'Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It' Trailer: The EGOT Winning Icon Gets The Documentary Treatment

Rita Moreno gets her own documentary with Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It. The Mariem Pérez Riera-directed documentary covers Moreno's lengthy career, from when she became the sole money-earner for her family at the age of 16, to her time under contract in Hollywood, becoming the first Latina actress to win an Academy Award and beyond, all the way up to the present. Watch the Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It trailer below.

Rita Moreno Just A Girl Who Decided to Go For It Trailer

Rita Moreno needs no introduction. She's had a career spanning over 70 years, she's an EGOT winner (that is – she's one of the few people who can claim to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony), she's the first Latina actress to win an Academy Award, and she's still working today – she'll next be seen in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story remake. Such a distinguished career deserves documentation, and that's where this new documentary – Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It – comes in.

The doc "illuminates the humor and the grace of Moreno, as well as lesser-known struggles faced on her path to stardom, including pernicious Hollywood sexism and abuse, a toxic relationship with Marlon Brando, and serious depression a year before she emerged an Oscar winner. Moreno's talent and resilience triumphed over adversity, as she broke barriers, fought for representation and forged the path for new generations of artists." Here's more info:

Over a 70+ year career, Rita Moreno defied both her humble upbringing and relentless racism to become a celebrated and beloved actor, one of the rare EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) Award Winners of our time. Born into poverty on a Puerto Rican farm, Moreno and her seamstress mother immigrated to New York City when Moreno was five years old. After studying dance and performing on Broadway, Moreno was cast as any ethnic minority the Hollywood studios needed filled, be it Polynesian, Native American or Egyptian. Despite becoming the first Latina actress to win an Academy Award for her role as Anita in "West Side Story" (1961), the studios continued to offer Moreno lesser roles as stereotypical ethnic minorities, ignoring her proven talent.

Directed by Mariem Pérez Riera, Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It features interviews with Rita Morena (naturally), George Chakiris, Héctor Elizondo, Gloria Estefan, Tom Fontana, Morgan Freeman, Mitzi Gaynor, Whoopi Goldberg, Norman Lear, Eva Longoria, Justina Machado, Terrence McNally, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Karen Olivo. Brent Miller, p.g.a, and Mariem Pérez Riera produce, while Michael Kantor, Lyn Davis Lear, Norman Lear, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Regina K. Scully are executive producers.

Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It opens in theaters on June 18, 2021.