Rita (given name)

Rita is a common female first name, often a name in its own right, but mostly a shortened version of Margarita. The feast day of Rita is generally celebrated on May 22 in honor of Saint Rita of Cascia. The following are notable people with the given name Rita.

In media and entertainment[]

In film, television and theater[]

Rita Avila, Filipina actress
Rita Camarneiro (born 1988), Portuguese comedian and TV presenter
Rita Christiani (1917–2008), Trinidad-born African-American dancer
Rita Hayworth (1918–1987), American actress
Rita Sririta Jensen (born 1981), Thai model and actress
Rita Moreno (born 1931), Puerto Rican-born American actress
Rita Raave (born 1951), Estonian actress
Rita Ratnayake (1934–2006), Sri Lankan Sinhala cinema actress
Rita Rätsepp (born 1962), Estonian actress
Rita Romilly Benson (1900 – 1980), American actress and acting teacher

Rita Rudner (born 1956), American comedian and writer
Rita Simons (born 1977), English actress and singer
Rita Tushingham (born 1942), English actress
Rita Wilson (born 1956), American actress, singer, and producer

In journalism and literature[]

Rita Mae Brown (born 1944), American writer and activist
Rita Cosby (born 1964), American journalist
Rita Deverell (born 1945), Canadian journalist
Rita Dove (born 1952), American poet
Rita Clay Estrada (born 1941), romance novelist
Rita Panahi, American-Iranian Australian opinion columnist
Rita Sebastian (died 1996), Sri Lankan journalist

In music[]

Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984), stage name of Rita Thyagarajan, an Indian playback singer
Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962), stage name of Rita Yahan-Farouz Kleinstein, Persian-born Israeli singer and actress
Rita (Japanese singer), Japanese voice actress, singer, and lyricist
Rita Abatzi (1914–1969), Greek singer
Rita Coolidge (born 1945), American singer
Rita Daniela (born 1995), Filipina singer, actress and television host
Rita Gorr (born 1926), Belgian operatic mezzo-soprano
Rita Guerra (born 1967), Portuguese singer
Rita Hosking (born 1969), American singer-songwriter
Rita Hunter (1933–2001), British operatic dramatic soprano
Rita Kassabian, Armenian composer
Rita Lee (born 1947), Brazilian musician
Rita MacNeil (born 1944), Canadian country and folk singer
Rita Marley (born 1946), Jamaican singer and widow of Bob Marley
Rita Ora (born 1990), British singer-songwriter
Rita Pavone (born 1945), Italian singer
Rita Reys (born 1924), Dutch jazz singer
Rita Sakellariou (1934–1999), Greek singer
Rita Simons (born 1977), English actress and singer
Rita Steblin (born 1951), Canadian musicologist
Rita Streich (1920–1987), operatic soprano

In visual arts[]

Rita Angus (1908–1970), New Zealand painter
Rita Donagh (born 1939), British artist

Fictional characters[]

Rita, a female cat in the show Animaniacs
Rita, in the franchise Jungledyret Hugo
Rita, a Saluki dog in Disney film Oliver & Company
Rita Bennett, in the TV series Dexter and the novels by Jeff Lindsay on which the series is based
Rita Desjardin, from the book Carrie
Rita Foster, in the film Cypher
Rita Hanson, in the film Groundhog Day (as well as the musical of the same name)
Rita Loud, in the TV series The Loud House
Rita Malone, a female rat in the film Flushed Away
Rita Mordio, in Tales of Vesperia
Rita Repulsa, a villain in the TV series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Rita Skeeter, in the Harry Potter franchise
Rita Stapleton, in the TV series The Guiding Light
Rita Sullivan, in the British soap opera Coronation Street
Rita or Susan White, in Educating Rita
Rita, the Cardcaptors name for the Cardcaptor Sakura character Rika Sasaki
Rita Torres, in the TV series Exosquad
Rita, a little girl in the series Jelly Jamm
Rita, the head girl in the first books of the series The Naughtiest Girl

In government and politics[]

Rita of Armenia (1278–1333), Empress of Byzantium
Rita Baranwal, Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy, USA
Rita Barberá (born 1948), Spanish politician and mayor of Valencia
Rita Borsellino (1945–2018), Italian politician
Rita Fan (born 1945), Hong Kong politician
Rita Johnston (born 1935), Canadian politician
Rita Lau (born 1953), retired Hong Kong senior government official
Rita Potts Parks (born 1962), American politician
Rita Süssmuth (born 1937), German politician
Rita Tamašunienė (born 1973), Lithuanian politician
Rita Verdonk (born 1955), Dutch politician

In sport[]

Rita Crockett (born 1957), American volleyball player
Rita Drávucz (born 1980), Hungarian water polo player
Rita Jeptoo (born 1981), Kenyan marathon runner
Rita Tamašauskaitė (born 1941), Lithuanian rower

In other fields[]

Rita of Cascia (1381–1457), Italian Augustinian saint
Rita Atria (1974–1992), Italian anti-Mafia witness
Rita R. Colwell (born 1934), environmental microbiologist
Rita Humphries-Lewin, Jamaican stockbroker and businesswoman
Rita Jenrette (born 1949), former wife of U.S. Representative John Jenrette
Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909–2012), Italian-American neurologist
Rita de Acosta Lydig (1875–1929), American socialite
Rita Jaima Paru, Papua New Guinean food entrepreneur

This page or section lists people that share the same given name.
If an led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.