1
00:00:01,134 --> 00:00:02,702
- She comes with history.

2
00:00:02,702 --> 00:00:04,437
- Hello, cutie.

3
00:00:04,437 --> 00:00:07,040
- Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.

4
00:00:10,010 --> 00:00:11,311
- I was really drawn to her.

5
00:00:11,311 --> 00:00:13,513
She made me feel like 
women could do anything

6
00:00:13,513 --> 00:00:14,447
because she did.

7
00:00:14,447 --> 00:00:16,182
She was a Latina, like me.

8
00:00:16,182 --> 00:00:18,184
- She just brings such authority

9
00:00:18,184 --> 00:00:21,521
and such honesty to 
whatever she's playing.

10
00:00:21,521 --> 00:00:23,089
- Some people might 
view Rita Moreno

11
00:00:23,089 --> 00:00:24,858
as the embodiment of 
the American dream.

12
00:00:24,858 --> 00:00:27,260
- At the age of 16 years old,

13
00:00:27,260 --> 00:00:29,562
she was the sole 
breadwinner for her family.

14
00:00:29,562 --> 00:00:31,097
- Little Puerto Rican girl,

15
00:00:31,097 --> 00:00:35,769
who nobody thought much 
of at MGM with a contract.

16
00:00:35,769 --> 00:00:39,105
(dramatic music)

17
00:00:39,105 --> 00:00:42,909
I really was very often 
treated like a sex object.

18
00:00:42,909 --> 00:00:44,711
- The studio had 
asked contract players

19
00:00:44,711 --> 00:00:46,346
to go out on pretend dates.

20
00:00:46,346 --> 00:00:48,882
- Before I know it, he's 
forcing himself on me.

21
00:00:48,882 --> 00:00:50,650
- When you're in a 
contract to a studio,

22
00:00:50,650 --> 00:00:51,851
they own you.

23
00:00:51,851 --> 00:00:53,620
- Don't you touch me.

24
00:00:58,925 --> 00:01:01,194
I think sometimes 
there are wounds

25
00:01:01,194 --> 00:01:03,730
that simply don't heal well.

26
00:01:03,730 --> 00:01:06,699
- She made herself into 
somebody she wasn't

27
00:01:06,699 --> 00:01:07,834
for a very long time.

28
00:01:11,071 --> 00:01:12,839
- For the very first 
time in my life,

29
00:01:12,839 --> 00:01:14,274
I felt very useful.

30
00:01:14,274 --> 00:01:16,109
- She really cares about issues.

31
00:01:16,109 --> 00:01:19,446
And then she is just full of 
you know what and vinegar.

32
00:01:20,447 --> 00:01:23,883
- Wear your nationality 
like a flag.

33
00:01:23,883 --> 00:01:25,285
Be proud of it!

34
00:01:25,285 --> 00:01:26,252
Be proud you're Puerto Rican!

35
00:01:26,252 --> 00:01:27,921
Be proud your negro!

36
00:01:29,889 --> 00:01:33,059
- We always have to 
prove we're worthwhile.

37
00:01:33,059 --> 00:01:34,594
That's a lot of work.

38
00:01:34,594 --> 00:01:37,831
- At 87, with a hit show, 
and a movie in the works.

39
00:01:37,831 --> 00:01:39,699
It's a remake of West Side Story

40
00:01:39,699 --> 00:01:42,869
with Latino actors 
in the lead roles.

41
00:01:42,869 --> 00:01:45,405
- If we thought there 
was no place for us

42
00:01:45,405 --> 00:01:47,640
in this world of the arts 
that we wanted to get into,

43
00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:49,676
we could look up and see Rita,

44
00:01:49,676 --> 00:01:51,811
and say, okay, well 
she could do it.

45
00:01:51,811 --> 00:01:53,379
How close can I get?

46
00:01:53,379 --> 00:01:55,915
(upbeat music)