[3] A childhood friend of bandleader Tito Puente, Rivera, accompanied by her costume designer mother, earned her first role as a featured dancer in the Broadway production George White's Scandals of 1936.

She next performed at the 1939 New York World's Fair with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth attending during their respective royal visits, something she considered the highlight of her nascent career.

Appearing in many New York venues, including The Apollo, Roxy, Paramount,[5] Loew's State Theatre, Strand and Radio City Music Hall, Rivera shared the stages of such performers as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Mickey Rooney, Ann Miller, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Kathryn Grayson, Victor Borge, Ed Sullivan, Merv Griffin and Betty Hutton.

In 1948, Rivera was honored with the Key to the City of San Juan by Mayor Felisa Rincón de Gautier for her achievements on Broadway, Mexico, and in Hollywood.

In 1963, she made a special appearance at Carnegie Hall that featured opera performers Thomas Hayward, Rina Telli, Dino Formichini and James Boxwill, led by Philharmonic conductor Warner S. Bass.

By the 1980s her husband, Dr. Biscardi retired and the couple relocated to Los Angeles where Rivera would occasionally make TV appearances and travel as a beauty contestant judge.