Every consecutive day seems like one in an endless supply of hours, weeks, months, years. But actress, singer, mother, and grandmother Rita Moreno has thought about mortality, both for herself and what mortality means for her family when she departs, especially daughter Fernanda.
The West Side Story actress celebrated her 92nd birthday last winter, and ahead of yet another monumental birthday on December 11, she has opened up about the more personal, familial parts of her life. She boasts a career of over eight decades, but above it all, she values the bond she’s gotten to forge with several generations of family. Through it all, she is thinking about the future and appreciating every moment while it’s here.
The legendary EGOT winner treasures her family and all they bring her
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From 1965 until his death in 2010, Moreno was married to Leonard Gordon. Together, they had one child, a daughter named Fernanda, today 57. Through Fernanda, Moreno also has two grandchildren. Moreno is proud to say that she is “very honest” in all her relationships and that she, Fernanda, and the rest of the family have very transparent conversations on all manner of topics. It’s all part of basking in the family she’s proudly built.
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“It’s the best thing in the world,” Moreno gushed. “And when my grandsons [Justin, 25, and Cameron, 23, whom Gordon shares with David Fisher, her husband of 27 years] were born, I could have died with happiness. I’m just so lucky that we’ve gotten to know each other so well.”
Rita Moreno thinks candidly about mortality, even when speaking with her family
Moreno keeps her mind open to all possibilities—and always finds this mindset rewarding. Speaking once more of her daughter, The King and I star went on, “I’m constantly calling upon her to do things. 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.”
She went on, “There are times when I need her wisdom, and they are more often than you might think, particularly at this age. Ninety-two is not easy in many ways, and it’s something that’s difficult to understand.”
Moreno is also all too aware of her age and how that might weigh on her family, even if that topic is something of a special case between her and Fernanda. “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,'” she mused.
She went on to explain, “It’s not something that Fernanda and I sit and discuss, but I just know that she has to think about that. I think we’re both pretty brave about it. Well, we’re really honest — very, very honest with each other.”
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