Broadway Star Chita Rivera has Died, Aged 91

The Tony award-winning performer, who originated the role of Anita in "West Side Story," paved the way for Latina women on Broadway

The renowned Broadway artist Chita Rivera, who spent nearly six decades on the stage, has passed away at the age of 91.

Born in Washington, D.C. in 1933, Rivera received her earliest exposure to music from her father, Pedro Rivero — who was a clarinetist and saxophonist in the U. S. Navy Band. She studied dance at the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet and was selected to audition for the School of American Ballet in New York at the age of 15.

Her first role on Broadway came in 1951, when she was cast in the touring company of Irving Berlin's Call Me Madam. However, the role that was to propel her into the spotlight was that of Anita in Bernstein's West Side Story (1957).

In 1960, Rivera created the role of Rose in Bye Bye Birdie, where she played opposite Dick van Dyke — and was nominated for a Tony award. This nomination would be the first of ten, two of which she won: for The Rink (1984) and Kiss of the Spider Woman (1993).

Rivera was a trailblazer for Latina women on Broadway and paved the way for many other performers to follow in her footsteps.

In August 2009, Rivera's significant achievements on the stage were recognized by the awarding of the Presidential Medal of Freedom — one of the highest honors bestowed in the United States. In 2018, she was given a lifetime Tony award.

"I wouldn’t know what to do if I wasn’t moving or telling a story to you or singing a song," Rivera told The Associated Press in 2015. "That’s the spirit of my life, and I’m really so lucky to be able to do what I love, even at this time in my life."