NJ Girl Cast In 'West Side Story' Named An 'Actress To Watch'

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — Rachel Zegler, the Clifton actress who beat out thousands of others for a role in the "West Side Story" reboot, was named one of "13 Latina Actresses To Know Right Now" by hiplatina.com.

"Steven Spielberg was searching for the modern-day Maria for the remake of "West Side Story," hiplatina.com said of Zegler on its list. "Well, the legend found her and it's 17-year-old Columbian-American Rachel Zegler."

Zegler beat out more than 30,000 actors from all over the world for the role, according to Deadline.

Zegler played Maria in a production of "West Side Story" at Bergen PAC in 2017. For her role in "Beauty And The Beast" at Immaculate Conception High School she was nominated for a Metropolitan High School Theater Award in 2016, NorthJersey.com reported.

"When I played Maria on stage a few summers ago, I never could have imagined that I'd be taking on the role again in Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story. I send a huge thank you to everyone who helped make this incredible dream a reality — I never could've done it alone," Zegler said.

Zegler has published dozens of videos of herself singing songs she has written herself and covers of others, including one of "Shallow" from "A Star Is Born" that went viral in January.

Zegler said she got the role in Spielberg's "West Side Story" not from that "Shallow" video, but through hard work.

"I didn’t get cast from my viral video from early January," Zegler said on Instagram, according to JustJaredJr.com. "That would be cool, but it was a whole year of hard work, dedication, and persistence. And a whole lot of faith."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com