Our Valley Santa Clarita September/October 2016 | Page 15

Rita Moreno: Entertainer
Rita Moreno is one of the most decorated Latinos in history. In 2004 she
was awarded the Presidential Medal of
Freedom by President George W. Bush.
In 2010 she was awarded the 2009 National Arts Medal by President Barack
Obama at a White House ceremony.
She is the first Latina actress to win the
Academy Award. She also has six Emmy
nominations and two wins, a Grammy
and a Tony. She is one of only twelve
people to be EGOT winners. They have
all won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and
Tony.
Ellen Ochoa: Astronaut
Ellen Ochoa, child of an Anglo mother
and Mexican American father, grew up in
Southern California. An excellent student,
she earned a degree in physics from San
Diego State University and both a master’s and doctor’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University. After
graduating she became a researcher at
Sandia Labs and then at NASA. During
that time, she was awarded three patents
for her work on optical systems.
In 1991 Ellen became an astronaut. In

Born in 1931 in Puerto Rico, Rita came to
the United States (New York City) with
her mother in 1935. At the age of 18 she
signed a seven year contract with MGM.
She was typecast early as an “ethnic.”
She was an Asian in The King and I, a
Native American in Seven Cities of Gold
and yes, she was a Puerto Rican in West
Side Story. She persevered in her efforts
to beat typecasting and soon starred in
The Electric Company, The Ritz and the
HBO series, Oz.
“You always have to be able to get up,
dust yourself off, and move forward.”

1993 she became the first Hispanic woman in space. Today she is a veteran of four
space missions and has logged hundreds
of hours in space. In 2013 Ellen became
the first Hispanic to head NASA’s Johnson
Space Center.
Ellen is married and has two children. She
is a classical flutist that played with the
Stanford Symphony Orchestra.
“I tell students that the opportunities
I had were a result of having a good
educational background. Education is
what allows you to stand out.”

Alejandro González Iñárritu: Director
Born in Mexico City, Alejandro is the first
Latin American director to get three nominations and win two Oscars. Nominated
for Babel, Birdman and The Revenant, he
won the Oscar for the latter two. He is the
first director to win back to back Academy
awards since 1950. He has also directed
Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Biutiful all
of which have achieved critical acclaim.
He studied filmmaking in the U.S. before
returning to Mexico and directing Amores
Perros, starring Gael García Bernal, a film
that earned an Academy Award nomina-

tion for best foreign language film. That
was followed by 21 Grams starring Naomi
Watts, Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn.
Then came Babel starring Cate Blanchett
and Brad Pitt. The film got seven Oscar
nominations.
“For me, the most important thing that
I have to accomplish is to be a good father. That’s the most difficult challenge
of my life. That’s the most important
thing for me, more than films.”