NJ Girl Gets Lead Role In Spielberg's 'West Side Story' Reboot

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — A North Jersey singer and actress has landed the role of her lifetime.

Rachel Zegler was cast as Maria in Steven Spielberg's highly-anticipated reboot of "West Side Story."

Zegler, 17, beat out more than 30,000 actors from all over the world for the role, according to Deadline.

Zegler let her gratitude and excitement be known on social media after Deadline broke the story of her casting.

"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. "As a Colombian-American woman growing up in this day and age, strong roles like maria are so important. To be able to bring that role to life— a role that means so much to the Hispanic community— is so humbling. i hope you’re all as excited as I am."

Zegler saw an audition notice on Twitter in January 2018 for Latino actors and submitted a video of herself singing "Tonight" and "I Feel Pretty," Deadline reported.

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.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photo: Rachel Zegler (YouTube screenshot)