The world was recently introduced to Rachel Zegler through Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story but there is so much more to this up-and-coming actress. Here is everything you need to know from her social media to future projects!
Rachel Zegler who plays Maria from West Side Story has completely raised the bar for singers and actors to aspire to, and she’s only 20! We have all the info that you need to know about the industry’s newest and brightest star.
Zegler’s career exploded after being cast in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. Zegler originally responded to a casting call on twitter, singing “I Feel Pretty” and “Tonight.” Out of 30 thousand auditions, the production team chose Zegler. Ironically, this was not her first time playing the role of Maria. At the age of 16, Zegler played Maria at Bergen Performing Arts Centre in her local production of West Side Story at home in New Jersey. Just a few short months later, her audition process for Spielberg’s film began. She went from playing the leads in highschool and local productions such as Beauty and the Beast, Les Misérables, and The Little Mermaid to winning Golden Globes’ Best Actress award in 2022. This prestigious honor is just one of many accomplishments the star has achieved at such a young age. Zegler took to twitter, as she often does, to share the news with her fans.
i got cast as maría in west side story on 1/9/19.
and i just won a golden globe for that same performance, on 1/9/22.
life is very strange.
— rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) January 10, 2022
View this post on Instagram
Spielberg built a strong friendship with Zegler throughout the months of filming. Zegler continuously expresses gratitude for her mentor and says she’s learned so much from him as a director. The two are very close, and we would love to see them work together again in the future!
— rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) February 9, 2022
View this post on Instagram
The movie won the Best Film category, and Zegler was equally as quick to congratulate her friends!
so proud of our film. so proud of ariana, tod, gary, paul, adam, rena, andy, brian, shawn, janusz, and steven. what a beautiful recognition for a true labor of love.
— rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) February 8, 2022
Watch Zegler express her love for the film and how the whole process unfolded below!
View this post on Instagram
Zegler didn’t wait a moment before auditioning for her next major film. The star is featured in the DC superhero movie Shazam! Fury of the Gods which is premiering in theaters June 2nd 2023. As if being a part of the DC franchise isn’t exciting enough, Zegler is also playing Snow White in Disney’s live-action remake! In this Snow White adaptation, Zegler will be sharing the screen with Gal Gadot, who is playing the evil queen. The casting for this movie is immaculate! Filming is set to begin in 2022, and until it premieres, in the meantime you can watch Zegler in West Side Story on Disney Plus on March 2nd.
#WestSideStory starring @rachelzegler debuts on Disney+ on March 2. pic.twitter.com/Z9n1C1D0Br
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) February 9, 2022
Zegler’s talent for acting is as impeccable as her ability to leave viewers in awe and astonishment of her voice! Zegler created a youtube account over five years ago where she posts a range of covers, showcasing her insanely skilled singing abilities.
Her posts have gained millions of views and adoring comments. More recently, the singer posts videos about mental health and what it feels like to become famous and successful yet still feel sad sometimes. Through her ability to connect and be vulnerable with her fans, you can’t help but absolutely love her!
Destined to be famous, Zegler posted a video on twitter in 2018 of her singing “Shallow” from A Star Is Born. The clip immediately blew up and now has over 12 million views. People were stunned by her angelic voice and range, especially considering how effortless the challenging song seemed to be for her.
someone: you use autotune😤😤😤😤
me: pic.twitter.com/9sPBkDj2kf— rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) December 14, 2018
Even Zegler’s love life is thriving. Zegler made her relationship with Josh Andrés Rivera, who plays Chino in WSS, official on Valentine’s Day. The co-stars are definitely pretty cozy together, and we couldn’t be happier for them.
we are committing valen-crimes pic.twitter.com/FGJH0yufgY
— rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) February 14, 2022
Although the star has already accomplished a terrific amount in her career, she reminds fans that at the end of the day she’s still a regular and relatable girl.
— rachel zegler (she/her/hers) (@rachelzegler) February 14, 2022
From her incredible performances to her relatable twitter posts, we have so much love for Zegler and are beyond excited to follow along with the rest of her career!
