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Rita Moreno is one of the very few performers to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony and a Grammy, thus becoming an EGOT. She was born Rosita Dolores Alverío in the hospital in Humacao, Puerto Rico on December 11, 1931 (but raised in nearby, smaller Juncos, which had no hospital), to seamstress Rosa María (Marcano) and farmer Francisco José "Paco" Alverío. Her mother moved to New York City in 1937, taking Rita with her while leaving her reportedly unfaithful husband and Rita's younger brother behind. Rita's professional career began before she reached adolescence.
From the age of nine, she performed as a professional dancer in New York night clubs. At age 11, she landed her first movie experience, dubbing Spanish-language versions of US films. Less than a month before her 14th birthday on November 22, 1945, she made her Broadway debut in the play "Skydrift" at the Belasco Theatre, costarring with Arthur Keegan and a young Eli Wallach. Although she would not appear again on Broadway for almost two decades, Rita Moreno, as she was billed in the play, had arrived professionally. In 1950, she was signed by MGM, but the studio dropped her option after just one year.
The cover of the March 1, 1954, edition of "Life Magazine" featured a three-quarters, over-the-left-shoulder profile of the young Puerto Rican actress/entertainer with the provocative title "Rita Moreno: An Actresses' Catalog of Sex and Innocence". It was sexpot time, a stereotype that would plague her throughout the decade. If not cast as a Hispanic pepper pot, she could rely on being cast as another "exotic", such as her appearance on Father Knows Best (1954) as an exchange student from India. Because of a dearth of decent material, Moreno had to play roles in movies that she considered degrading. Among the better pictures she earned featured roles in were the classic Singin' in the Rain (1952) and The King and I (1956).
Director Robert Wise, who was chosen to co-direct West Side Story (1961) (the film version of the smash Broadway musical, a retelling of William Shakespeare's "Romeo & Juliet" with the warring Venetian clans the Montagues and Capulets re-envisioned as Irish/Polish and Puerto Rican adolescent street gangs, the Jets and the Sharks), cast Moreno as "Anita", the Puerto Rican girlfriend of Sharks' leader Bernardo, whose sister Maria is the piece's Juliet.
However, despite her talent, roles commensurate with that talent were not forthcoming in the 1960s. The following decade would prove kinder, possibly because the beautiful Moreno had aged gracefully and could now be seen by filmmakers, TV producers and casting directors as something other than the spitfire/sexpot that Hispanic women were supposed to conform to. Ironically, it was in two vastly diverging roles--that of a $100 hooker in director Mike Nichols' brilliant realization of Jules Feiffer's acerbic look at male sexuality, Carnal Knowledge (1971), and Milly the Helper in the children's TV show The Electric Company (1971)--that signaled a career renaissance.
Moreno won a 1972 Grammy Award for her contribution to "The Electric Company"'s soundtrack album, following it up three years later with a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical for "The Ritz" (a role she would reprise in the film version, The Ritz (1976)). She then won Emmy Awards for The Muppet Show (1976) and The Rockford Files (1974).
She has continued to work steadily on screen (both large and small) and on stage, solidifying her reputation as a national treasure, a status that was officially ratified with the award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush in June 2004.- Actress
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She landed the role in Student's Hearts (2002) one week before the soap opera's premiere. She only met her father personally a few years ago. Her parents divorced when she was very little, and her father, who is a journalist, moved to Londrina, in the Brazilian south state of Paraná, where he started a new family. Her mother is a teacher.
She started modeling at age 12 and by the time she was 18, she was already tired of it, and considered going to college to major in architecture, photography or plastic arts.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Drica Moraes was born on 29 July 1969 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She is an actress, known for Under Pressure (2017), Xica da Silva (1996) and As Meninas (1995). She was previously married to Raul Schmidt and Regis Faria.- Hattie Morahan was born in London. Her father, Christopher Morahan, was a television and stage director. Her mother, Anna Carteret, is an actress. Hattie was educated at the Frensham Heights School.
Hattie studied English Literature at New Hall, Cambridge between 1997 and 2000.
Hattie won an Ian Charleson award for her performance as Nina in The Seagull at the National Theatre in 2006.
