Rachel Zegler has opened up about the struggle to feel secure in her Latina identity when being cast in her breakout role as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake of the 1961 musical film “West Side Story.”
In a recent interview with Allure, the 23-year-old actor shared that she was constantly questioned about her heritage by studio executives throughout the process of securing her part in the Oscar-nominated film. Zegler was born in New Jersey to a Colombian American mother and Polish American father; her maternal grandmother immigrated to the U.S. from Barranquilla in the 1960s.
“There’s confusion because I don’t have a single ounce of Latin in my name,” Zegler said. “When I was in the running for María in ‘West Side Story,’ they kept calling to ask if I was legit. I remember thinking, ‘Do you want me to bring my abuelita in?’ I will. I’ll bring her into the studio if you want to meet her.”
Zegler noted that it was strange to have “a bunch of white executives have you prove your identity to them.”
But the experience never shook the “Snow White” star’s pride in her heritage. “It’s an interesting experience being part of that diaspora in the current climate we live in,” she said. “But I love being Colombian.”
Speaking on the “current climate,” Zegler took time to stand up for DEI initiatives in light of recent actions in Hollywood and throughout other industries that have scaled back diversity efforts.
“The reality is, I was given a chance because I could sing,” Zegler said. “My only prayer for the future of diversity and inclusion is that we invest in and nurture talent no matter what they look like.”
From the moment she was cast in 2021 as “Snow White” in the upcoming Disney live-action remake of the 1937 animated classic, Zegler was bombarded with hateful messages online about how she was unfit to play Snow White due to her being Latina.
Hours after Disney’s casting announcement, Zegler seemingly addressed those who opposed the idea of a Latina Snow White, writing in a since-deleted X post, “yes i am snow white no i am not bleaching my skin for the role.”
The Golden Globe nominee also received support not only from her fans but from another Disney princess, Halle Bailey, who was similarly scrutinized for wearing her hair in locs while playing Ariel in the 2023 version of “The Little Mermaid.”
“we love you so much … truly the perfect princess,” she wrote to Zegler in 2023 on X.
R&B legend Brandy, who played Cinderella in 1997, echoed Bailey’s sentiment in a message published in Variety last year.
“I grew up in a house where that was Cinderella,” Zegler told Variety in 2024 of Brandy’s portrayal of the housekeeper-turned-princess.
“A child’s mind is the most amazing thing, where it’s just like, ‘OK, that’s Cinderella,’” Zegler said. “But the blond-haired, blue-eyed, blue-dress Cinderella from the 1950s cartoon is also Cinderella. Also, Hilary Duff is Cinderella in ‘A Cinderella Story.’”
Zegler’s casting as the lead in a major motion picture comes at a time when the prominence of actors and creators of color in successful theatrical releases is sliding.
Actors of color accounted for 25.2% of lead roles in the top theatrical films of 2024, down from 29.2% in 2023, according to the most recent UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report. The number of films directed by people of color also dropped in 2024 compared with 2023. Directors of color accounted for 20.2% of 2024 movies, down from 22.9% for the previous year. People of color account for about 44% of the U.S. population.
The Times’ Company Town senior editor Ryan Faughnder and reporting fellow Malia Mendez contributed to this report.