Who Is Rita Moreno's Daughter? All About Fernanda Luisa Gordon

Rita Moreno welcomed her only child, daughter Fernanda Luisa Gordon, with her late husband, Leonard Gordon

Rita Moreno has won Emmys, Grammys, an Oscar and a Tony for her various parts over the years, but her most important roles are mother and grandmother.

The West Side Story star shares daughter Fernanda Luisa Gordon with her late husband, Leonard Gordon. Moreno and Leonard, a former doctor who later managed Moreno's career, got married in 1965 and welcomed Fernanda a year later. Leonard died in June 2010 at 90 years old.

Despite their 45-year marriage, Moreno doesn't look back on their union fondly. In March 2024, she told PEOPLE that she'd considered leaving Leonard, whom she called "very controlling," on multiple occasions.

“Things began to get very tense. And if it were not for my daughter, I probably would have left,” Moreno shared.

Still, Moreno says Fernanda, whose nickname is Nandy, "was the most wanted child in the whole world" and received plenty of love from both her and Leonard.

"Being an only child means that we poured all our love in her," the EGOT winner told Grand magazine in 2008. "That love is a bottomless well."

Keep reading for everything there is to know about Rita Moreno's daughter.

She was born in 1966

Moreno and Leonard, who wed in 1965, welcomed their first and only child together on Sept. 26, 1966. According to the University of California, Berkeley, Fernanda spent her childhood in New York City before her family moved to Los Angeles. She later received a bachelor's degree from Tufts University and a master's degree from the University of Southern California.

In 2021, the Singin' in the Rain star told Playbill that she was grateful for her daughter. "On September 26, my daughter Fernanda was born," Moreno told the outlet. "She brought with her a light that, through the years, has grown into a perpetual incandescence where I warm myself more and more as the years go by. You could say she is the gift that keeps giving."

She got married in 1996

On Oct. 12, 1996, Fernanda married her husband, David Fisher,at the Stonepine Estate Resort in Carmel Valley, California, according to the New York Times. At the time, the couple lived in Berkeley, California, where Fernanda worked as a performer and a freelance graphic designer. Fisher was working at a local consulting firm.

She has two sons

Fernanda is a mother herself. Her first child, Justin Fisher, was born in July 1998. Moreno's second grandson, Cameron Fisher, arrived two years later in July 2000.

In her 2008 interview with Grand magazine, the Academy Award winner recalled the day of Justin's birth. "Our grandchildren are the light of our lives," she said. "One of the best experiences of our lives, if not the best, next to our daughter's birth, is helping birth our daughter's baby. We were at the hospital with them [Fernanda and David]. I held one of her legs. It was astonishing. It was the most moving experience you can possibly imagine. My baby is giving birth to a baby."

Justin joined Moreno at TIME's Women of the Year Gala in 2023. PEOPLE asked Moreno at the event when she feels most beautiful, to which the proud grandmother pointed out her grandson and replied, "When I'm looking into the eyes of my grandboys, and that's one of them."

She's been a stand-in for her mom

Fernanda was a stand-in for her mother on the set of Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. In 2021, she shared a picture on Instagram with her mom on set.

"Feeling such #gratitude for having been the stand-in for @theritamoreno on the #WestSideStoryMovie 😍🙏," she wrote. "To have been fortunate enough to go through that experience with my mother and a crew and cast of insanely talented people was the #gift of a lifetime. And hearing our friends,family and critics (!) praise the film is the #IcingOnTheCake."

She attended her mom's Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony

Fernanda was present when the EGOT winner received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1995 and posed for photos next to the prestigious star with her parents.

She worked on 80 for Brady

Fernanda worked as her mother's assistant on the 2023 film 80 for Brady, which also starred Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda andSally Field. "Don't miss @80forbrady - it is a great ride with #talent overflowing everywhere😂," Fernanda wrote on Instagram. "And after working on the whole film shoot I am so pleased to see a great outcome. And - it's pretty darn cool to see my name on the credit roll😍."

She is a jewelry designer

Fernanda is a jewelry designer and the owner of Nandiz Designs. In 2021, she and Moreno hit the Oscars red carpet, where the designer wore one of her own creations.

She is close with her mom

Fernanda has described her mother as an "incredibly unique person with incredible energy that not many people have."

Over the years, she's penned several tributes to her mom on Instagram. In 2022, she shared a throwback photo of the two of them, writing: "You have always been an amazing mom - and have become a true friend🌸 Grateful to share so many beautiful experiences with you mí compañera💞."

In another post, Fernanda shared a screenshot from her mother's Playbill interview in 2021. "It was very touching to read this❣️❣️❣️," she wrote. "I am so #blessed to have a close relationship with my #mom. It is a rare #gift at any age but especially at our ages🙏."

She threw her mom a surprise party

Fernanda celebrated her mother's 91st birthday in 2022 with a surprise party. She told PEOPLE that Moreno "was absolutely surprised" by the gathering. "She thought that she was coming upstairs just to see a new light fixture," the designer shared. "She didn't realize that the place would be full of friends."

Fernanda added that Moreno had wanted to celebrate in her new house. "She just didn't see how to make it happen, so she was thrilled that I made it happen," she said.

Moreno shared pictures from the celebration on Instagram. "High on life at 91!!!!! Overjoyed with the outpouring of love and gratitude and elated to have spent my day with some of my nearest and dearest," she captioned the post. "Muchas gracias mi familia y amigos! Besos!"

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