She won Best Actress at the Shanghai TV festival 2008 for her role in Sense and Sensibility.
Hattie won both the Evening Standard Theatre Award and the Critics Circle Best Actress Award for her performance as Nora in A Doll's House at the Young Vic Theatre, and was nominated for an Olivier award, with the production later transferring to the West End and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Gracita Morales was born on 11 November 1928 in Madrid, Spain. She was an actress, known for La chica del gato (1964), Operación Mata Hari (1968) and Operación Secretaria (1966). She was married to Martín Zerolo. She died on 3 April 1995 in Madrid, Spain.- Actress
- Producer
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María Morales was born in 1975 in Córdoba, Andalucía, Spain. She is an actress and producer, known for Honor (2023), Todas las mujeres (2013) and La fuga (2012).- Actress
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Natalie Morales was born in Miami, Florida, and is of Cuban descent. She studied Theatre at Miami Dade College and Florida International University. In 2006, Natalie landed a guest star role on an episode of the CBS drama, CSI: Miami (2002): Darkroom (2006). In 2008, Natalie starred on the ABC Family series, The Middleman (2008). While the series, itself, lasted only one season, it has developed a cult following.
Natalie has since gone on to act, write and direct various projects. She was a series regular on the first season of White Collar (2009) and was then cast in films, such as Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) and Going the Distance (2010) in 2010. She has recurred on Parks and Recreation (2009), Girls (2012), & Santa Clarita Diet (2017). She has directed and acted in separate episodes of Room 104 (2017), and stars on the NBC sitcom, Abby's (2019).- Actress
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Unlike many superstars in the Philippines, Vina Morales is not only an actress but is also a multi-award-winning singer. What distinguishes her from many other superstars is that she has received accolades from the entertainment fields of television, film, and music. Born on October 17, 1975, as Sharon Magdayao, Morales began her career as a child actress in the Philippines making her debut in 1986, for the film Nakagapos na puso (1986) with her idol Sharon Cuneta. Through her natural acting ability, she never lost sight of the first talent that got her discovered, her singing. After performing numerous Filipino standards and Carpenters covers, in 1995, Morales released her self-titled debut album, "Easy to Love". Mostly eschewing the middle-of-the-road arrangements of her contemporaries for more energetic numbers, Morales' first full-length was considered to be a promising musical start. A year later, Morales was selected as the Best Female Recording Artist at the Awit Awards, the Philippines' equivalent of the Grammys; Morales' 1999 album "No Limits" won the Best Album of the Year at the Awit Awards.
In 2001, Morales was then offered 8-million PHP (Philippine Pesos) to appear in an ad for a hard liquor alcohol beverage, however she turned down the offer. In January 2001, she nearly lost her life when the vehicle she was driving in had collided into the back of a cement mixer in Quezon City, Philippines. Fortunately, she survived the accident and only suffered minor injuries. In the summer of 2001, Morales then toured the U.S. with the singing group, "The Hunks", her co-hosts on the weekly variety series ASAP (1995), one of the highest-rated television programs in the Philippines on the ABS-CBN network. After six years during her U.S. multi-concert tour which began from 2002 until early 2007, she returned to television on the ABS-CBN program, Maria Flordeluna (2007) where she played the main title character's mother, Elvira.
Then on August 12, 2007 she won the first ever Ikon Asean awards competition, a regional musical showcase to recognize talent from prominent Asian countries in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Finally on April 25, 2009 she became a mother to her first born daughter, Ceana Lee, from her last boyfriend Cedric Lee, a Chinese-Filipino businessman. After taking a short hiatus from showbiz, she returned to television in 2010 on the ABS-CBN program, Agua bendita (2010) and the following year in 2011 in her first antagonist role in Nasaan ka, Elisa? (2011). In 2012, she turned down a role in a television soap to star in the Broadway musical Rock of Ages as Sherrie Christian. She returned to television in 2013 with May isang pangarap (2013) and later cast in the primetime series Maria Mercedes (2013) that same year. Then in 2014, she made her movie comeback with Robin Padilla by starring alongside him in the film, Bonifacio: Ang unang pangulo (2014).- Actress
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Better known for her scandalous private life than for her mild film input, the story goes that blonde, extremely well-endowed Dolores Moran was checked out at an annual Sacramento Elks Lodge picnic in 1941 by a Warner Brothers talent scout in the early 40s and a starlet was born.
