Vin Diesel and Rita Moreno in ‘Fast X’.Photo:Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
Rita Morenoremains close with her onscreen kinVin Diesel.
The EGOT winner, 91, who starred as the action star’s grandmother in last summer’s blockbusterFast X, tells PEOPLE they correspond frequently.
“He sends me greetings all the time, sends me pictures of his children,” Moreno says of Diesel, 56, who shares daughter Hania, 15, son Vincent, 13, and daughter Pauline, 8, with his longtime partner, modelPaloma Jiménez.
“He has the most gorgeous wife you’ve ever seen in your life,” she adds about Jiménez. “Oh my God, she is one sexy babe. She’s beautiful.”
Moreno and Diesel first forged a bond years ago. The actress and singer previously toldTotal Filmthat they had met at an event and kept in touch after Diesel told her he was a fan.
Vin Diesel, his partner Paloma Jiménez and their family in 2015.Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage
Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage
The legendary star then invited him to join her for the 2021 premiere ofSteven Spielberg’sWest Side Storyremake. (Moreno won an Oscar playing the role of Maria in theoriginal 1961 musical filmand had a small role in the new version.)
Afterwards, Moreno said, they went out for drinks and theFast and the Furiousfranchise came up.
Her character, Abuela Toretto, is “truly the boss,” Moreno said. “But she would never do something like Justin described!”
The cast of ‘Fast X’.Peter Mountain/Universal Pictures
Peter Mountain/Universal Pictures
Diesel himselfshared the news of Moreno’s castingon Instagram in May 2022, posting a video with her andFastfranchise costarMichelle Rodriguez.
“It’s been my dream forever to work with Rita Moreno and the fact that she’s here, playing my grandmother, makes my soul smile. I’m so blessed,” Diesel gushed.
Quipped Moreno in response, “I think my old age was waiting for you to invite me. Isn’t that nice? And I’m here. And the answer is, ‘Yes, I’ll do it.’ And not only do it—I’m tickled.’”
“I’m so thrilled. This is gonna be such fun,” she said.
Moreno, who appears in the new Netflix movieFamily Switch, turns 92 on Dec. 11, and wants to celebrate.
“Here’s the problem now. I have a condo that I absolutely adore. It’s beautiful, but it won’t hold all of the people that I have for my birthday, because I always have fabulous parties,” says Moreno, who recently moved from a private home in California’s Berkeley Hills area to a condominium building.
“I said to my daughter, ‘What are we going to do? Because I definitely want to celebrate 92. My God, that’s pretty good!” adds Moreno, mom to Fernanda Luisa Gordon, a jewelry designer.
“The last one I had, there were 80 people in a very, very big house,” she continues. “It was a party house. It was huge.”
This year, “I’m thinking of possibly doing two birthday parties in the apartment,” she says. “I may have to have three birthday parties.”
Family Switchis streaming on Netflix.
source: people.com
