Chita Rivera

Chita Rivera (born January 23, 1933, Washington, D.C., U.S.—died January 30, 2024, New York City, New York) was an American dancer, singer, and actress best known for her energetic performances in such Broadway musicals as West Side Story, Chicago, and Kiss of the Spider Woman.

Rivera’s first performances were in shows her brother organized for production in the basement of their home. She took voice, piano, and ballet classes, and dance became her favourite activity. She won a scholarship to George Balanchine’s School of American Ballet in New York City and studied there for three years. In 1952 Rivera auditioned for the touring company of Call Me Madam, was hired, and spent 10 months on the road. Returning to New York, she replaced a principal dancer in Guys and Dolls on Broadway and then joined the chorus of Can-Can.

In 1954 Rivera left chorus work and performed Off-Broadway in Shoestring Revue. Roles in Seventh Heaven (1955) and Mr. Wonderful (1956) followed, and then Rivera landed the part of Anita in West Side Story, for which she received her first Tony Award nomination. More plaudits accumulated, among them Tony nominations for Rose in Bye Bye Birdie (1960), Anyanka in Bajour (1964), and Velma in Chicago (1975). She also appeared as Nickie in the film version of Sweet Charity (1969) and toured with her highly regarded cabaret act.

Rivera finally won a Tony, for her performance as Anna in The Rink (1984). One critic said that she commanded the audience like “a lion tamer with a whip snap in her walk.” In 1985 she was back on Broadway in Jerry’s Girls. The following year Rivera suffered a broken leg in an automobile accident, and it was feared that she would never walk again. After many months of rehabilitation, she eased her way back into show business by performing her cabaret act on cruise ships.

In 1993 she returned to Broadway, portraying the film goddess Aurora in Kiss of the Spider Woman. Her energetic, sultry performance earned Rivera her second Tony Award. She received additional Tony nominations for a 2003 revival of Nine and for the autobiographical Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life (2005). Other notable credits included regional theatre productions of Kander and Ebb’s The Visit (2001, 2008, 2014) and a Broadway revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2012). In 2015 Rivera reprised her role as the vengeful Claire Zachanassian in The Visit on Broadway, earning another Tony nomination.

Rivera’s numerous awards included a Kennedy Center Honor (2002) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009). In 2018 she received a Tony Award for lifetime achievement.