EGOT Winner Rita Moreno Opens Up About Her Most 'Humiliating' Audition

Even EGOT winners don't have a perfect track record in the audition room.

Beloved star of stage and screen, Rita Moreno, has opened up to Entertainment Weekly in a new interview, where she shared her excitement to be a part of PEOPLE en Español Festival,'s "Inspiring the New Generation" panel, her new album - and even the worst audition of her career thus far.

On the fateful day, she says:

"...At the time, I think I was in my 60s, and I hadn't done a movie in a long time. My agent sent me a wonderful part. I thought, "Oh man, I'm gonna crush this one." I worked like a beast on it, every nuance, every word. I really worked hard because it was for a really famous director, who I do not want to name. Anyway, I went to the office for the audition, and I said, "I can't wait to do this scene for you because I think I get it." And I had the script open to that scene and he looked at it, and there was this awkward silence, and he said "Oh no, my dear, sorry. That's not the part we want you to read for." And I said, "Oh, what's the part?" And it was a three-line part in Spanish, of a Mexican whorehouse Madame. And here I am at 60, not feeling terribly secure, but I'm suddenly saying to myself, "Wait a minute: Oscar, Grammy, Tony, 2 Emmys... what's going on here?" The humiliation was profound. My face was just on fire with embarrassment, and it's like I suddenly became 5 years old again and I was that little girl that people were calling racial slurs. I just stood there, absolutely paralyzed and trembling, and I said to him - I don't know where I got the guts because I was so close to tears - "I'm sorry, but I don't do Mexican whorehouse Madames." And he said "No, darling. You don't understand." And I said "No, you don't understand." And I deliberately very, very slowly picked up my coat, put it on - because the urge of course was just to run out of there with my hair on fire - and I took my bag and put it on my shoulder, and slowly, slowly walked out of the office. When I got to my car, I just got hysterical crying. It was horribly painful."

Click here to check out Moreno's full interview with EW.

genarian Rita Moreno remains one of the busiest stars in show business. This past spring, Rita was THE VOICE of Aunt Mimi in the animated film, Rio 2. Her first book, Rita Moreno: A Memoir, published by Celebra Books, instantly became a New York Times Bestseller. In 2011, she premiered her one-woman show, Life Without Make-up, an original play about her life and appeared regularly as Fran Drescher's mother in the TVland series Happily Divorced. In addition, Ms. Moreno frequently travels for concerts and lectures. Such creative diversity has been the hallmark of Ms. Moreno's nearly 70-year career. She belongs to an elite group of only eight living performers who have won entertainment's grand slam of the industry's most prestigious awards: The Oscar, The Emmy, The Tony and The Grammy. Her Oscar win came in 1962 as Latina spitfire Anita in the film version of West Side Story for which she also won The Golden Globe. The Tony was for her 1975 comedic triumph as Googie Gomez in Broadway's The Ritz. The Grammy was for her 1972 performance on The Electric Company Album, based on the long-running children's television series. She won not one, but two Emmys--the first for a 1977 variety appearance on The Muppet Show and the following year for a dramatic turn on The Rockford Files.

Over the decades, she has collected dozens of other show business awards, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1995. A favorite of Chicago audiences and critics, Ms. Moreno received that city's coveted Joseph Jefferson Award in 1968 as Serafina in The Rose Tatoo and in 1985 was awarded the prestigious Sara Siddons Award for her hilarious portrayal of Olive Madison in the female version of The Odd Couple.

Ms. Moreno was born Rosa Dolores Alverio in Humacao, a small town near the Puerto Rican rain forest. At age 5, she moved with her mother to New York where the precocious child soon began dance lessons. She made her Broadway debut at just 13 in Skydrift, starring Eli Wallach. Then, in true Hollywood tradition, a talent scout spotted her and ARRANGED for the teen to meet MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer, who signed her to a film contract.

Her Hollywood career advanced steadily, including early films with stars such as Richard Widmark, Esther Williams,Mario Lanza, Susan Hayward, Tyrone Power and Gary Cooper. She appeared in the delightful Singin' in the Rain starring Gene Kelly and was featured as Tuptim in the classic The King and I with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. Although early roles sometimes found her typecast as a Mexican spitfire or Indian maiden, she also broke the Latina mold playing an Irish teacher, an Italian widow, a female evangelist, a proper Englishwoman and a Southern belle. After her Academy Award for West Side Story, Ms. Moreno was acknowledged as a major big-screen talent.

Other significant film appearances include: The Night of the Following Day with Marlon Brando in 1967; with James Garner in Marlowe; as Alan Arkin's girlfriend in Popi; and in Mike Nichol's production of Carnal Knowledge. She reprised the role of Googie Gomez in the film version of The Ritz, followed by Alan Alda's The Four Seasons,Columbia Pictures' acclaimed I Like it Like That and Angus with George C. Scott. More recently she starred in the indie feature Carlo's Wake with Christopher Meloni and in Blue Moon opposite Ben Cazzara. In addition, she appeared in the highly acclaimed movie Pinerostarring Benjamin Bratt and in John Sayles film, Casa de los Babys.

Her long stage career has included starring roles on both sides of the Atlantic. In London, she appeared in Hal Prince's 1962 production of She Loves Meand in the 1997 West End run of Sunset Boulevard. In New York, she has starred in Lorraine Hansbury's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window, opposite Robert Shaw in Gantry and with Jimmy Coco in The Last of the Red Hot Lovers. She received a Tony Award nomination for her role in The National Health in 1974, followed by her 1975 Tony win for The Ritz. Other New York credits include: Anne Meara's After Play; Wally's Café with Jimmy Coco; Circle Rep's Size of the World; and more recently the female version of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple.

Ms. Moreno's diverse regional theatre roles include Lola in Damn Yankees, Anne Sullivan in The Miracle Worker, Doris in The Owl and the Pussycat and Mama Rose in Gypsy. At Berkeley Rep, she received rave reviews for her interpretation of Maria Callas in Terrence McNally's play Master Class in 2004 and, two seasons later, she received similar acclaim for her portrayal of Amanda Wingfield in that company's The Glass Menagerie.

Ms. Moreno has guest starred on a wide variety of television productions in the U.S. and abroad. She is proud to have been a featured artist for many years on The Electric Company, the highly regarded educational show for children. She starred in her own TV series based on the film 9 to 5. Additionally, she played opposite Burt Reynolds in B.L. Stryker and was a series regular with Bill Cosby in the NBC Cosby Mystery Series. In 2007, she starred in the CBS series Cane and most recently she was one of the leads in the highly acclaimed HBO series OZ.

She performs concerts across the country and often appears as a guest artist with symphony orchestras. In January 1993, she was invited to perform at President Clinton's inauguration and later that month sang at the White House. In 2002 she appeared as the guest artist with the San Francisco Symphony in a production of Candide. Ms. Moreno's latest endeavor has been in cabaret where she has met with great critical success.

In addition to film, stage, television and concert commitments, Ms. Moreno fills her spare time by lecturing to various organizations and university audiences on such varied topics as The Value of Diversity to our Culture, The Power of Language, Getting Older without Getting Old and A History of the Arts in Film TV & Theatre. She is also involved with a number of civic and charitable organizations and events.

Ms. Moreno has served on The National Endowment for the Arts and as a Commissioner for The President's White House Fellowships. She has also served as a member of The President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. This past January, Rita was honored by her peers as the 50th recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.

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