Chita Rivera, who rose to fame as an actress and dancer with the original Broadway production of "West Side Story," passed away at 91 years old in New York, according to her daughter in a statement she sent to The New York Times.
The actress's daughter did not detail the causes of death.
Rivera, who is of Puerto Rican descent, debuted on Broadway in 1952. In her career, she starred in hits such as "Chicago," "Kiss of the Spider Woman," "Nine" and "Bye Bye Birdie." Additionally, she won two Tony Awards. She was the first woman of Hispanic descent to receive the Kennedy Prize (2002) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009), according to Billboard .
"To generations of musical aficionados, Ms. Rivera was a whirling, bounding, high-kicking elemental force of the dance; a seductive singer of smoky ballads and sizzling jazz; and a propulsive actress of vaudevillian energy. She appeared in scores of stage productions in New York and London, logged 100,000 miles on cabaret tours and performed in dozens of films and television programs," explained The New York Times.
In 1957, Ms. Rivera married Anthony Mordente, a dancer in “West Side Story.” They divorced in 1966. In addition to her daughter, Lisa, she is survived by two brothers, Julio and Armando; and a sister, Lola del Rivero.
