Rita
Encyclopedia
Rita is a common female first name, often a name in its own right, but mostly a shortened version of either Rachel
or Margaret
. The name may refer to:
Rachel
Rachel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is a prophet and the favorite wife of Jacob, one of the three Biblical Patriarchs, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She was the daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah, Jacob's first wife...
or Margaret
Margaret (name)
Margaret is a female first name, derived from the Greek word margarites meaning "pearl." It may have originally been derived from the Sanskrit word मञ्यरी mañjarī....
. The name may refer to:
Given name
- Rita of ArmeniaRita of ArmeniaRita of Armenia was a daughter of King Levon II of Armenia and Queen Keran. She was the wife of Byzantine co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos, making her a junior empress-consort of the Byzantine Empire. In 1317, she became the only empress upon the death of the senior empress, Irene of Montferrat...
(1278–1333), Empress of Byzantium - Rita of CasciaRita of CasciaSaint Rita of Cascia is an Italian Augustinian saint.-Early life:St. Rita was born at Roccaporena near Spoleto, Umbria, Italy....
(1381–1457), Italian Augustinian saint - Rita AbatziRita AbatziRita Abatzi was a Greek rebetiko musician who began her career in the first part of the 1930s.She was born in Smyrna, Asia Minor, now İzmir, Turkey. A versatile singer of rebetiko, Smyrneika and other music, she was a popular performer on gramophone records in the 1930s...
(1914–1969), Greek singer - Rita AngusRita AngusRita Angus was a New Zealand painter born in Hastings. Along with Colin McCahon and Toss Woollaston, she is credited as one of the leading figures in twentieth century New Zealand art...
(1908-1970), New Zealand painter - Rita AtriaRita AtriaRita Atria was a witness in a major Mafia investigation in Sicily, breaking the Omertà - code of silence. She committed suicide in July 1992, a week after the Mafia killed the prosecutor Paolo Borsellino, with whom she had been working.-Family background:Atria was born into a Mafia family in...
(1974-1992), Italian anti-Mafia witness - Rita Mae BrownRita Mae BrownRita Mae Brown is an American writer. She is best known for her first novel Rubyfruit Jungle. Published in 1973, it dealt with lesbian themes in an explicit manner unusual for the time...
(b. 1944), American writer and activist - Rita R. ColwellRita R. ColwellRita R. Colwell is an environmental microbiologist and scientific administrator. She became the 11th Director of the United States National Science Foundation on August 4, 1998....
(b. 1934), environmental microbiologist - Rita CoolidgeRita CoolidgeRita Coolidge is a multiple Grammy Award-winning American vocalist. During the 1970s and 1980s, she charted hits on Billboard's Pop, Country, Adult Contemporary and Jazz charts.-Career:...
(b. 1945), American singer - Rita CosbyRita CosbyRita Cosby is a television news anchor and correspondent, radio host, and best selling author. She is currently a Special Correspondent for the CBS syndicated program Inside Edition, specializing in interviewing newsmakers and political figures...
(b. 1964), American journalist - Rita CrockettRita CrockettRita Louise Crockett is a former American competitive volleyball player and Olympic silver medalist. Crockett played NCAA women's volleyball with the Houston Cougars.-External links:...
(b. 1957), American volleyball player - Rita DeverellRita DeverellRita Shelton Deverell, CM is a Canadian television broadcaster and social activist, who was one of the founders of the Canadian television channel Vision TV...
(b. 1945), Canadian journalist - Rita DonaghRita DonaghRita Donagh is an artist known for her realistic paintings and painstaking draughtsmanship.Formerly, Rita Donagh taught at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne where she met Richard Hamilton, whom she later married. She also taught at the University of Reading, the Slade School of Art, and...
(b. 1939), British artist - Rita DoveRita DoveRita Frances Dove is an American poet and author. From 1993-1995 she served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, a position now popularly known as "U.S. Poet Laureate"...
(b. 1952), American poet - Rita DrávuczRita DrávuczRita Drávucz is a female water polo player from Hungary, who competed for her native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece....
(b. 1980), Hungarian water polo player - Rita Clay EstradaRita Clay EstradaRita Clay Estrada is an U.S. writer of romance novels as Rita Clay, Tira Lacy and Rita Clay Estrada, she also wrote non-fiction books about writing romance novels...
(b. 1941), romance novelist - Rita FanRita FanRita Fan Hsu Lai-tai GBM GBS CBE JP was the President of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong after the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom in 1997. She was the first woman to hold that position....
