Rachel Zegler

Rachel Anne Zegler ( ; born May 3, 2001) is an American actress and singer. She gained wide recognition for playing María in Steven Spielberg's musical adaptation ''West Side Story'' (2021), winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

She has since portrayed Anthea in the superhero action film ''Shazam! Fury of the Gods'' (2023), Lucy Gray Baird in the teen dystopian drama '' The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes'' (2023) and the titular character in the musical fantasy ''Snow White'' (2025). On stage, she made her Broadway debut playing Juliet in a 2024 revival of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''.

Early life and education

Rachel Anne Zegler was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, on May 3, 2001, to Gina and Craig Zegler. She was named after the fictional character Rachel Green from the TV series ''Friends''. She has an older sister. Her mother is of Colombian descent; her maternal grandmother immigrated from Barranquilla to the United States in the 1960s. Her father is of Polish descent.

Zegler grew up in Clifton, New Jersey. She says she faced racial discrimination on social media during her childhood due to her mixed ethnicity. Zegler became a fan of the theater after seeing her first Broadway show, ''Beauty and the Beast'', at age four. Her first acting role came when she was 12, when she played Shprintze in a play of ''Fiddler on the Roof''. She then decided she wanted to be an actress, and began taking voice and acting lessons.

Zegler attended Immaculate Conception High School, where she starred in several musicals, playing Belle in ''Beauty and the Beast'' (2016), Ariel in ''The Little Mermaid'' (2017), Dorothy Brock in ''42nd Street'' (2018), and Princess Fiona in ''Shrek the Musical'' (2019). For all four performances, she received Metropolitan High School Theater Award nominations in the Actress in a Leading Role category. Her other roles have included Serena in ''Legally Blonde'', Cosette in ''Les Misérables'', and Millie in ''Thoroughly Modern Millie''. Her YouTube channel was active from July 2015 to August 2023 and also garnered media coverage.

Career

2018–2021: ''West Side Story'' and breakthrough

In January 2018, director Steven Spielberg posted an open casting call via Twitter for a new film adaptation of ''West Side Story''. Zegler, then 16 years old, responded with videos of herself singing "Tonight" and "I Feel Pretty"; she had performed the role of Maria at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in 2017. She was selected from more than 30,000 applicants for the role, marking her film debut. The film was released in December 2021, and earned acclaim from critics and audiences.

For her performance, Zegler received a Critics' Choice Movie Award nomination for Best Young Performer and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, She was the first actress of Colombian descent to win in that category and, at age 20, the youngest.

2022–present: Franchise films and Broadway debut

Zegler starred as Anthea in the superhero film ''Shazam! Fury of the Gods'' (2023). The film received mixed reviews. She played protagonist Lucy Gray Baird in the 2023 film adaptation of the ''Hunger Games'' prequel '' The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes''. The film received mixed to positive reception. David Ehrlich of '' IndieWire'' praised Zegler, writing, " heis absolutely captivating in a '' Wild Rose''-coded performance that's equal part Southern pluck and wide-eyed terror... it is a marvel of multiplex acting". Ehrlich also noted the nuances of her performance, adding "Zegler knows how to play nuance big enough for the back of the room to read it all over her face".

In October 2023, Zegler announced her exit from ''Paddington in Peru'', attributing her departure to the SAG strike. Actress Carla Tous replaced Zegler in the role of Gina Cabot. She played Laura in Kyle Mooney's directorial debut film '' Y2K'', produced by A24, which debuted at the South by Southwest Festival in 2024 and was released on December 6 that year to mixed reception.

Zegler made her Broadway debut playing Juliet in a musical adaptation of William Shakespeare's ''Romeo and Juliet'', directed by Sam Gold with music by Jack Antonoff. Performances ran from September 26, 2024, to February 16, 2025. She voiced the lead character in the animated musical film '' Spellbound'', directed by Vicky Jenson, which premiered on Netflix. She then played the titular character in ''Snow White'' (2025), a live-action adaptation of the 1937 animated Disney film. Zegler next is scheduled to make her West End debut playing Eva Perón in a revival of Evita during summer 2025 at the London Palladium. The show will be directed by Jamie Lloyd. She is also set to star alongside Marisa Tomei in the comedy drama ''She Gets It from Me''.

Public image

In 2021, Zegler was listed at number 34 on '' The Ringer''s ''The Big Picture'' podcast's list of the top 35 actors under 35. She is included in the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 class of 2022 list. Also in 2021, AP Entertainment named her as one of the Breakthrough Entertainers of 2021. She was part of the in memoriam segment of the 64th Annual Grammy Awards in honour of Stephen Sondheim, alongside Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, and Leslie Odom Jr.

In January 2022, Zegler garnered online backlash for a since-deleted video in which she gave a dramatic reading of Britney Spears's Twitter messages online to her sister, Jamie Lynn Spears. She later issued an apology on the platform, explaining: "While I meant no disrespect whatsoever, I should have thought about how this could be perceived, and I'm so sorry for upsetting or disappointing anyone. This is not a situation to be taken lightly, and we should all be lifting Britney up in this pivotal time."

She was initially not invited to attend the 94th Academy Awards ceremony of 2022 to support her colleagues involved in ''West Side Story'', which received seven nominations, including Best Picture. After some controversy over the perceived snub in the media, the Academy invited her to be a presenter for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

Personal life

In February 2021, Zegler and actor Josh Andrés Rivera confirmed that they were dating. The two had met on the set of ''West Side Story'' and later starred in '' The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes'' together.

Zegler considers Barbra Streisand to be one of her primary influences. In 2021, Streisand sent Zegler a copy of her album '' Release Me 2'' and a copy of the book ''Streisand From A to Z'', along with a note reading, "For R., from B."

Political views

Zegler has spoken out against colorism regarding the Latino community. In 2022, she stated, "I'm a white Latina. I don't get stopped on the street for the way that I look. That's my privilege, but when I speak Spanish on the subway, I've been spit on. I've been told to go back to where I came from, even when I was born in suburban New Jersey."

She has publicly supported Palestine in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict since 2021. In October 2023, Zegler joined Artists4Ceasefire and signed a letter urging Joe Biden to facilitate a ceasefire to end Israel's bombardment of Gaza. In January 2024, she encouraged her followers on Instagram to pressure government leaders for a ceasefire. In August 2024, she tweeted, . ''Snow White'' producer Marc Platt voiced concerns about Zegler's co-star Gal Gadota former IDF soldier and a vocal supporter of Israelreceiving death threats, which they attributed to Zegler's post. This led Disney to provide additional security for Gadot. After the film's release, Platt's son Jonah partially blamed its box office underperformance on Zegler's public remarks, confirming that his father had flown to New York to reprimand Zegler for her remarks.

In November 2024, Zegler criticized Donald Trump and his supporters, claiming there is a "deep, deep sickness" in the United States and accusing Trump of . She also wrote, She later apologized for .

Filmography

Film

Theatre

Podcast

Discography

Singles

Other charted songs

Other appearances

Accolades

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zegler, Rachel
2001 births
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American women singers
Living people
Actors from Hackensack, New Jersey
Actors from Passaic County, New Jersey
Entertainers from Clifton, New Jersey
American film actresses
American people of Colombian descent
American people of Polish descent
Hispanic and Latino American actresses
Actresses from New Jersey
American pop musicians
American women pop singers
Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
American music YouTubers
Singers from New Jersey
YouTubers from New Jersey
YouTube channels launched in 2015