Rachel Zegler

Rachel Anne Zegler (born 3 May 2001, in Hackensack, New Jersey) first gained international recognition as Maria in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 adaptation of West Side Story. Her vocal performance on the soundtrack—especially her rendition of “Tonight” alongside Ansel Elgort—showcased her soaring soprano and dramatic expressiveness early in her career. Her work earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, making her the youngest recipient of the award at just 20 years old. In 2023, she showcased her vocal and dramatic range in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (2023) as Lucy Gray Baird, a character who sings throughout the film, allowing her to integrate her musical talents directly into the narrative. She recorded studio versions of several songs released as singles tied to the film’s soundtrack: notably “The Hanging Tree” and “The Ballad of Lucy Gray Baird”. In October 2024, she made her Broadway debut in Romeo + Juliet, performing the original song “Man of the House” (written by Jack Antonoff) on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert alongside the cast. The song was also released as a standalone single in conjunction with the production. Her first solo studio single, “Waiting on a Wish”, arrived in 2025 as the lead track from Disney’s Snow White soundtrack. That same year, she made headlines singing “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” from the London Palladium balcony, reaching social media virality and yielding two streamed singles (studio & live versions).