Chita Rivera dead at 91: Tony-winning Broadway star famous for roles in West Side Story and Guys and Dolls passes away

Chita Rivera has died at the age of 91.

The Tony-winning actress had a long list of Broadway credits spanning more than seventy years, and was a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honor.

No cause of death has been announced at this time, but her friend Merle Frimark confirmed the sad news of her death in a statement on Tuesday.

“It is with immense personal sadness that I announce the death of beloved Broadway icon Chita Rivera. My dear friend of over forty years lived to be 91,” Frimark said.

Born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero Anderson – the American star was known professionally as Chita Rivera, who played roles in Broadway musicals including Anita in West Side Story, Velma Kelly in Chicago and the title role in Kiss of the Spider Woman.

Thanks to her involvement in such iconic musicals, Rivera has amassed ten Tony Award nominees, three of which she won, including one for Lifetime Achievement.

In August 2009, she became the first Latina and the first Latino American to receive a Kennedy Center Honor and receive a Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barack Obama.

Rivera’s career began with a change in 1951, when she reportedly accompanied a friend to the audition for the touring company of Call Me Madam starring Elaine Stritch, but ultimately got the part herself.

Rivera was clearly written in the stars and then seemed to glide effortlessly through a number of other Broadway productions – including Guys and Dolls, Can-Can, Mr. Wonderful with Sammy Davis, Jr. starring, and Seventh Heaven.