Chita Rivera, an iconic performer of stage and screen with credits including “Chicago,” “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and “Sweet Charity,” has died. She was 91.
Her daughter, Lisa Mordente, announced the death but did not provide a specific cause saying Rivera died “peacefully” on Tuesday, January 30, 2024, “in New York after a brief illness.”
Born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero in Washington, D.C., on January 23, 1933, Rivera was a trained ballerina from a young age and went on to study at the School of American Ballet before heading to Broadway. By age 16, she had auditioned for famed choreographer George Balanchine and moved to New York City to attend the School of American Ballet. Her early Broadway career included roles in “Guys and Dolls” (1953) and “Can-Can” (1954).
It was in 1957’s “West Side Story” that Rivera had her breakout Broadway role, playing “Anita” in one of the most popular musicals of all time. On that show, she worked with musical theater legends Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins, Arthur Laurents, and Stephen Sondheim. Rivera was also known for her association with the creative team of John Kander and the late Fred Ebb.
Rivera was a triple threat, amassing 10 total Tony nominations and winning twice, the first time for “The Rink” in 1984 and then for “Kiss of the Spider Woman” in 1993.
She rebounded from a car accident in 1988 that crushed her right leg and became an indefatigable star on the road. She was on Broadway in a raucous production of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” in 2012 and the chilly “The Visit” in 2014, earning another best actress Tony nomination.
Rivera also appeared regularly on TV entertainment shows and was in the film version of “Sweet Charity” in 1969 with Shirley MacLaine and “Chicago” in 2002.
In her mid-70s, when other dancers had slowed down or retired, she starred in “Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life,” a stage show that combined music, dance, and storytelling.
In August 2009, Rivera was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor the U.S. can give a civilian. Rivera put her hand over her heart and said she shook her head in wonderment as President Barack Obama presented the medal. In 2013, she was the marshal at the Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City.
See also: Chita Rivera: A Life in Photos
