Dolores Conchita (Figueroa del Rivero) Rivera (1933 - 2024)

Born 23 Jan 1933 in Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America

Ancestors

Died 30 Jan 2024 at age 91 in New York, United States

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Biography

Chita (Figueroa del Rivero) Rivera has Puerto Rican ancestry.

I don't see the camaraderie [on Broadway] as much anymore. Everyone wants to be a soloist before really learning how to relate. When you can relate to the person next to you without words and be alive, when you can keep the energy and interest going, it is magical. --Chita Rivera^[1]

Chita Rivera was an American actress, singer, and dancer. Rivera was the recipient of numerous awards and honors including two Tony Awards, two Drama Desk Awards, and a Drama League Award. The first Latina and the first Latino American to receive a Kennedy Center Honor (2002), she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. A Lifetime Achievement Award was awarded to her at the Tonys in 2018. ^[2]

Her notable theatrical roles included a dancer in Guys and Dolls (1950); Anita in West Side Story (1957); Velma Kelly in Chicago (1975); and the title role in Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993). Chita won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical twice for her roles in The Rink (1984) and Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993). She was nominated for Tony Awards for her roles in Bye Bye Birdie (1961), Chicago (1975), Merlin (1983), Jerry's Girls (1986), Nine (2003), and The Visit (2015). ^[3]

She also appeared in numerous film and television productions. Her big screen credits include Sweet Charity (1969), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), and Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021). On the small screen, she appeared in The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1973–1974), The Judy Garland Show (1963), The Carol Burnett Show (1971), and Will & Grace (2005). ^[4][5]

Her autobiography, Chita: A Memoir, was published in 2023.^[6]

A video focused on her role in West Side Story can be viewed here.^[7]

Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero was born 23 January 1933 in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Pedro Julio Figueroa del Rivero and Katherine Anderson. When Chita was born her father, a clarinetist and saxophonist for the U.S. Navy Band, was 33 and her mother, a government clerk, was 27. Her father was a native of Puerto Rico and her mother was of Scottish, Irish, and African-American descent.^[8] Rivera was one of five children.^[9] Her father died when she was eight years old.

At the time of the 1940 U.S. Census, she lived with her family in Police Precinct 13, Washington, District of Columbia. ^[10]

Rivera married fellow West Side Story dancer Tony Mordente on 1 December 1957 during the Broadway run of the show. Chita's performance was so integral to the show that the London production of West Side Story was postponed until she gave birth to the couple's daughter Lisa in 1958. Chita and Tony were divorced in 1966.^[11]

She died on 30 January 2024, in New York City, New York, United States, at the age of 91.^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ Chita Rivera Biography on IMDb.
2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Chita Rivera," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chita_Rivera (accessed February 6, 2017).
3. ↑ "Chita Rivera Tony Awards Info". Broadway World. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
4. ↑ Morris, Bob (April 17, 2023). "Chita Rivera on Love, Showbiz and All That Jazz". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
5. ↑ Chita Rivera Biography on IMDb.
6. ↑ Chita: A Memoir, Kindle Edition. Amazon.
7. ↑ Chita Rivera's West Side Story | From the Archives | Great Performances on PBS.
8. ↑ "Chita Rivera: What I Know Now". aarp.org. AARP. March 27, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
9. ↑ "Lighting Up The Stage With Stars Of A Certain Age -- For Chita Rivera And A Host Of Other Veteran Actresses, Age Is No Longer An Issue | The Seattle Times". archive.seattletimes.com. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1940", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K737-KK1 : Tue Nov 28 14:30:52 UTC 2023), Entry for Sally Anderson and Katherine Del Reviro, 1940.
11. ↑ McFadden, Robert D. (January 30, 2024). "Chita Rivera, Electrifying Star of Broadway and Beyond, Is Dead at 91". The New York Times. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
12. ↑ McFadden, Robert D. (January 30, 2024). "Chita Rivera, Electrifying Star of Broadway and Beyond, Is Dead at 91". The New York Times. Retrieved January 30, 2024.

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