Born in Stockton, California in 1926, this bombshell looker, a one-time drive-in car hop, had started collecting beauty titles as a teen ("Queen of the Butte County Fair") by the time the major studio took notice of her and signed her up. The studio immediately promoted the darker-haired-now-platinum blonde as a WWII pin-up and her cover-girl appearances on magazines became a favorite with GI soldiers. Beginning in 1942, she would start out as set decoration (including Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)) and would typically be utilized in small, decorative film parts. She achieved a bit of distinction, or perhaps distraction, in a couple of larger roles -- Bette Davis and Miriam Hopkins' tearjerker Old Acquaintance (1943), Bogie and Bacall's To Have and Have Not (1944), and Jack Benny's The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945).
Moran's reputation of having affairs with married film heavyweights had already preceded her by the time the 22-year-old began dating 42-year-old producer Benedict Bogeaus, who was married to starlet Mimi Forsythe at the time. Bogeaus divorced his wife and married Moran in late 1946. Two years later Dolores bore him a son. Sadly, in 1952, Bogeaus' former wife committed suicide.
Secondary roles followed for Moran with Too Young to Know (1945) and the film noir The Man I Love (1946). Dolores first worked with her producer/husband in the film Christmas Eve (1947). Her film career sagged after that as her Svengali-like husband insisted she appear strictly in his pictures from Johnny One-Eye (1950) and Count the Hours! (1953) to her last role as a burlesque queen in Silver Lode (1954), often giving her roles that showed off her "bad girl" image. In between she appeared on TV: "Dangerous Assignment," "My Hero" and Mr. & Mrs. North".
The turbulent marriage of Dolores and Benedict finally came to an end in 1962. Moran decided to lay low after this and, as such, little was heard about her until newspapers reported her death from cancer at age 56 in 1982.- Actress
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Born in Burbank, California, USA on October 18, 1960, Erin Moran was the youngest daughter of Sharon and Edward Moran, who have five other children. She attended Walter Reed Junior High School for one year and North Hollywood High School for another year. Her first professional acting job was in a TV commercial. She played Richie Cunningham's baby sister, Joanie Cunningham, on ABC's Happy Days (1974); however, this was not Erin's first major TV series. She was a regular on the series, Daktari (1966). She has also made guest appearances on TV series such as The Waltons (1972), Family Affair (1966), My Three Sons (1960), The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1969), Gunsmoke (1955), The Smith Family (1971), and The F.B.I. (1965).
Erin Moran has worked on feature films with Debbie Reynolds in How Sweet It Is! (1968), with Godfrey Cambridge in Watermelon Man (1970), and with Wayne Newton in 80 Steps to Jonah (1969).
Like many other child actors, Erin had difficulty finding roles as an adult. Following the cancellation of Happy Days (1974) in 1984, she made occasional guest appearances on scripted and reality shows. She eventually moved away from Hollywood after her home was foreclosed on.
On April 22, 2017, she died in Corydon, Indiana, where she had been living with her husband of 23 years; she was 56 years old.- Her soft Irish beauty highlighted many films in the late 1920s and 1930s, but film actress Lois Moran's major claim to fame was as F. Scott Fitzgerald's inspiration for the character of "Rosemary" in his classic novel Tender Is the Night. Lois trained in dance while young and moved to Paris with her mother at the age of 10 to study seriously. She danced and sang for several years at the Paris National Opera and appeared in two silents. Hollywood came calling in 1925 and she quickly made an auspicious debut with the monumental tearjerker Stella Dallas (1925). Film offers came flying her way but none equaled her first movie. She appeared in a few early musical talkies such as Words and Music (1929), A Song of Kentucky (1929), and Mammy (1930) with Al Jolson, then took on Broadway in 1931 with lead singing roles in "Of Thee Is Sing" and its sequel "Let Them Eat Cake." Lois married Clarence M. Young, Assistant Secretary of Commerce, in 1935 and retired. She came back briefly as Preston Foster's co-star on the TV series Waterfront (1954) which ran for three seasons. In later years she settled in Sedona, Arizona with her husband (he died in 1972) where she ran a weekly local column for a time. She died of cancer in 1990 at age 81, never having missed the career she left over five decades before.
