Happy 91st birthday to ageless Chita Rivera!

Chita Rivera, the forever young Broadway legend, turns 91 today!

One of my all-time favorite showbiz memories was interviewing Miss Rivera as Dick Van Dyke was standing next to her during a West Coast Tony Awards viewing event where she was being honored. She was so down-to-Earth and fun! And their connection from their time on Broadway in Bye Bye Birdie was still apparent.

The original star of such Broadway shows as West Side Story, Chicago, Bye Bye Birdie, Nine, Jerry’s Girls, The Rink, Bring Back Birdie, Merlin, The Visit and Kiss of the Spider Woman is an inspiration to everyone to keep doing what you love.

She is a ten-time Tony Award nominee and a three-time Tony Award recipient, including one for Lifetime Achievement.

Chita is the first Latina and the first Latino American to receive a Kennedy Center Honor and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 from President Barack Obama.