How Many Grandchildren Does Rita Moreno Have?

You wouldn't know from looking at Rita Moreno's resume that she celebrated her 90th birthday in 2021. As an EGOT — a winner of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony – she is in an elite group of just 16 other performers. She stands along side other film and stage legends like Mel Brooks and Helen Hayes who have earned the prestigious status. The list of icons also includes composer Richard Rodgers, the co-writer of the 1945 film Moreno co-starred in, "The King and I." Her work in over 150 productions, just as an actor alone, has undoubtedly inspired many people to embrace their dreams.

That inspiration even came to her daughter Fernanda Luisa Gordon, as it seems she had her own acting in her career, too. Fernanda is Moreno's only child with her husband Leonard Gordon who passed in June 2010. While Moreno spent so much of her life as a performer, she also maintained a strong relationship with her daughter, who gushed about her on the red carpet at the 2021 Oscars. "We have so much fun together," Fernanda told George Pennacchio for ABC 7 Chicago. "She's the coolest mom ever. I'm a lucky girl." With such a close relationship with her own daughter, fans wonder how many grandchildren Moreno has. 

In addition to commanding the screen and stage for decades, Rita Moreno is a loving grandmother to two grandchildren. The actor told Grand Magazine in 2008 that she and her husband were "out of [their] minds" when they found out they were going to become grandparents and that "never changed." Moreno's daughter Fernanda Louisa Gordon and her husband David Fischer have two boys named Justin Gordon and Cameron David. At the time of her Grand interview, they were nine and seven years old, respectively. She also recalled their birth as being "one of the best experiences" of her life as she held one of her daughter's legs during her first grandson's birth. "It was astonishing," she told the magazine. "It was the most moving experience you can possibly imagine."

Although she told Grand years ago that she didn't talk much about her career when her grandsons were young, she's happy to share that side of herself with them now. She even took her grandson Justin to Puerto Rico with her for a screening of "Rita Moreno: Just a Girl who Decided to Go For It" in June 2021. He had never been to Moreno's birth country before and was "enchanted," she told Condé Nast Traveler.

Although Rita Moreno has enjoyed a loving family life with her daughter and grandchildren, the actor made it clear when she spoke to Town and Country in February 2022 she hopes to continue her storied career in her 90's. "I still don't have what I want," she told the magazine after explaining that she's still feeling good. "People aren't exactly knocking my door down, you know," she said of getting hired in new roles. "This "West Side Story" connection [in the 2021 Steven Spielberg remake] is wonderful, but that's just one job. That's not ongoing work." Despite her desire to continue working, Moreno shared she hasn't been approached with prospective new roles, saying, "It's not happening." 

The actor told Variety in 2021 that she would only retire if she lost her ability to walk, but even that probably couldn't keep her away. "...there's always a wheelchair–or roller skates," she proposed. It seems Moreno has taken the advice from her "West Side Story" character Valentina, who said, "Life matters, even more than love."