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Mercedes Morán was born on 21 September 1955 in Concorán, San Luis, Argentina. She is an actress and writer, known for Neruda (2016), The Swamp (2001) and Florianópolis Dream (2018). She was previously married to Oscar Martínez.- Actress
- Producer
Patricia Morán was born on 10 September 1925 in Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She was an actress and producer, known for The Exterminating Angel (1962), Bel Ami (1947) and Otra primavera (1950). She died on 24 October 2022 in Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico.- The character actress Patsy Moran made her film debut in the Laurel & Hardy comedy Block-Heads (1938) in 1938 at the Hal Roach Studios, following it up in their Saps at Sea (1940) two years later. At Monogram, she made her Western debut in support of Tex Ritter in Cowboy from Sundown (1940) (she also appeared in Ritter's oater The Golden Trail (1940) that year).
Moran became a member of the Monogram stock company, playing roles in multiple low-budget, beneath-B pictures, while working at the majors in uncredited bits in A-pictures and credited parts in shorts. On the radio, she appeared as Martha Hoople, the fool-suffering wife of the eponymous "Major Hoople" on the short-lived (1942-43) radio series based on the comic strip "Our Boardinghouse."
Moran's career likely was retarded by the post-World War II, post-TV slump of the movie industry. Her last motion picture was Allan Dwan's Sweethearts on Parade (1953) at Republic. She did not make the transition to television, though ironically, she did co-star in an episode of "I Love Lucy" in support of Lucille Ball, with whom she had earlier appeared in an uncredited but role in 1944's Meet the People (1944) at RKO, the studio Lucy later bought.
Patsy Moran was married to stuntman Pat Moran. - Actress
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Mary Jeanette Moran was born in Clinton, Iowa. The daughter of Louise Moran, a dancer with the famous Denishawn Dancers, and the celebrated artist Earl Moran, whose paintings graced many a barracks wall during World War II. One of Earl's favorite models was Norma Jean Baker, who later changed her name to Marilyn Monroe. Peggy never modeled for Earl, although a publicity still of the two of them was taken in Earl's atelier with Peggy posing.
From early childhood, she was called by the nickname, "Peggy". Peggy's mother took six-year-old Peggy to the office of Derio, a famous psychic of the time. Louise wanted her fortune told. Derio did not have the time for them but, when he came out of his office into the hall, he passed Peggy and her mother. Looking down at Peggy, he caressed her cheek, and said, "Hmm... an actress". From that moment on, Peggy knew she was destined to act.
Peggy appeared in some plays at school. She attended Hollywood High, where she was squired by Mike Stokey, founder of the original TV show, Stump the Stars (1947). She also attended John Marshall High for a time. There, she appeared in every play or show she could.
Hollywood soon beckoned. Peggy went to the front door of Warner Brothers and told the startled guard that she wanted to get into the lot because she was going to be a movie star. The guard introduced her to a producer who introduced her to an agent, and her career was started. She acted in a few clunkers at the beginning, playing mostly bit parts and minor roles. Among them was Ernst Lubitsch's masterpiece, Ninotchka (1939), in which Peggy appeared in two scenes as a cute cigarette girl. Later, when the picture was released, it appeared in Clinton, Iowa's only movie theatre under the marquee: "Clinton's Own Peggy Moran starring in Ninotchka (1939), with Greta Garbo". Peggy moved from Warner Brothers to Universal Pictures in the late 1930s. In between, she played the female lead in a Gene Autry western entitled Rhythm of the Saddle (1938). Working now at Universal, she met the producer, Joe Pasternak, who introduced her to his director, Henry Koster. It was love at first sight. Henry cast her first in a Deanna Durbin film, First Love (1939). She played Deanna's schoolmate. In the meantime, Universal was keeping Peggy busy starring in many of their "B" films. During this time, also, she starred in her most famous movie, the one for which she would always be remembered, The Mummy's Hand (1940). Even up to her passing, she received four or five fan letters a week from people who wanted photos of her from that film though it was produced over sixty years ago. Henry had discovered two comedians, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, and their first movie, One Night in the Tropics (1940), starred Alan Young, Nancy Kelly, Robert Cummings, and Peggy Moran. Henry did not direct that one, or any other Abbott and Costello film, but he was responsible for their introduction to Hollywood, and Peggy was their first film character foil. Peggy was also tapped to star with Franchot Tone in Trail of the Vigilantes (1940), a Western that had all the other contract players from Universal, whether they were cowboys or not, including Broderick Crawford and Mischa Auer.
