Rita Moreno

“Elvis was really sweet and kind of bashful, but he didn't have a whole lot to say.”

“I've been neurotic in my life; I've had neurotic relationships with men. What else is new? But you really have to learn to be resilient - able to bounce back, pick yourself up, and just keep moving.”

“I am not exactly Mrs. Good Housekeeping, although I love to cook, bake, even iron, but only because it's not mandatory.”

“I think Mike Nichols is brilliant, but I think Jerry Robbins was a genius.”

“I think Jennifer Lopez is a phenom. And as far as I'm concerned, she's really a very smart businesswoman.”

“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.”

“I just love details; I love trying to make the reader smell what I was smelling at the time and see what I was seeing. Textures, too - all that kind of stuff is probably my strong suit as far as my writing goes, I would say.”

“Mellowing has never done much for me. You need to keep moving.”

“Actually, my true name is Rosa Dolores Alverio. And then I became Rosita Moreno when a stepfather stepped in. And when I got to MGM studios, which was my first film contract, they just thought that Rosita wasn't a good name, and they changed it to Rita. And yes, it was their idea.”

“Lupe Velez was way before me; Dolores Del Rio was way before me, so I had no one. So the only one I could think of that I identified with was this gorgeous creature named Elizabeth Taylor, so she became my role model.”