(b. 1945), politician in Hong Kong - Rita GorrRita GorrRita Gorr , is a Belgian operatic mezzo-soprano. She possessed a large, rich-toned voice and was an intense singing-actress, especially in dramatic roles such as Ortrud and Amneris , two of her greatest roles....
(b. 1926), Belgian operatic mezzo-soprano - Rita GuerraRita GuerraRita Guerra is a Portuguese singer.-Biography: Born and raised in Lisbon, she has been very successful in her home country of Portugal. She has long competed in the Portuguese national pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest. She first participated in 1992, making it to the national final...
(b. 1967), Portuguese singer - Rita HayworthRita HayworthRita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
(1918–1987), American actress - Rita HoskingRita HoskingRita Hosking is an American composer and musician based in Davis, California. She plays Americana and bluegrass styles of music with both standards and original songs. Since the release of Are You Ready?, she has been performing around the country at concerts, festivals, and other...
(b. 1969), American singer-songwriter - Rita JenretteRita JenretteRita Jenrette, born Rita Carpenter, November 25, 1949 in San Antonio, Texas is an American celebrity, actor, television journalist, and real estate executive. She is most famous for the interview she gave about her marriage to disgraced U.S...
(b. 1949), former wife of disgraced U.S. Representative John Jenrette, posed for Playboy magazine - Rita JeptooRita JeptooRita Jeptoo Sitienei is a Kenyan marathon runner. She won the 2006 Boston Marathon, setting her personal best of 2:23:38 hours. She has also won marathons in Stockholm and Milan, as well as having represented Kenya in the event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics...
(born 1981), Kenyan marathon runner - Rita JohnstonRita JohnstonRita Margaret Johnston was a politician in British Columbia, Canada. Johnston became the first female premier in Canadian history when she succeeded William Vander Zalm in 1991 to become the 29th Premier of British Columbia.Much of her early life was spent running a successful trailer park in the...
(b. 1935), Canadian politician - Rita KalmbachRita KalmbachRita Kalmbach was the first mayor of Norfolk County. It was during her tenure that Norfolk County became a separate municipality from Haldimand County...
, Canadian politician - Rita KassabianRita kassabianRita Kassabian is an Armenian composer born in Lebanon.She had a passion for the piano since an early age: from 1996 till 1997, she follows regularly the advices of Walid Akl who encourages her to excel in music...
, Armenian composer - Rita LauRita LauRita Lau Ng Wai Lan or Rita Ng Wai Lan, GBS, JP is a Hong Kong Government senior civil servant. She was appointed Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development in July 2008 after her predecessor Frederick Ma resigned due to health reasons...
(b. 1953), Hong Kong civil servant - Rita LeeRita LeeRita Lee Jones Carvalho , simply known as Rita Lee, is a Brazilian rock singer and composer. Lee continues to be a popular figure in Brazilian entertainment, where she is also known for being an animal rights activist and a vegetarian...
(b. 1947), Brazilian musician - Rita Levi-MontalciniRita Levi-MontalciniRita Levi-Montalcini , Knight Grand Cross is an Italian neurologist who, together with colleague Stanley Cohen, received the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discovery of nerve growth factor...
(b. 1909), Italian-American neurologist - Rita de Acosta LydigRita de Acosta LydigRita Lydig was an American socialite regarded as "the most picturesque woman in America." She was photographed by Adolf de Meyer, Edward Steichen, and Gertrude Käsebier, sculpted in alabaster by Malvina Hoffman, and was painted by Giovanni Boldini and John Singer Sargent, among others...
(1875-1929), American socialite - Rita MacNeilRita MacNeilRita MacNeil, CM, ONS is a Canadian country and folk singer from the community of Big Pond on Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Island. Her biggest hit, "Flying On Your Own", was a crossover Top 40 hit in 1987 and was covered by Anne Murray the following year, although she has had hits on the country...
(b. 1944), Canadian country and folk singer - Rita MarleyRita MarleyAlpharita Constantia Anderson , better known as Rita Marley, and sometimes called "Nana Rita", is the widow of reggae legend/musician Bob Marley, and a member of the trio the I Threes, Bob Marley's backup singers.-Biography:...
(b. 1946), Jamaican singer and widow of Bob Marley - Rita Montone, a former American actress.
- Rita MorenoRita MorenoRita Moreno is a Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress. She is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, and was the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award....
(b. 1931), Puerto Rican actress - Rita PatelRita PatelRita Patel is a former One Day International cricketer who represented India. She played one One Day Internationals.-References:...
