For a long time, legendary performer Rita Moreno has been able to do it all.
An EGOT recipient, activist and proud mother and grandmother, Moreno is now speaking candidly about the limitations she faces at 92.
“I’m constantly calling upon [Fernanda] to do things,” the “West Side Story” actress told People magazine of depending on her only daughter. “I have a problem with remembering names, names of things and names of people. It’s so much a part of being 92 right now.”
“There are times when I need her wisdom, and they are more often than you might think, particularly at this age – 92 is not easy in many ways, and it’s something that’s difficult to understand.”
It’s a harsh reality that she and Fernanda have not glossed over; Moreno will not be here one day. “I think that as you, the parent, gets older, I believe that the child has to be thinking about, ‘Well, at some point this will end,’” Moreno admitted.
“It’s not something that Fernanda and I sit and discuss, but I just know that she has to think about that,” she explained. “I think we’re both pretty brave about it. Well, we’re really honest — very, very honest with each other.”
The Puerto Rican star and her late husband, Leonard Gordon, welcomed Fernanda, also an actress, in 1967. As Moreno’s only child, the two have developed a unique relationship.
“We constantly have people picking up on our closeness and commenting, ‘I wish I felt that way about my mom!’” Moreno said of the close bond she shares with her daughter.
Although she’s still getting roles in films and television, Moreno’s focus is her family as she ages.
“It’s the best thing in the world,” Moreno told the outlet of being a parent. “And when my grandsons [Justin, 25, and Cameron, 23,] were born, I could have died with happiness. I’m just so lucky that we’ve gotten to know each other so well.”
