Rachel Zegler facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rachel Zegler
Zegler in 2019
Born	(2001-05-03) May 3, 2001 (age 22) Hackensack, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actress singer
Years active	2015–present

Rachel Zegler (/ˈzɛɡlər/; born May 3, 2001) is an American actress and singer. She came to prominence with her film debut playing María in Steven Spielberg's musical adaptation West Side Story (2021), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. In 2023, she played Anthea in Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Lucy Gray Baird in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

Early life

Zegler was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, in 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. Zegler's maternal grandmother immigrated from Colombia to the United States in the 1960s. Her father is of Polish descent.

Zegler was raised in Clifton, New Jersey, where she attended St. Philip the Apostle Preparatory School. Afterwards, she attended the Catholic all-girls college-preparatory Immaculate Conception High School, which she graduated from in 2019.

Career

Zegler began her career starring in several musicals while attending the Immaculate Conception High School, including 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 Metro Award nominations in the Actress in a Leading Role category. Her other roles include Serena in Legally Blonde, Cosette in Les Misérables, and Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Zegler's YouTube channel has been active since July 2015 which garnered media coverage and positive critical reception. As of 2022, Zegler's video of herself singing "Shallow", from A Star Is Born, has garnered over 12.2 million views on Twitter.

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 to the casting call tweets with videos of herself singing "Tonight" and "I Feel Pretty"; she had performed the role at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in 2017. Zegler was selected from over 30,000 applicants for the role of Maria, marking her film debut. The film was released in December 2021, and earned acclaim from critics and audiences. For her performance, she received a Critics' Choice Movie Award nomination for Best Young Performer and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical, making her the first actress of Colombian descent to win in that category as well as the youngest winner in that category at 20 years old.

Zegler starred as Anthea in the superhero film Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023). She played protagonist Lucy Gray Baird in the 2023 film adaptation of the Hunger Games prequel The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.

Zegler was cast in Kyle Mooney's directorial debut film Y2K produced by A24, production on which had begun by April 2023.

Zegler will next voice the lead character in the animated musical film Spellbound, directed by Vicky Jenson, which is scheduled to be released in 2024 and will premiere on Netflix.

In 2025 Zegler will appear as Snow White in a live-action film adaptation of the 1937 animated Disney film.

In the media

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 Zegler as one of the Breakthrough Entertainers of 2021. Zegler 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.

Zegler 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.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2021	West Side Story	María
2023	Shazam! Fury of the Gods	Anthea
	The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes	Lucy Gray Baird
2024	Spellbound	Princess Ellian	Voice role; post-production
2025	Snow White	Snow White	Post-production
TBA	Y2K	TBA	Post-production

Discography

Soundtracks

Singles

Other charted songs

Other appearances

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Rachel Zegler para niños