Chita Rivera was born in Washington, D.C., on January 23, 1933, to a Scottish-Italian mother and a Puerto Rican father.
She has discussed the impact her Catholic upbringing has had on her professional life and personal life.
Katherine Anderson was a teacher, and Pedro Julio Figueroa Rivera was a government clerk and musician by profession.
Chick Corea, the stage moniker of the late musician and conductor Armando Anthony Corea, was one of Rivera’s three siblings.
As a child, Rivera encountered prejudice on account of her blended ancestry; since then, she has fervently championed the causes of diversity and artistic representation.
Notwithstanding the obstacles she encountered, Rivera’s upbringing shaped her determination and fervor, which ultimately propelled her to achieve triumph in the entertainment and music industries.
