Actress, Singer and Dancer. Rivera won two Tony Awards as Best Leading Actress in a Musical and received eight additional Tony nominations. She trained as a ballerina before receiving a scholarship to the School of American Ballet. Chita was a principal performer in "Call Me Madam," "West Side Story," "Bye Bye Birdie," "The Rink," "Chicago," "Jerry's Girls," "Kiss of the Spider" "Woman," "Guys and Dolls," "Can-Can," "Seventh Heaven" and "Mr. Wonderful." She received Kennedy Center Honors in 2002 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2009. Broadway's Astaire Awards were renamed The Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography in 2017. She received the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2018.She was one of five children of Katherine Anderson and Pedro Julio Figueroa del Rivero. Her father died when she was seven years old. In 1957, she married fellow West Side Story performer Tony Mordente, and they had a daughter the following year. They divorced in 1966.
Actress, Singer and Dancer. Rivera won two Tony Awards as Best Leading Actress in a Musical and received eight additional Tony nominations. She trained as a ballerina before receiving a scholarship to the School of American Ballet. Chita was a principal performer in "Call Me Madam," "West Side Story," "Bye Bye Birdie," "The Rink," "Chicago," "Jerry's Girls," "Kiss of the Spider" "Woman," "Guys and Dolls," "Can-Can," "Seventh Heaven" and "Mr. Wonderful." She received Kennedy Center Honors in 2002 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2009. Broadway's Astaire Awards were renamed The Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography in 2017. She received the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2018.She was one of five children of Katherine Anderson and Pedro Julio Figueroa del Rivero. Her father died when she was seven years old. In 1957, she married fellow West Side Story performer Tony Mordente, and they had a daughter the following year. They divorced in 1966.
Bio by: HH
Gravesite Details
Buried beside her mother
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