A year or so later, Henry and Peggy were married. Conrad Veidt was best man at the wedding in Las Vegas. Peggy was soon pregnant with her first son. Just after that, she was hired by Republic Pictures to play the female lead, opposite Roy Rogers, in King of the Cowboys (1943). Henry encouraged her to take the role even though she was pregnant. After that, whenever she saw the movie with her son, Nicolas Koster, she always told him, "You were there!".
That was Peggy's last film appearance except for some very recent films about stars of the early era. Peggy's life with Henry was the picture of marital bliss. They had two children, Nicolas Koster, who also acted in several of Henry's films, and Peter Koster, who works in Contra Costa County. Henry passed away in 1988. Peggy was quite active during these last fourteen years, playing billiards, dancing, entertaining, and traveling around the country to attend movie nostalgia conventions, where she invariably amazed and impressed everyone from hardened veterans of movies to new fans, with her wit, charm, intelligence and beauty. She was also active in her church, the Camarillo Church of Religious Science, where she studied to become a practitioner. On 26 August 2002, she was being driven from a friend's apartment in Ventura back to her apartment in Woodland Hills when the driver lost control of the car on the freeway. Peggy never recovered from the terrible damage that accident caused. She finally left us on 24 October, one day after her 84th birthday.- Priscilla Moran was born into poverty, her parents both ill with tuberculosis at the time of her birth (and from which, neither ever recovered.) Her father owned and ran a small movie house in Sedalia, and she was named for actress Priscilla Dean. When she was barely four, it was suggested that the family move to a drier climate to try to improve their health. Friends urged them to go to Hollywood, where they felt Priscilla would be able to easily break into the movies and provide a source of income for her parents. During a trip to a casting office, she was spotted by the director of "The Toll of the Sea", and was picked on the spot for a part. Priscilla became an instant favorite of her co-stars and other actors - including her namesake, Priscilla Dean. When her co-stars learned of the parents' financial problems, they took up a collection to help her. Soon, Priscilla's own salary easied her family's financial burden. However, upon her mother's death, almost all the money was used to pay for doctors and burial expenses. On April 22, 1923, her father left her with the John Coogan family (parents of Jackie Coogan), and dropped out of sight. The Coogans wanted to adopt her, but six months later her father reappeared and took her away. Nothing is known of this time of her life, and there was no news of the Morans for several months. Eventually, they resurfaced in New York, where Mr. Moran had begun the Priscilla Moran Productions Company, and was looking for investors. One woman paid Moran $35,000 for stock on the condition that she receive custody of Priscilla - so that she could "protect her investment." Moran agreed, Priscilla got a new home, and he disappeared again. Two months later he resurfaced and went to visit Priscilla, but never returned her. They ended up in New York where he named a movie executive her legal guardian in his will. He then borrowed $500 dollars and left for the Southwest, where he died only days later. Her father's death made Priscilla's life more complicated. There was a drawn-out court battle with three parties asking for custody - her first guardian, the man named in her father's will, and her aunt and grandmother. The judge viewed the first two petitioners as having tried to buy Priscilla, and custody was awarded to the aunt and grandmother. Priscilla went to yet another new home, and her life as a "movie star" came to an end.
