Chita Rivera, the dynamic dancer, singer and actress who garnered 10 Tony nominations, winning twice, in a long Broadway career that forged a path for Latina artists and shrugged off a near-fatal car accident, died Tuesday. She was 91.
Rivera’s death was announced by her daughter, Lisa Mordente, who said she died in New York after a brief illness.
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 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.
“She was a true Broadway legend,” playwright Paul Rudnick said on X, formerly Twitter. “She always delivered and audiences adored her. The moment she stepped onstage, the world became more exciting and glorious.”
She won Tonys for The Rink in 1984 and Kiss of the Spider Woman in 1993. When accepting a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2018, she said “I wouldn’t trade my life in the theater for anything, because theater is life.”
he was nominated for the award seven other times, for Bye Bye Birdie, which opened in 1960; Chicago, 1975; Bring Back Birdie, 1981; Merlin, 1983; Jerry’s Girls, 1985; Nine, 2003; and Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life, 2005.
“I don’t think we have enough original musicals,” she told The Associated Press in 2012. “I know I’m being old fashioned, but the theater is the place where music, lyrics, words, scenery and stories come together. And I’ve been blessed enough to have done several shows when they really did. They take you places and they’re daring. That’s what we need.”
Advertisement
0 Comments