Quotes from Rita Moreno

I'm trying as hard as I can to keep pushing the boundaries of what a woman is capable of doing. And it turns out there's a lot we can do. There's a lot we can speak about.

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

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

The one thing I really learned, and learned well, in group therapy was that you don't die if someone doesn't like you.

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.

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

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

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

I was brought up on animal grease.

When you engage your brain, it just keeps getting fatter and richer and wonderful.

The wonderful thing about cabaret is, you can do a lot of things you can't do in a concert. You can't do smoky ballads for 50 minutes in a concert. It's a different animal.

Maybe Elvis was inhibited by inbred religious prohibitions or an Oedipal complex, or maybe he simply preferred the thrill of a denied release. Whatever put the brakes on the famous pelvis, it ground to a halt at a certain point, and that was it.

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

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!

You see a script, and you say, 'Oh, I can play the heck out of that,' talk to your agent, and he says they don't want to see you. That's heartbreaking.

You've got to make a decision when you write about your life, and I decided I was going to be honest, and some of those things will be embarrassing.

Arrogance - I have very little tolerance for that.

I love playing people who don't have a sense of humor for instance, there's nothing funnier to me than a person with no sense of humor.

It's kind of heartbreaking when I talk about it now, I still get very moved by the lack of opportunities that were available to myself and to the very few others who were Hispanic young actresses.

I am the happiest Hispanic I've ever met. Truly.

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.

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

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