Rachel Zegler facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rachel Zegler
Rachel Zegler in 2023
Born	(2001-05-03) May 3, 2001 (age 24) Hackensack, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actress singer
Years active	2015–present

Rachel Zegler (born May 3, 2001) is an American actress and singer. She became famous with her very first movie role as María in Steven Spielberg's musical film West Side Story (2021). For this role, she won a Golden Globe Award!

In 2023, she played Anthea in Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Lucy Gray Baird in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. She also made her first appearance on Broadway in 2024, playing Juliet in a new version of Romeo + Juliet.

Early Life and First Steps in Acting

Rachel Zegler was born in Hackensack, New Jersey, on May 3, 2001. Her parents are Gina and Craig Zegler. She has an older sister named Jacklyn. Rachel's mother has family from Barranquilla, Colombia, and her father has family from Poland.

When Rachel was four years old, she saw her first Broadway show, Beauty and the Beast. After that, she became a huge fan of theater!

Rachel's first acting role was at age 12. She played Shprintze in a play called Fiddler on the Roof. This experience made her decide she wanted to be an actress. So, she started taking lessons for singing and acting.

Rachel's Journey to Stardom

Rachel started her acting career in high school musicals. She played many famous characters like:

• Belle in Beauty and the Beast (2016)
• Ariel in The Little Mermaid (2017)
• Dorothy Brock in 42nd Street (2018)
• Princess Fiona in Shrek The Musical (2019)

She was even nominated for awards for these performances! She also played Serena in Legally Blonde, Cosette in Les Misérables, and Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Rachel also has a YouTube channel, which she started in 2015. She posted videos of herself singing. One video of her singing "Shallow" from A Star Is Born became very popular, getting over 12 million views!

Rachel Zegler in 2019

Landing the Role in West Side Story

In January 2018, director Steven Spielberg announced he was looking for new actors for his movie West Side Story. Rachel, who was 16 at the time, sent in videos of herself singing songs from the musical. She had even performed the role of Maria before in a local theater!

She was chosen from more than 30,000 people to play Maria. This was her very first movie role! The film came out in December 2021 and was loved by many. Rachel won a Golden Globe Award for her amazing performance. She was the youngest winner in that category at 20 years old!

More Movie Roles

Rachel then starred as Anthea in the superhero movie Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023). She also played the main character, Lucy Gray Baird, in the 2023 movie The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. This movie was based on a book that tells the story before the original Hunger Games movies. Critics praised Rachel's performance in this film.

In October 2023, Rachel had to leave the movie Paddington in Peru because of a strike by actors. She also appeared in the movie Y2K, which came out in 2024.

Future Projects

Rachel made her Broadway debut playing Juliet in a musical version of William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. This show is planned to run from September 2024 to February 2025.

She will also be the voice of the main character, Princess Ellian, in the animated musical movie Spellbound, which will be on Netflix. Plus, she will play Snow White in a live-action movie based on the classic Disney animated film, set to be released in 2025.

In the Spotlight

Rachel Zegler has been recognized by many media outlets. In 2021, she was named one of the "Breakthrough Entertainers" by AP Entertainment. She was also included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for 2022, which highlights young people making a big impact.

She was also part of a special tribute at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards to honor the famous composer Stephen Sondheim.

Initially, Rachel was not invited to the 94th Academy Awards ceremony in 2022, even though West Side Story was nominated for many awards. After some discussion, the Academy invited her to present an award.

Personal Life

Rachel Zegler and actor Josh Andrés Rivera confirmed they were dating in February 2021. They met while working on the movie West Side Story. They later starred together again in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.

Rachel looks up to the famous singer and actress Barbra Streisand. In 2021, Streisand even sent Rachel a special gift with a note!

Filmography

Film

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

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	Y2K	Laura
	Spellbound	Princess Ellian	Voice role
2025	Snow White	Snow White	Post-production

Theatre

Podcast

Discography

Soundtracks

Singles

Other charted songs

Other appearances

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Rachel Zegler para niños