Rachel Zegler

American actress (born 2001)

Rachel Zegler (born May 3, 2001) is a Colombian-American singer and actress from Clifton, New Jersey. She won a Golden Globe Award in 2022 for her role in the 2021 remake of West Side Story.

Rachel Zegler
Zegler in 2019
Born (2001-05-03) May 3, 2001 (age 23)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
Years active2015–present

Career

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Zegler has performed in leading roles in school musicals and local theater productions, as well as taking on occasional work as a wedding singer. At 18, Zegler signed with ICM Partners.

Zegler became well known for her role as Maria in the 2021 remake of West Side Story, which was directed by Steven Spielberg.[1][2] She won a Golden Globe Award for this role in 2022. She later played Lucy-Gray Baird in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes as part of The Hunger Games series, adapted from the book series by Suzanne Collins, as well as

Zegler also had a role in the DCEU movie Shazam! Fury of the Gods.[3] She will play Snow White in a live-action version of the Disney animated movie.[4][5] After being cast as the eponymous character in Disney’s live action remake of Snow White, Zegler faced significant racist media backlash due to her Colombian origin. Fans on social media also reacted negatively after Zegler made comments on the original story itself, stating that she viewed the Prince as a stalker figure.

During the "Rock the City" actors' strike, comments which occurred shortly after her Snow White controversy made her the target of the general public again. In a picket-line interview, she stated that "if I’m gonna stand there 18 hours a day in the dress of an iconic Disney princess, I deserve to be paid for every hour that it’s streamed online."[6] She received significant criticism for these comments, with people deeming her entitled or selfish.

Personal life

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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.[7]

References

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  1. Connellan, Shannon (January 14, 2019). "'West Side Story': Spielberg casts high-school 'theatre kid' as Maria". Mashable. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  2. McNary, Dave (January 14, 2019). "'West Side Story' Remake Casts Newcomer Rachel Zegler as Maria". Variety. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  3. Jackson, Angelique (February 25, 2021). "Rachel Zegler Joins Cast of 'Shazam: Fury of the Gods'". Variety. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  4. Kroll, Justin (June 22, 2021). "'Snow White': 'West Side Story's Rachel Zegler To Play Title Role In Disney's Live-Action Adaptation Of Animated Classic". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  5. Justin, Kroll (3 November 2021). "Gal Gadot To Play Evil Queen In Disney's Live-Action 'Snow White'". Deadline. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  6. Baker-Whitelaw, Gavia (2023-08-07). "'I don't know why everybody hates me for saying it': Why Rachel Zegler is so controversial amid the Hollywood strikes". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 2024-01-22.
  7. Siwak, Miranda (2023-10-31). "Rachel Zegler, Josh Andres Rivera's Relationship Timeline: Photos". Us Weekly. Retrieved 2024-01-22.

Other websites

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