The Great American Songbook Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with a mission
to inspire and educate by celebrating the Great American Songbook.
Chita Rivera
2015 New standard Award
Born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero in Washington, D.C., Chita Rivera’s fifty-year career makes her one ofthe most enduring figures of American popular music. She is recognized for her roles in the acclaimed Broadway musicals CAN-CAN, WEST SIDE STORY, CHICAGO, BYE BYE BIRDIE, THE RINK, KISS OF THE SPIDER-WOMAN, NINE, THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD, and most recently THE VISIT. Chita’s film career includes Sweet Charity, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Chicago. Throughout her career, she has been closely associated with composer and lyricist John Kander and Fred Ebb, earning Tony nominations for originating leading characters in four of the duo’s musicals. From 2005-2007 she starred in CHITA RIVERA: THE DANCER’S LIFE, a musical revue based on her life. In 2002, she was the first person of Latino heritage to receive recognition at the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2009, President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award. She has earned multiple Tony Awards, and received the Theatre World Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2015. Chita continues to tour and perform actively; she recently presented her one-woman show, CHITA: A LEGENDARY CELEBRATION on the Palladium stage in September 2014.
To learn more about Chita's life and career, please visit www.chitarivera.com.