(b. 1987), Brit chica - Rita PavoneRita PavoneRita Pavone is an Italian ballad and rock singer who enjoyed success through the 1960s. Pavone is also an actress.-Singing career:...
(b. 1945), Italian singer - Rita ReysRita ReysRita Reys is a jazz singer from the Netherlands.At the 1960 jazz festival of Juan Les Pins , she received the title 'Europe’s first lady of jazz'.-Early career:...
(born 1924), Dutch jazz singer - Rita RudnerRita RudnerRita Rudner is an American comedienne, writer and actress.-Early life:Rudner was born in Miami, Florida, the daughter of Frances, a homemaker, and Abe Rudner, a lawyer. Her mother died when she was 13. After graduating from high school at 15, Rudner left Miami and headed to New York City to embark...
(b. 1956), American comedian and writer - Rita SakellariouRita SakellariouRita Sakellariou was a famous Greek singer. Amongst her fans were Andreas Papandreou, Melina Mercouris, Aristotle Onasis, Anthony Quinn and others. She worked with some of the greater Greek musicians like Vassilis Tsitsanis and Giannis Papaioannou...
(1934–1999), Greek singer - Rita Simons (b. 1977), English actress and singer
- Rita StreichRita StreichRita Streich , was one of the most admired and recorded sopranos of the post-war period.Rita Streich was born in Barnaul in Russia, and moved to Germany with her parents during her childhood. She grew up bilingual, something that was extremely helpful during her later career...
(1920-1987), operatic soprano - Rita SüssmuthRita SüssmuthRita Süssmuth is a German politician and a member of the Christian Democratic Union .From 1985 to 1988, Süssmuth was Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth under Chancellor Helmut Kohl. She was a member of the German Bundestag from 1987 to 2002...
(b. 1937), German politician - Rita TushinghamRita Tushingham-Career:Born in Liverpool, Tushingham began her career as a stage actress at the Liverpool Playhouse. Her screen debut was in A Taste of Honey...
(b. 1942), English actress - Rita VerdonkRita VerdonkMaria Cornelia Frederika "Rita" Verdonk is a retired Dutch politician initially of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy until she was expelled in October 2007, she later formed her own party Proud of the Netherlands . She served as Minister for Integration and Immigration in Cabinets...
(b. 1955), Dutch politician - Rita WilsonRita Wilson-Early life:Wilson was born Margarita Ibrahimoff in Los Angeles, California.Her father, a Bulgarian who worked at a racetrack, was born in Greece. Before immigrating to the US, he had lived in Bulgaria and Turkey....
(b. 1956), American actress and producer
Fictional characters
- Rita (Cypher), in the film Cypher
- Rita, in the franchise Jungledyret HugoJungledyret HugoJungledyret Hugo is a Danish media franchise featuring the cartoon adventures of an anthropomorphic mammal named Hugo. Created by Danish author and filmmaker Flemming Quist Møller and produced at A...
- Rita Mordio, in Tales of VesperiaTales of Vesperiais the tenth main title in the Tales series. It was developed by Namco Tales Studio and published by Namco Bandai Games for the Xbox 360. The title was announced on December 22, 2007 at Jump Festa, and was released on August 7, 2008 in Asia, and on August 26, 2008 in North America...
- Rita BennettRita BennettRita Bennett is a fictional character created by Jeff Lindsay for his book series about a vigilante serial killer named Dexter Morgan. She also appeared in the television series Dexter, based on Lindsay's books. She was the girlfriend and later, wife of Dexter in both media...
, in the TV series Dexter - Rita RepulsaRita RepulsaRita Repulsa is a fictional character from the television series Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. She is based on the Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger villain Witch Bandora...
, a villain in the TV series Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers - Rita Skeeter, in the Harry Potter franchise
- Rita StapletonRita StapletonRita Stapleton Bauer was a fictional character on the CBS soap Guiding Light. The character was played by Lenore Kasdorf, and was created by Bridget and Jerome Dobson, shortly after they became Guiding Light's head writers in 1975. Rita was written out in 1981, when Kasdorf announced she was...
, in the TV series The Guiding Light - Rita SullivanRita SullivanRita Sullivan is a long-standing character in the UK television ITV soap opera, Coronation Street...
, in the TV series Coronation Street - Rita or Susan White, in Educating RitaEducating RitaEducating Rita is a stage comedy by British playwright Willy Russell. It is a play for two actors set entirely in the office of an Open University lecturer....
