received praise for her performance, and was nominated for a Tony Award, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical and a Drama Desk Award. The Astaire Awards were rebranded The Chita Rivera Awards for Dance and Choreography in 2017. In 2018, she received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2019, Time Out New York named her "one of the best Broadway divas of all time." In 2020, she was one of the two Grand Marshalls in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California on January 1. Rivera has been a frequent guest narrator at Disney's Candlelight Processional at Walt Disney World, most recently appearing in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Personal life On December 1, 1957, Rivera married fellow West Side Story dancer Tony Mordente. Her performance was so important for the success of the show that the London production of West Side Story was postponed until she gave birth to the couple's daughter Lisa in 1958. They were divorced in 1966. She is Roman Catholic. Select stage credits Filmography Film Television Awards, nominations and honors Rivera has been nominated for the Tony Award ten times, as either Best Featured Actress in a Musical or Best Actress in a Musical. This is the current record for the most individual Tony Award nominations, which she shares with Julie Harris. In 2009, she was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. Rivera was honored as The New Jewish Home's Eight Over Eighty Gala 2016 honoree. She was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Florida in 2018. Awards See also List of Puerto Ricans List of Puerto Rican Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Notes References Further reading 2003 Interview with Chita Rivera about West Side Story TonyAwards.com Interviews with Chita Rivera External links 1933 births Living people American people of Italian descent American actresses of Puerto Rican descent American people of Scottish descent American female dancers American dancers American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American television actresses Drama Desk Award winners Hispanic and Latino American actresses Kennedy Center honorees Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Special Tony Award recipients Tony Award winners 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Washington, D.C. Dancers from Washington, D.C. Dancers from New York (state) Catholics from Washington, D.C.