The 91-year-old actress says she also receives photos of Diesel’s family and calls his partner, Paloma Jiménez, “one sexy babe”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(829x371:831x373):format(webp)/Vin-Diesel-Rita-Moreno-Fast-X-112823-d6d8294db54c4ccfaf2a156f2ac5f978.jpg)
Vin Diesel and Rita Moreno in ‘Fast X’. PHOTO: UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Rita Moreno remains close with her onscreen kin Vin Diesel.
The EGOT winner, 91, who starred as the action star’s grandmother in last summer’s blockbuster Fast 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, model Paloma 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 told Total Film that they had met at an event and kept in touch after Diesel told her he was a fan.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999x0:1001x2):format(webp)/vin-diesel-siblings-4-13cb7ea53cb14d538c370ae02a1e8029.jpg)
Vin Diesel, his partner Paloma Jiménez and their family in 2015.JEFFREY MAYER/WIREIMAGE
The legendary star then invited him to join her for the 2021 premiere of Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake. (Moreno won an Oscar playing the role of Maria in the original 1961 musical film and had a small role in the new version.)
Afterwards, Moreno said, they went out for drinks and the Fast and the Furious franchise came up.
“My grandson Justin, who is an enormous fan of his, collared Vin and said ‘You really should have my grandmother in the movie. She could be the kind of feisty old woman that grabs you by the nose and tells you off.’ Justin, to this day, is absolutely convinced that he cast me,” she told Total Film.
Her character, Abuela Toretto, is “truly the boss,” Moreno said. “But she would never do something like Justin described!”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)/Fast-X-Cast-112823-968bf2d223774c7cb1000bb0fb763350.jpg)
The cast of ‘Fast X’.PETER MOUNTAIN/UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Diesel himself shared the news of Moreno’s casting on Instagram in May 2022, posting a video with her and Fast franchise costar Michelle 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 movie Family 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 Switch is streaming on Netflix.
News
“Guilty as Charged!” – The Chilling First Words of Caitlin Clark’s Alleged Stalker in Court
A jaw-dropping moment has erupted online as a video surfaces showing the first words spoken in court by Michael Thomas Lewis, the man accused of stalking WNBA…
‘No way’ – Sophie Cunningham turns heads with Caitlin Clark-inspired outfit before Indiana Fever go on to lose
WNBA star Sophie Cunningham stunned fans with a Caitlin Clark-inspired outfit before their team’s eventual loss on Sunday. Cunningham, 28, has been in the spotlight since…
Sophie Cunningham slams WNBA referees for not protecting ‘star player’ Caitlin Clark after Indiana Fever bust-up
WNBA star Sophie Cunningham has launched a stunning attack on referees for failing to protect the league’s top talent. The 28-year-old Indiana Fever guard has been dubbed Caitlin…
New Gruesome Slo-Mo Video Shows Close-Up Of Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles Exploding During Game 7 Of NBA Finals, And It Does Not Look Good
Tyrese Haliburton only had one more game to play this season, and he won’t be able to finish it. In the first quarter of Game 7 against the…
Simone Biles Speaks Out After Slamming Riley Gaines for Her Views on Transgender Athletes
Simone Biles is speaking out again after she slammed Riley Gaines for her views on transgender athletes in sports. Biles, 28, posted a lengthy message on X on Tuesday, June 10,…
Stephen A. Smith blew up the screen by calling Angel Reese a “jealous bully,” exposing her foul play and Caitlin Clark’s teasing. The backlash turned Reese into the WNBA’s new “villain” and fueled the question: Will her career crash before it really takes off?
The burgeoning rivalry between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark has become a defining narrative of the early WNBA season, carrying the intensity of their college battles into…
End of content
No more pages to load