Who is Belita Moreno?
If you were a fan of the comedy-drama series “George Lopez”, you are certainly familiar with the character of Benita ‘Benny’ Lopez, an overbearing mother and George’s co-worker at Powers & Sons Aviation – the actress who portrayed this character is Aurabela Belita Moreno.
Besides the aforementioned role, she has over 55 acting credits to her name, and is perhaps still known best for her role as Lydia in the 1986 series “Perfect Strangers”, while she’s been seen starring in numerous movies, including “Clear and Present Danger”, “Grosse Pointe Blank”, and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”, among others.
Early life and education
Belita Moreno was born under the zodiac sign of Scorpio on 1 November 1949, in Dallas, Texas USA thus she holds American nationality although she comes from a family of Mexican and American-Mexican descent. Her mother Aurora was a high school Spanish teacher, and her father Abel Moreno was a World War II veteran; Belita hasn’t spoken about having any siblings, thus it’s believed that she is an only child.
Belita had an interest in performing from an early age, so she began acting in school plays, dreaming of a career in Hollywood. She attended Justin F. Kimball High School, and upon matriculating in 1967, Belita enrolled at the Southern Methodist University, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Art (Theatre) in 1970, and then continuing her studies at the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts in Santa Maria, California, making her stage debut in 1974, in the musical “Once Upon a Mattress” by Mary Rodgers.
Roles in series
Belita made her first television appearance portraying Helen Dinsmore in two episodes of the series “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman” in 1977, followed by her role as Julia in “Visions” in 1979. She then guest-starred as Cathy Short in an episode of the 1982 series “Lou Grant”, before cast to play Angie Novello in the TV mini-series “Robert Kennedy and His Times” in 1985.
During 1985, Belita mostly guest-starred in series, including “Family Ties” and “Mary“ before she was cast to play Lydia in the comedy series “Perfect Strangers“, also starring Mark Linn-Baker, Bronson Pinchot and Melanie Wilson, which was broadcast from 1986 until 1992.
In the following years, Belita was seen starring in the TV mini-series “Tales of the City” (1993), and making an appearance as Gloria Bryan in the popular ‘90s sitcom “Melrose Place” in 1996. In 2002, she was cast to play her most notable role to date, as Benita Lopez in “George Lopez”, which brought her the Imagen Foundation Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Comedy in 2004, and nominations for two American Latino Media Arts (ALMA) Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Television Series in 2006, and Outstanding Supporting Actress – Television Series, Mini-Series or Television Movie, in 2007.
In 2008, Belita was seen as Magdalena in “Wizards of Waverly Place”, followed by her role as Betty in “Fairly Legal” in 2011, and she then guest-starred in episodes of the series’ “Red Band Society” in 2014, and “Family Guy” in 2015, while her most recent television appearance was her portrayal of Rosario in “On My Block” in 2019.
Roles in movies
Belita made her big-screen debut as Alcira in the 1977 movie “Three Women“, followed by her role as Daphne Corelli in “A Wedding“ in 1978, and the same year, she was seen in “Remember My Name“, also starring Anthony Perkins and Geraldine Chaplin, while in the following year, she starred in Robert Altman’s “A Perfect Couple“.
In the early ’80s, Belita was seen in the TV movie “A Gun in the House”, and she then acted in “Mommie Dearest” (1981), “Jekyll and Hyde…Together Again” (1982), “Swing Shift” (1984), before in 1985 starring in several TV movies, including “Do You Remember Love” and “Crime of Innocence”, followed by her role as Jane in the 1986 movie “Nobody’s Fool”.
In 1990, she was cast to play Mrs Buckley in the comedy-drama “Men Don’t Leave”, also starring Kathy Bates and Jessica Lange, and her next movie role came in 1994, when she portrayed Jean Fowler in “Clear and Present Danger”, followed by her roles in the TV movies “Death Benefit” and “The Bachelor’s Baby” in 1996.
Belita was Mrs Kinetta in the 1997 movie “Grosse Pointe Blank”, and then concentrated on TV roles before she portrayed Marion in the 2005 short movie “Barbara Jean”. After that, in 2010 she was cast to play Mrs Norton in “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”, based on the book of the same title by Jeff Kinney, and she reprised her role in the sequel “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules” in 2011, which was her most recent movie role.
In 2017, she was heard as the voice of the Shopkeeper in the animated adventure comedy “Ferdinand”, which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film.
Love life and relationships
Belita hasn’t been the subject of any rumors and controversies concerning either her love life or her sexual orientation – it’s widely known that she’s been a married woman since 12 July 1981. Her husband is Joel Rudnick, who is a talent agent by profession, although he had an uncredited role in the 1971 movie “Fiddler on the Roof“, and was seen in “Two Idiots in Hollywood“ in 1988.
The two prefer to keep their private lives away from the media’s attention, however, it’s known that they have two children together, but whose names and genders they haven’t revealed.
As of June 2022, Belita is still in a marriage.
What is she doing today?
Since she made her most recent appearance in 2019, many of Belita’s fans believe that she retired from acting; they were happy to see her in an interview with Rossiter Meets, posted on YouTube in April 2022, in which she confirmed that she’d stopped acting, and was currently working as an acting coach. When the interviewer asked her what her advice is to aspiring actors and actresses, she answered: ‘They need to study, to keep working…sometimes it takes over 20 years to be a good actor’, while she also added that they need to be kind to themselves, and the most important advice she could give is: ‘Do a lot of meditation!’
Age, height, and net worth
Belita’s age is 72, she has brown hair and brown eyes, weighs around 130lbs (60kgs), and is 5ft (1.52m) tall.
According to sources, as of June 2022, her net worth has been estimated at over $2 million.
