Who is Belita Moreno?
Aurabela ‘Belita’ Moreno was born in Dallas, Texas USA, on 1 November 1949 – her zodiac sign is Scorpio, and she holds American nationality. She’s an actress who has appeared in over 50 movies and TV series, while she’s perhaps still known best for her portrayal of Mrs Kinetta in the hit 1997 action crime comedy movie “Grosse Pointe Blank”. It was directed by George Armitage, starred John Cusack, Minnie Driver and Dan Aykroyd, and follows the professional assassin Martin Blank who has been sent to Detroit, while he wants to attend his high school reunion party which is taking place there; the movie won two of the 10 awards for which it was nominated.
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Early life and education
Belita was raised alongside her sister Elsie Moreno in Dallas, by their father Abel Moreno who was a Second World War veteran, and their mother Aurora Rodriguez who taught Spanish at a local high school.
Belita became interested in acting while attending Justin F. Kimball High School; she was a member of the school’s drama club, and appeared in various plays performed at the school. Her drama teacher recommended Belita to the director of a local theatre, and she then started appearing in theatre plays as well.
Upon matriculating in 1967, Belita enrolled at Southern Methodist University, from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre in 1971.
She then continued acting in plays at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, until she launched her career on TV.
Roles in TV series
She made her debut TV series appearance in 1977, with her portrayal of Helen Dinsmore, in two episodes of the romantic comedy “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”; a couple of Belita’s following roles were in the 1979 episode “Ladies in Waiting” of the drama “Visions”, the 1982 episode “Fireworks” of the crime drama “Lou Grant” and the 1983 episode “Starr Knight” of the action adventure science fiction “The Powers of Matthew Star”.
She gained recognition in 1985, when cast to play the main character Angie Novello, in the drama mini-series “Robert Kennedy and His Times”, which also starred Jordan Charney and John Ericson, and follows the life of Bobby Kennedy; the mini-series was nominated for four awards, including two Primetime Emmys.
The remainder of the ‘80s saw Belita make a guest appearance in an episode of various series, including the comedy “What’s Happening Now!”, the comedy “Mary” and the popular comedy drama “The Golden Girls”.
Between 1986 and 1992, she portrayed Lydia Markham and Mrs Edwina Twinkacetti in the hit family comedy “Perfect Strangers”, created by Dale McRaven, and which starred Bronson Pinchot, Mark Linn-Baker and Melanie Wilson. It follows a cynical American man whose brother has just come to live with him; the series won one of the eight awards for which it was nominated, including three Primetime Emmy nominations.
Belita is also known best for her portrayal between 2002 and 2007 of Benny, in the hit comedy drama “George Lopez”, created by Robert Borden and Bruce Helford, and which starred George Lopez, Constance Marie and Luis Armand Garcia.
The series follows a manager who’s working at a company in Los Angeles, and it won 11 awards, including a Primetime Emmy, while it was nominated for 32 other awards.
Belita has since appeared in only a couple of series – three of her most recent roles have been in a 2014 episode of the comedy drama “Red Band Society”, the 2015 episode “Peter’s Sister” of the animated comedy “Family Guy” (voice role), and the 2019 episode “Chapter Fifteen” of the comedy drama “On My Block”.
Roles in movies
Belita made her debut film appearance with her portrayal of Alcira in the 1977 mystery thriller drama “Three Woman”, and the following a couple of years saw her appear in several popular movies, such as the comedy “A Wedding”, the thriller drama “Remember My Name”, and the romantic musical comedy “A Perfect Couple”.
She gained recognition in 1981 with her portrayal of Belinda Rosenberg, in the biographical drama “Mommie Dearest”, written and directed by Frank Perry, and which starred Faye Dunaway, Steve Forrest and Diana Scarwid. The movie follows Christina Crawford and her hard life with her adoptive mother Joan Crawford; it won nine of the 20 awards for which it was nominated. Some of Belita’s other notable performances in the ‘80s were in the 1984 romantic war drama “Swing Shift”, the 1985 fantasy comedy “I Dream of Jeannie… Fifteen Years Later”, and the 1988 musical comedy “Two Idiots in Hollywood”.
In 1994, she played Jean Fowler in the hit action crime drama “Clear and Present Danger”, directed by Phillip Noyce, and which starred Harrison Ford, Willem Dafoe and Anne Archer.
It follows Jack Ryan, a CIA analyst who has been involved in a war fought between the US government and a Colombian drug cartel; the movie won three of the 16 awards for which it was nominated, including two Oscar nominations.
Belita has since played and voiced characters in only a couple of movies, while her three most recent roles have been in the 2011 family comedy “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules”, the 2011 comedy “Truth Be Told” and the 2017 animated adventure comedy “Ferdinand” (voice role).
Other credits
Belita sang the song “As Time Goes By” in the 1983 episode “Elyse D’Arc” of the series “Family Ties”.
She can be seen featured in the 2003 documentary series “Intimate Portrait”, as well as in the 2004 documentary movie “TV Guide Close Up: From Comedy Club to Primetime”.
In 2009 and 2010, Belita made a guest appearance in two episodes of the talk-show “Lopez Tonight”.
Awards and nominations
Belita won a 2004 Imagen Foundation Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Comedy, for her performance in “George Lopez”.
She was also nominated for two American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Awards in 2006 and 2007.
Love life and husband
Belita prefers to keep the details of her love life to herself, but it’s still widely known that she has been married for over four decades now. Back on 12 July 1981, she exchanged vows with Joel Rudnick, an American actor and talent agent, who’s probably known best for his roles in the 1971 family musical “Fiddler on the Roof” and the 1988 musical comedy film “Two Idiots in Hollywood”.
Belita and Joel have two children together, but nothing about them is known, as they respect their children’s privacy.
She hasn’t spoken of any other men whom she has perhaps been with, and as of November 2021, Belita is married to Joel Rudnick, and has two children with him.
Hobbies and other interests
Belita’s passionate about travelling, and has been to various US states and many European countries, while her favorite place to travel to is Mexico City, as her grandparents were from Mexico.
She’s a cat-lover, and has had numerous pet cats since the launch of her acting career.
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Belita was physically highly active in her 20s and 30s, and enjoyed playing various sports with her friends, including soccer and volleyball.
She likes to bake chocolate cakes in her spare time.
Late at night, Belita enjoys watching movies starring her favorite actor and actress, Clint Eastwood and Amanda Seyfried, while a couple of her favorites are “Gran Torino”, “Letters to Juliette” and “Les Miserables”.
Age, height and net worth
Belita’s age is 72. She has long brown hair and brown eyes, her height is 5ft (1.5m) and she weighs around 120lbs (55kgs).
As of November 2021, her net worth has been estimated at over $1 million.
