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Chita Rivera, the beloved Broadway star of West Side Story, Chicago and Kiss of the Spider Woman, died today in New York following a brief illness. She was 91.
Her death was announced by her daughter, Lisa Mordente, who said that Rivera died peacefully.
One of the most nominated performers in Tony Award history – she earned 10 nominations, winning twice (for The Rink and Kiss of the Spider Woman) and receiving the 2018 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre – Rivera rocketed to fame in 1953 with Guys and Dolls, cementing her stature as a Broadway leading lady in 1954 with Can-Can, Mr. Wonderful in 1956 and, in 1957, the role that would become both a personal signature and one of the most cherished peformances in Broadway history: Anita in the original Broadway premiere of West Side Story (1957), a role she repeated in London.
Other career highlights include starring roles in Bye Bye Birdie, Jerry’s Girls and the original Broadway cast of Seventh Heaven. She also starred in touring productions of Born Yesterday, The Rose Tattoo, Call Me Madam, Threepenny Opera, Sweet Charity, Kiss Me Kate, Zorba, and Can-Can with The Rockettes.
Her most recent starring roles included The Visit, the final John Kander/Fred Ebb/Terrence McNally musical directed by John Doyle and choreographed by Graciela Daniele on Broadway; the Broadway revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood; the Broadway and touring productions of The Dancer’s Life, a musical celebrating her career written by Terrence McNally and directed by Graciela Daniele; and the revival of the Broadway musical Nine with Antonio Banderas.
Born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero in Washington, DC, Rivera was the third of five children of Pedro Julio and Katherine del Rivero. She trained as a ballerina (from age nine) before receiving a scholarship to the School of American Ballet from the legendary choreographer George Balanchine. Her first appearance, at age 19, was as a principal dancer in Call Me Madam.
Rivera was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama and received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor. She has headlined with her sold-out solo concerts at New York’s Carnegie Hall and London’s Cadogan Hall, was honored as a Living Landmark by the New York Landmarks Conservancy; and Great Performances aired their special Chita Rivera: A Lot of Livin’ To Do, a retrospective of her extraordinary life and career on PBS. Her current solo CD is entitled And Now I Swing.
She published a long-awaited, critically-acclaimed book Chita: A Memoir last year (HarperOne).
MORE TO COME…
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