Rita Moreno Was a Huge Inspiration For West Side Story's Beauty Looks

Kay Georgiou, the film's hair department head, did a lot of homework ahead of working on this production. She looked back at reference photos from the 1950s of popular movie stars, in addition to everyday people living in New York City, but most importantly, she looked back at what the Puerto Rican community that's represented in the film looked like at the time. She wanted to make sure the styles were "historically correct" and "authentic." And she had help from a major player: Rita Moreno.