Chita Rivera Dies: Broadway Icon & Original ‘West Side Story’ & ‘Chicago’ Star Was 91

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Chita Rivera attends the Chita Rivera Awards 2023 at NYU Skirball Center on May 22, 2023 in New York City.
Jason Mendez/Getty Images

Chita Rivera, one of Broadway’s show-stopping legends and one of the most Tony Award-nominated performers in history, has died at the age of 91.

Rivera’s death was announced by her daughter, Lisa Mordente, who says she died peacefully after a brief illness. Rivera is known for starring in some of the most beloved Broadway musicals since the 1950s. She became a star when she originated the role of Anita in first production of West Side Story in 1957. Rivera also originated the role of Velma Kelly in Chicago, which opened in 1975 with Gwen Verdon as Roxie Hart.

Rivera is a 10-time Tony nominee with two competitive Tony Award wins (for The Rink and Kiss of the Spider Woman). She also received a Tony lifetime achievement award in 2018 and was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2009. In 2002, she became the first Latina to be given a Kennedy Center Honor.

Few performers have starred in more original Broadway casts of iconic musicals than Rivera. In addition to West Side Story, Chicago, The Rink, and Kiss of the Spider Woman, Rivera was billed above Dick Van Dyke in the original production of Bye Bye Birdie in 1960 and was in the original cast of Guys and Dolls in 1950. She also starred in the Bye Bye Birdie sequel musical, Bring Back Birdie, in 1981. Her other original Broadway cast credits include Can-Can, Seventh Heaven, Mr. Wonderful, Shinbone Alley, Merlin, Jerry’s Girls, and The Visit.

Paula Kelly, Shirley MacLaine, Chita Rivera in 'Sweet Charity' (1969)

(L-R) Paula Kelly, Shirley MacLaine, Chita Rivera in Sweet Charity (Everett Collection)

She received Tony nominations for both of the Birdie musicals, as well as for Chicago, Merlin, Jerry’s Girls, the 2003 Nine revival, the self-titled musical Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life, and 2015’s The Visit. Rivera shares the record for the most Tony nominations for an actress with Julie Harris, who died in 2013.

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Known for her spectacular dancing and unique voice, Rivera’s career was mostly dedicated to the stage. But she did star in some films such as the movie adaptation of Sweet Charity (1969) alongside Shirley MacLaine and Paula Kelly. She also made appearances on The Carol Burnett Show, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Will & Grace, and Kalamazoo?. Rivera was featured in the Oscar-winning film adaptation of Chicago (as Nickie) and was one of the big hitters in the stacked list of Broadway-star cameos in the Tick, Tick… Boom! movie’s diner scene in 2021.

Rivera was depicted in FX‘s Emmy-winning limited series Fosse/Verdon, which featured the creation of the Sweet Charity movie and Chicago. Rivera was played by Bianca Marroquin.

Rivera was born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero Anderson on January 23, 1933, in Washington D.C. Her father was Puerto Rican musician Pedro Julio Figueroa del Rivero, who died when she was 7 years old. Rivera studied for several years at George Balanchine’s American School of Ballet before making her Broadway debut in Call Me Madam. A near-fatal car accident in the 1980s that crushed her right leg nearly ended Rivera’s performance career, but she danced again, making a triumphant Broadway return in 1993’s Kiss of the Spider Woman, for which she won her second Tony.

See stars and fans pay tribute to Rivera below.

Chita Rivera




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