The autobiography is due in winter 2013.
In her memoir, Moreno, according to press notes, will write about "moving from Puerto Rico to New York as a young girl, discovering singing and dancing, acting in television shows like 'Electric Company' and 'Oz,' her Oscar-winning role in 'West Side Story,' dealing with discrimination throughout her career, and coming to terms with her heritage and 'otherness' in Hollywood. She will also share stories about dating Elvis Presley and Howard Hughes, the tumultuous romance with Marlon Brando that ended in her suicide attempt, and the joy of her 45-year marriage."
“I was born Rosita Dolores, became Rita, and was serially cast as Latina, Thai, Native American Indian, Eastern Indian, Gypsy, and Cajun," Moreno said in a statement. "I played a generic ethnic maiden with an all purpose foreign accent. I was a spit-fire so long, it is now time to Flame-Out! I lived through the hilarious days of early Hollywood Hyperbole — my first picture was 'So Young, So Bad,' which was subtitled 'What Made Them this Way?' I went on to dance with Gene Kelly, seduce Laurence Harvey (on screen), ‘service’ Yul Brynner and Jack Nicholson, and mingle with the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner and Clark Gable. I am still kicking my 80 year old legs and my career and life have never been better! After all the tumult of pretending to be someone else and a near fatal affair with Marlon Brando, I have landed on my feet — on stage and off. Happy at last in my own skin, I am Rosita Dolores from Puerto Rico, and proud of it!"
The singing actress was most recently seen on stage in the critically acclaimed, extended engagement of Rita Moreno: Life Without Makeup, a music-kissed biographical show, at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
Read more about Rita Moreno's theatrical history at the Playbill Vault.
