Rita Moreno

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Rita Moreno (1931-Current) is a Puerto Rican actress who is best known for her work from 1961, West Side Story. Many did not expect Moreno to win an award for this role, but she ended up becoming the first Hispanic actress to win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. She is also the only Latino woman to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.

Type Cast as Native Latina

Rita’s success came with many challenges. She was constantly typecast as a Native girl and wouldn’t be allowed to audition for roles outside of this specific role.

Rita – Stereotypical Latina Woman (West Side Story)

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Rita was typecast to be uneducated, sexy, and was expected to always have an accent. Even after winning her Oscar for West Side Story, Rita continued to struggle to break free from stereotypical Latina roles. This made it very hard for her to move up in Hollywood since she was limited to Latina specific roles.

Ricardo Montalban

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Ricardo Montalban (1920- 2009) is a Mexican actor known for his work on the show Fantasy Island. Montalban is also known for winning an Emmy in 1978 and for his performances across multiple genres. In 1947, Montalban had his big Hollywood debut in Fiesta, a musical in which he played a toreador. This role typecast him as a stereotypical Mexican and it was hard for him to break out.

Type Cast as Stereotypical Hispanic Male

Ricardo was constantly typecast as a Mexican and it was hard for him to find roles outside of this classification.  Ricardo was an underused actor who persevered through decades of Hollywood bigotry and typecasting.

In an effort to change how Latino actors were viewed, in 1971 Ricardo founded Nosotros. Nosotros was an advocacy group for Latinos employed in the entertainment industry.

Nosotros had the goal of rehabilitating how Hispanic characters were portrayed on screen. It pushed for actors to be judged on ability, not race. Ricardo is one of many Hispanics who fought not to pay for their audacity with their dignity and cultural identity, but he ultimately lost many job opportunities due to his efforts.