous Puerto Rican!

Certain roles for older women are aimed at certain older actresses – I’m not one of those. I’ve been offered any number of Puerto Rican grandmas that I’ve turned down.

I’m so damn lucky to still be here at 85. If I get a hangnail, I don’t dare complain! Life is good. I wake up humming.

I have stamina, and I have energy.

I love performing for kids, but you can’t play down to them, of course. Then it would be ‘Captain Kangaroo.’

My mother’s feeling about men in general were always a bit of a mystery to me. She had difficulties in Puerto Rico with the men in her life. Her brothers abused her. It’s very easy to be judgmental, but more often than not, there are mitigating circumstances, and children are not usually aware of those.

I am able to get up and dust myself off and keep moving forward. I’m very stubborn.

Beyonce moves a lot. She’s astonishing, dances and sings at the same time. She is buff.

They made me use an accent, which I wasn’t thrilled about because a lot of us, obviously, don’t have them.

All my life, I faced sexism and racism and then, when I hit 40, ageism.

I think Jennifer Lopez is a phenom. And as far as I’m concerned, she’s really a very smart businesswoman.

I think it’s important to be reminded that that’s what this country is comprised of – people from other countries.

I knew what my scripts would say before I opened them: ‘Enter Conchita.’ I played handmaidens, Indian squaws, and Mexican dancers.

I was determined that with perseverance and faith, at some point, someone would say, ‘This girl has talent,’ and would cast me in something meaningful.

There are some fabulous treasures of photos of me during the early days of my career; there are these pin-up photos that make me laugh: I look like the poor man’s Maria Montez. But there are some I look at, and I didn’t realize how sexy I looked back then.

I loved being in the film called ‘Carnal Knowledge’ – the one with Jack Nicholson, which was very dark but a really brilliant movie. I loved being in ‘The Ritz.’ ‘The Ritz’ I think is just hilarious. I just saw it again recently and by God, it’s still funny!

No one’s going to tell me how to make my own choices. For too many years, everybody told me what to say and what to do and how to be.

When was the last time you saw a musical about people at war with each other?

I’m one of those performers who has done just about everything except juggle, and I’m working on that.

I – my experience was really no different from any other immigrant that came to this country. It was rough.

When I was in my teens and into my early 20s, I had acne. I used to get those big purple jobs, but not a lot of them, thank goodness, because you really couldn’t see them in the films that I did.

I’m proud of me.

Is there a grandmother that isn’t spunky on television? Is there such a creature?

This is my idea of heaven, coming home and watching the news.

The reason there weren’t any, I am surmising, is that a lot of Latin kids, Latino kids, in those days didn’t have the money to take those kind of classes.

I’m an afternoon tea maven. I can tell you who has the best tea in every country.

You talk about meant to be – oh my goodness, I have never done anything else in my life except be a performer.

I love being onstage, I love getting applause, and I love the love that comes across the footlights. It’s so much a part of what I do and what I’ve done most of my life.

I’m one of the happiest people I know. I truly am. And it’s genuine.

Arrogance – I have very little tolerance for that.

A friend of my mother’s, Irene Lopez, was a Spanish dancer. She saw me bopping around the room and said to my mother, ‘Rosita might have talent. Can I take her to my dance teacher?’ There was no thought of a career at that time, but I knew I loved the attention, and that’s so much a part of being a performer.

I don’t want to miss out on my grandchildren and my daughter, and doing Broadway would do just that.

No one’s going to tell me how to make my own choices. For too many years, everybody told me what to say and what to do and how to be.

If you’re in a business where Latinos only play Indian maidens and what I call ‘Conchita Lolita’ parts – the little fiery spitfires – you do what you have to do.

This is my idea of heaven, coming home and watching the news.

Bigger than life is not difficult for me. I am bigger than life.

I live in the moment. The moment is the most important thing. That’s my entire philosophy: Make the best of the good moments.

There is something about sex that always brings out the funny in me. I think it’s because we make such fools of ourselves over it.

I’m one of the happiest people I know. I truly am. And it’s genuine.

If you can find a way your character moves, you know more about your character than you’d ever dream.

You can’t, or you shouldn’t, be nominated for an Oscar unless you’ve turned in a performance that’s special.

I played a Siamese girl from Thailand. I played an Arabian girl. I did a lot of American Indians. I never, ever was able to do a part without assuming some kind of accent.

What musical performers bring to straight characterizations is that physical flexibility that comes with knowing your body so well. A lot of actors are terribly awkward. Terribly. And I think it’s so important for them, when they’re young, to work on their physical selves.

I loved being in the film called ‘Carnal Knowledge’ – the one with Jack Nicholson, which was very dark but a really brilliant movie. I loved being in ‘The Ritz.’ ‘The Ritz’ I think is just hilarious. I just saw it again recently and by God, it’s still funny!