Rita Moreno: Marlon Brando Romance Was 'madness'

Rita Moreno admitted it was "madness" to date Marlon Brando.

The 92-year-old actress had an on/off relationship with the late screen legend from between 1954 and 1962 and the 'West Side Story' star - who previously described her late husband Leonard Gordon as controlling - thinks she was typically attracted to men who were "not nice to women" because she had low self esteem.

Discussing things in her past she can't believe ever happened, Rita told E! News: "Immediately the picture comes up, Marlon Brando, with whom I went on and off for almost seven years.

"When I think of it now, I think, Wow… But that was my madness then, I didn't like myself. And I always picked men who were not nice to women. Of course, that's perfect for them."

'The Prank' actress loves to "spread joy" in small ways, such as complimenting someone's clothing choices or helping with their groceries, and she enjoys making other people happy, especially as she knows she isn't always recognised by them.

She said: "I call it spreading joy. If I see someone on the street who has a beautiful jacket on, I don't mind just stopping and saying, 'Excuse me, that is a beautiful jacket, you have good taste.' I found in my life that that makes people very happy.

"And people don't know who I am. Don't assume that everybody knows who Rita Moreno is. They just know that somebody was very kind to them at the supermarket and helped them with their packages. I love doing that because I know it makes the day of that person."

The '80 For Brady' star recently told how she made a new friend in the supermarket after feeling lonely when she moved to a new neighbourhood.

She told People magazine: “One day I thought, ‘This is ridiculous. I have to meet some people.'

“That particular day when I made that decision, I went to the supermarket to do some shopping, and I ran into a lady who I kept running into, who's lovely.

“She had this big smile on her face, and she recognised me, obviously, and we started to talk. I said to her, ‘Would you like to have lunch with me?’

“She said, ‘Lunch with you? Really?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ She said, ‘Yeah.’ We went and had lunch.

“She sat down and she said, ‘Do you always pick people up like this in the market?’

“I told her the truth. I said, ‘No, but you always have struck me as such a lovely person. Since I'm new here and I don't know anybody, I thought I'd take a dip.’ She's lovely."