Broadway star Chita Rivera, whose screen and stage credits include ‘Sweet Charity’, ‘Chicago’ and ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’, has died at 91. Rivera’s publicist, Merle Frimark, confirmed the news, revealing that she passed on “peacefully” in New York “after a brief illness.” The musical theatre icon was born in Washington, DC, in 1933, where she began training in ballet at the age of 9. Rivera received 10 Tony nominations and won twice for her performances in ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ and ‘The Rink.’ The actress’ Broadway career spanned from playing Anita in ‘West Side Story’ to performing alongside Dick Van Dyke in ‘Bye Bye Birdie.’ Her most recent screen appearance was in Netflix’s 2021 movie ‘Tick, Tick… Boom!’ starring Andrew Garfield and Vanessa Hudgens. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of ‘Hamilton’, stated that Rivera was “magnificent” and “the trailblazer for Puerto Rico on Broadway.”