- Since 2010 Sofia (Solly) and her husband, Dante moved back to her native Philippines and now lives her birthplace in Nabua, Camarines Sur (Bicol, Philippines) She has been very active with philanthropic work Catholic Church in her hometown of Nabua and the Catholic Women's League based in Naga City. Solly is currently the President of the Patron Saint of Nabua, Nuestra Senora de Angustia and is the main donor and sponsor of its annual Fiesta of Nuestra Senora de Angustia
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Angela Morant was born on 15 January 1941 in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Iris (2001), A.D. (1985) and Chicago Joe and the Showgirl (1990). She was previously married to Ben Kingsley.- Actress
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Laura Morante was born on 21 August 1956 in Santa Fiora, Tuscany, Italy. She is an actress and writer, known for Cherry on the Cake (2012), The Son's Room (2001) and Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (1981). She has been married to Francesco Giammatteo since 3 October 2004. She was previously married to Georges Claisse and Daniele Costantini.- Actress
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Kestie Morassi was born on 8 August 1978 in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. She is an actress and producer, known for Wolf Creek (2005), Birthday (2009) and Signs (2008).- Actress
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When people gave Louis Malle credit for making a star of Jeanne Moreau in Elevator to the Gallows (1958) immediately followed by The Lovers (1958), he would point out that Moreau by that time had already been "recognized as the prime stage actress of her generation." She had made it to the Comédie Française in her 20s. She had appeared in B-movie thrillers with Jean Gabin and Ascenseur was in that genre. The technicians at the film lab went to the producer after seeing the first week of dailies for Ascenseur and said: "You must not let Malle destroy Jeanne Moreau". Malle explained: "She was lit only by the windows of the Champs Elysées. That had never been done. Cameramen would have forced her to wear a lot of make-up and they would put a lot of light on her, because, supposedly, her face was not photogenic". This lack of artifice revealed Moreau's "essential qualities: she could be almost ugly and then ten seconds later she would turn her face and would be incredibly attractive. But she would be herself".
Moreau has told interviewers that the characters she played were not her. But even the most famous film critic of his generation, Roger Ebert, thinks that she is a lot like her most enduring role, Catherine in François Truffaut's Jules and Jim (1962). Behind those eyes and that enigmatic smile is a woman with a mind. In a review of The Clothes in the Wardrobe (1993) Ebert wrote: "Jeanne Moreau has been a treasure of the movies for 35 years... Here, playing a flamboyant woman who nevertheless keeps her real thoughts closely guarded, she brings about a final scene of poetic justice as perfect as it is unexpected".
Moreau made her debut as a director in Lumiere (1976) -- also writing the script and playing Sarah, an actress the same age as Moreau whose romances are often with directors for the duration of making a film. She made several films with Malle.
Still active in international cinema, Moreau presided over the jury of the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.- Actress
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Marguerite C. Moreau born April 25, 1977 is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Katie in the comedy cult film Wet Hot American Summer, and her role in The Mighty Ducks series of films. She has also made appearances on the popular television series Smallville, Lost, Cupid and The O.C.- Actress
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Sylvie Moreau was born on 30 December 1964. She is an actress and writer, known for Post Mortem (1999), Les aimants (2004) and Familia (2005). She was previously married to 'François Papineau.- Actress
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Spanning five decades of Italian cinema, Rina Morelli's screen appearances were always interesting and powerful, but it is on the stage that she produced her most interesting and ground-breaking work. She debuted, aged seven, in 'Morte Civile' by Paolo Giacometti, directed by the famous stage actor Ermete Zacconi alongside her father Amilcare Brillanti. Her first notable success was 'Liliom' by Ferenc Molnár opposite Annibale Betrone. In 1938, she joined the company of the Teatro Eliseo in Rome and spent the next few years appearing alongside Gino Cervi, Andreina Pagnani and Paolo Stoppa who would become her life-long partner. Their many successes include William Shakespeare's 'La dodicesima notte' (Twelth