- Rita, a SalukiSalukiThe Saluki, also known as the Royal Dog of Egypt and Persian Greyhound is one of the oldest known breeds of domesticated dog. From the period of the Middle Kingdom onwards, Saluki-like animals appear on the ancient Egyptian tombs of 2134 BC. They have connections both to the Bible and Imperial...
dog in the 1988 Disney film Oliver & CompanyOliver & CompanyOliver & Company is a 1988 American animated film in which a homeless kitten named Oliver joins a gang of dogs to survive on the 1980s New York City streets. The film was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and became the twenty-seventh animated feature released in the Walt Disney Animated...
Surname
- Adam RitaAdam RitaAdam Rita is a Canadian Football League executive who has served as the head coach of Toronto Argonauts, Ottawa Rough Riders, and BC Lions and as general manager of the Lions and Argonauts....
(born 1947), Canadian Football League executive and former coach - Jani RitaJani RitaJani Rita is a professional ice hockey winger.-Playing career:Despite limited NHL experience, Rita has played extensively in the American Hockey League and in the SM-liiga in his native Finland. Rita started his hockeycareer in a youth team of EKS...
(born 1981), Finnish ice hockey player
Stage name
- Rita (Israeli singer) (b. 1962), Persian-born Israeli singer and actress
- Rita (Japanese singer), Japanese voice actress, singer, and lyricist
Locations
- Djarrit, also known as Rita, a community in the Marshall Islands
- 1180 Rita1180 RitaRita is an asteroid of the main belt with a diameter of 97 km. It possess a 0.159614 eccentricity of and an orbital period of 2 915,88 days .Rita has an average orbital speed of 14,90283178 km/s and an inclination of 7,19821º....
, an asteroid
Weather
- Hurricane RitaHurricane RitaHurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
- Tropical Storm Rita (disambiguation)Tropical Storm Rita (disambiguation)The name Rita has been used for one tropical cyclone in the Atlantic Ocean and ten tropical cyclones in the western Pacific Ocean.Rita was used on the modern six-year lists in the Atlantic:...
, the name of several storms
Media and entertainment
- RitaRita (album)Rita was an album released in 2005 by Portuguese singer Rita Guerra. This album was a great success in Portugal and was awarded several platine´s discs.-Track listing:# À espera do sol - Waiting for the sun# Chegar a ti - Reaching you...
, an album by Rita Guerra - RITA AwardRITA AwardThe RITA Award is the most prominent award given throughout the genre of romance novel and some other romantic fiction. It is presented by Romance Writers of America . It is named for the RWA's first president, Rita Clay Estrada. It signifies excellence in one of 13 categories of romantic fiction.-...
, an award for romantic fiction - Rita (opera)Rita (opera)Rita, ou Le mari battu is an opéra comique in one act, composed by Gaetano Donizetti to a French libretto by Gustave Vaëz. The opera, a domestic comedy consisting of eight musical numbers connected by spoken dialogue, was completed in 1841 under its original title Deux hommes et une femme...
, an opera by Gaetano Donizetti - Rita (Marathi film), a 2009 film directed by Renuka Shahane
Other meanings
- Republic of Ireland Taekwon-Do Association, a martial art organisation
- Research and Innovative Technology AdministrationResearch and Innovative Technology AdministrationThe Research and Innovative Technology Administration is a unit of the United States Department of Transportation . It was created in 2005 to advance transportation science, technology, and analysis, and to improve the coordination of transportation research within the Department and throughout...
, research programs agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation - Resistance Inside the Army, a protest movement
- Rhee International Taekwon-Do (Australia)Rhee Taekwon-DoRhee Taekwon-Do , also known as Rhee Tae Kwon-Do, Rhee Tae Kwon Do, or Rhee Taekwondo, is a martial art school in Australia and New Zealand teaching the Korean martial art of taekwondo. Its full name is "Rhee International Taekwon-Do" with "" or "" appended...
, a martial art school - Rita (genus)Rita (genus)Rita is a genus of catfishes of the family Bagridae. It includes six extant species, R. chrysea, R. gogra, R. kuturnee, R. macracanthus, R. rita, and R. sacerdotum, and one extinct species, R. grandiscutata.-Distribution:Rita species are found in large rivers throughout the Indian subcontinent and...
, a genus of catfishes - Rita (roller coaster), a roller coaster ride at Alton TowersAlton TowersAlton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...
theme park, England. - RIT AmbulanceRIT AmbulanceRIT Ambulance is a New York State Certified Ambulance Corps, run as a student organization at the Rochester Institute of Technology. The ambulance serves the entire Rochester Institute of Technology campus and portions of surrounding Henrietta, New York....
, an emergency medical services organization