Among the most nominated performers in Tony Award history, she earned 10 nominations, winning twice (for “The Rink” and “Kiss of the Spider Woman”), Rivera also received the 2018 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.
In 1957, she made history in the role that would become both signature to her and one of the most indelible performances of all time: Anita in the Broadway premiere of “West Side Story.”
Among her many honors through a lifetime of performance and activism, Rivera was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in 2009 and received a Kennedy Center Honor in 2002. Her namesake Chita Rivera Awards, presented by The NYC Dance Alliance Foundation, promote and recognize dance and choreographic excellence on Broadway, Off-Broadway and in film.
On screen, Rivera’s feature credits include “Sweet Charity,” “Chicago,” and “tick, tick…BOOM!”
Her final outing in a full Broadway production was in 2015, when she played Claire Zachannassian in “The Visit” by Kander and Ebb with a book by Terrence McNally.
Before “The Visit” was on Broadway, it was produced at The Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Massachusetts in the summer of 2014. Joe Donahue and I were fortunate enough to meet her at Williams and Joe interviewed her for the show. We air a portion of that interview this morning in memoriam.
