Chita Rivera, “West Side Story” star and Latina trailblazer, dies at 91

Broadway icon Chita Rivera, best known for her role as Anita in the original 1957 Broadway cast of “West Side Story,” has died at age 91. Rivera died Tuesday in New York after a brief illness, her daughter said in a statement provided to CBS News.

Rivera, a trailblazer for other Latinas aspiring to the Broadway stage, was honored with 10 Tony nominations and won twice. In 2018, she received a special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre. 

Born in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 23, 1933, Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero Montestuco Florentina Carnemacaral del Fuente was one of five siblings. Her father died when she was 7 years old and her mother was left to raise the children on her own. 

Rivera trained as a dancer from a young age and won a scholarship to the prestigious School of American Ballet at 16.

In her 2023 book, “Chita: A Memoir,” Rivera described herself as two people: Chita and Dolores. She said Dolores has a darker side, but “I believe that Dolores is responsible for me having a career. She’s the guts. She’s the courage.”

Rivera harnessed that drive to catapult herself onto the Broadway stage, rising to stardom with her performance in “West Side Story” and going on to star in other hit shows including “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Guys and Dolls,” “Chicago” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman.”

She is survived by her daughter Lisa Mordente and her siblings Julio, Armando and Lola del Rivero, the statement said.

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