Night) (1938) and 'Le allegre comari di Windsor' (The Merry Wives of Windsor) in 1939; the adaptation of the French play 'Les jours heureux' by Claude-André Puget (Giorni Felici) also in 1938. In 1944 they all appeared in Ernst Eklund's 'Quartetto pazzo' directed by 'Guido Salvani', remade for the big screen in 1945 with the same team except for Andreina Pagnani who was replaced by Anna Magnani in the role of Elena. It was after the war though that Rina Morelli would be at her most powerful in plays directed by the brilliant Luchino Visconti with whom she would work almost exclusively in the theatre for the next 20 years. His directing genius and her versatility as an actress would perfectly serve modern plays like 'Parenti terribili' (Les parents terribles) by Jean Cocteau (1945), Jean Anouilh's 'Antigone', 'A porte chiuse' (Huis clos) by Jean-Paul Sartre appearing alongside Paolo Stoppa and Vivi Gioi (all in 1945) and 'Zoo di vetro' (The Glass Menagerie) by Tennessee Williams (1946). She triumphed in 1949 in another Tennessee Williams' play: 'Un tram che si chiama desiderio' (A Streetcar Named Desire) with Vivi Gioi again and Vittorio Gassman (she would reprised the role of Blanche Dubois two years later, this time opposite Paolo Stoppa, a young Marcello Mastroianni and Rossella Falk) and in 1951 in Arthur Miller's 'Morte di un commesso viaggiatore' (Death of a Salesman). Visconti would also direct her in classics like Shakespeare's 'Rosalinda o come vi piace' (As You Like It) (1948), 'Troilo e Cressida' (Troilus and Cressida) (1949), Goldoni's 'La locandiera' (1952) and 'L'impresario di Smirne' in 1957, Anton Checkhov's 'Tre sorelle' (Three Sisters) (1952) and 'Zio Vania' (Uncle Vania) (1955). Her work also includes Vittorio Alfieri's 'Oreste' (1949); two plays by the Italian author Diego Fabbri: 'Il seduttore' (1951) and 'Figli d'arte' (1959); another Miller's play 'Uno sguardo dal ponte (A View from the Bridge)' with Paolo Stoppa; 'I ragazzi della Signora Gibbons' (Mrs. Gibbons' boys) by Will Glickman and Joseph Stein and 'Immagini e tempi di Eleonora Duse' all three in 1958 and 'L'Arialda' by Giovanni Testori in 1960, all directed by Visconti. Her last collaborations with the maestro were 'Il tredicesimo albero' (Le treizième arbre) by André Gide and Checkhov's 'Giardino dei ciliegi' (The Cherry Orchard), respectively in 1963 and 1965.- Actress
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Alma Moreno is a Filipino actress who has made her mark both as a popular movie and television personality. She was born Venessa Lacasamana on May 25, 1959 in Cervantes, Ilocos Sur to Frank Lacsamana and Jean Moreno, a couple who lived a simple, yet noble life.
She appeared in her first movie as a "dama" in "Urduja" with Amalia Fuentes. Her first starring role was "Ligaw na Bulaklak Part 2" with Vic Silayan, which launched her to full stardom . The 1976 film was directed by Philippine National Artist Ishmael Bernal.
From then on until the late '80s, Alma starred in a number of skin flicks that were big hits at the box-office. Thus, Moreno reigned as the "Sex Goddess of Philippine Movies" in the '70s and '80s.
Bernal also directed her in one of the best Filipino films of all time, "City After Dark". Her other notable films include "Makati Avenue Office Girls" and "Mga Bilanggong Birhen".
Versatile in sexy, drama and comedy films, Alma hosted a number of highly-rated television variety shows in the '80s for which she earned the title Shining Star. Alma, who is also an excellent dancer, popularized a sexy, high-cut outfit called the "Tangga" in her TV shows like The Other Side of Alma, Rated A and Loveli-Ness. She has been nominated in various film and TV acting awards for her dramatic and comedic performances.
Ness, as she is fondly called in local show business, had a long live-in relationship with Action King Rudy Fernandez, with whom she has a son, Mark Anthony Fernandez, also an actor. She also figured in another high-profile live-in affair with the King of Comedy, Dolphy, which produced a son, Vandolph a former child actor.
Moreno later married actor-politician Joey Marquez. Their 12-year union produced three children: Yeoj, Win-win, VJ, and adopted Em-Em. The marriage was annulled in 2004.
In the first half of the new millennium, Alma Moreno divided her time between her professional commitments with GMA-7's "Habang Kapiling Ka" (daily tele-novela), and "Da Boy and Da Girl" (weekly sit-com); and her personal commitments to the less fortunate sectors of society in Paranaque, particularly the "kababaihan," for whom she undertakes various socio-civic and community development projects.
She ran for the mayoralty race of Paranaque City in 2004 but lost. Later that year, she starred in her comeback film "Kapalit". Recently, she sat as one of the resident judges of the defunct dance contest "You Can Dance".