The actress also spoke to ET about her legacy and the 'West Side Story' remake.
Rita Moreno has worked hard and fought for her incredible career.
ET caught up with the 89-year-old EGOT winner at Variety's Power of Women event earlier this week, where she shared some empowering words of wisdom for women pursuing their dreams.
"I would say to stick to what you love, don't let anybody tell you what you should be doing," she told ET's Lauren Zima. "If this is what you wanna do, be in show business, stick to it. It is hard and nobody said it's going to be easy. But if you really love that, do it."
"Don't let anybody change your mind simply because they think they know better. They don't. You know what you love, and what you love you will always do well," she stated. "Stick to your guns! If this is what you want or this is what you want to say, do it! Do it! You have no obligation to anyone but yourself."
With a career spanning over 70 years, Moreno was thrilled to be honored with the Power of Women award.
"I am astonished! It has been a crazy year for me. I am everywhere, doing everything," she exclaimed, mentioning her documentary, Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It. "It is a terrific one. [It] has got fabulous reviews."
Born in Puerto Rico and raised in New York City, Moreno became the first Latina to win an Academy Award for her famous role as Anita in 1961's West Side Story. She also makes an appearance in the upcoming Steven Spielberg remake.
"I am so excited! I can't stand it! You are going you are going to wet your knickers," she said of the upcoming musical, noting that the young actors performed "fabulously."
"Our Maria [Rachel Zegler] was 17 when she started the film, like Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, which is based on," Moreno shared. "She had her 18th birthday during the filming of the movie, and the all of the Latino kids are really Latino. I mean, imagine that? That didn't happen in the original."
Praising the creative team behind the film, Moreno added, "This is a reimagining and I wont say 'improved' because that puts down the other one. And we don't want to do that because if the first one didn't happen, then this would not be happening."
For more on Moreno, watch below.
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