Rita Moreno joins super exclusive 'PEGOT' club, becomes first Latino to win a Peabody

The Peabody Awards organisation has decided to honour Rita Moreno, 87,  a Puerto Rican actress, singer and dancer, with the career achievement award. With this, she will be the first Latino to have received this.

This means that she will become the third person to achieve the 'PEGOT' status by winning a Peabody, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award, in that order. The other two people who are a member of the 'PEGOT' club are Mike Nichols and entertainer Barbra Streisand.

Moreno posted the following on Twitter, saying "So proud to be the first Latino recipient."

Coincidentally, she is also the only other person to ever receive the Peabody Career Achievement Award. Carol Burnett, a legendary comedian was the first one to receive this order.

Moreno will be honoured at the Peabody Awards annual gala in New York City on May 18.

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In a career that has spanned over 70 years, she is known for the film ‘West Side Story’ and ‘The King and I.’

Most recently, she starred in three seasons of the popular Latino remake of Norman Lear’s classic sitcom, ‘One Day at a time’ on Netflix, which was nominated for a 2017 Peabody Award. She has also signed on to be an executive producer in Steven Spielberg’s remake of West Side Story wherein she will also be co-starring.

“Rita Moreno is a unique talent who has not only broken barriers, but whose career continues to thrive six-plus decades after her acting debut,” Jeffrey P. Jones, executive director of Peabody Awards.

“We are delighted to celebrate her many contributions to entertainment and media, as well as her passion for children’s programming and important social issues,” added Jones.

Moreno has a lot of other prestigious awards to her name, such as the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award and The Kennedy Center Honor for Lifetime contributions to American culture award.

Apart from these, she was also awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Barrack Obama and Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.

The Peabody Awards will announce nominees for its 78th awards on television, radio and digital media on April 9. The Peabody awards started in 1941 in the US and have been named after the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody and the awards are given to powerful and esteemed people and organisations on radio, television and digital media.