Rachel Zegler is a young actress of half American and half Colombian descent, with an impressive track record of lead acting roles at just 22 years of age. Whilst having a history of acting, her name only just now seems to be getting mentioned. From controversy to box office hit, it seems like Rachel is getting her time in the spotlight.  

With her face plastered across posters, promotions and trailers across the world for her lead role in a brand new ‘Hunger Games’ film, people may be asking themselves who this actress is, as she has shot into fame and relevance.  

Her acting career began in high school, where she starred in multiple musical theater performances, including lead roles in ‘Beauty and the Beast’, ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘42nd Street’ and ‘Shrek the Musical’, all of which she received Metro Award nominations for lead actress. 

People were all too willing to criticise the actress without even seeing their performances

Her big break, however, came with the release of the film ‘West Side Story’ in 2021. Steven Spielberg, held an open cast call for the lead role ‘Maria’ on Twitter (now X) in 2018. Zegler, just 18 at the time, responded with videos of herself singing which led to her being selected out of over 30,000 applicants for the role. 

This role launched Zegler into Hollywood prominence, working alongside big names such as Ansel Elgort, and the film being well received. Her role won her a Golden Globe for best actress in a motion picture comedy/musical making her the youngest winner in that category at just 20 years old.  Zegler’s next gig was another lead role in a successful film franchise, playing  ‘Anthea’ in ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’, alongside Zachary Levi, which was released in March 2021, just before Zegler started to gain attention for another upcoming role. 

She was then catapulted into the spotlight this year, after being billed Disney live-action remake of ‘Snow White’, to be released in 2025. Unfortunately, the attention was largely negative, as she received waves of backlash for casting and her comments in resurfaced interview clips. To some, her casting for a role as a princess whose ‘skin is as white as snow’ was unacceptable as someone of half Columbian ethnicity, believing that this could only be played by a white actress. 

It’s safe to say that Zegler has proved detractors wrong

Another wave of anger- an even bigger hate train against the actress on social media- came when old interview clips resurfaced on TikTok that had been edited out of context. In these clips, Zegler was commenting that the original ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ (1937) was anti-feminist and outdated. She promised audiences the reboot would instead showcase the princess as a leader. Some social media users branded her as ‘annoying’ and ‘hateable’, with many claiming her to be undeserving of the role, as it should go to somebody who loves the original film. However, with these clips being taken out of context, many people missed Zegler’s positive comments, including her appreciation and endearment for the film.

With many out to ‘cancel’ Rachel Zegler, all eyes were on her from both her haters and supporters as she took on her next role, filling the shoes of the main role in the massively popular ‘The Hunger Games’ franchise. ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’ released on November 17th this year. With the promotion and release of this film, the unwarranted hate train that has been following Rachel Zegler seemingly vanished, as the film proved to be extremely popular, with many recognising Zegler as the standout performance as she enchanted audiences with her singing. 

It’s hard to go on TikTok without hearing Rachel’s siren-like voice

The film shot up to number one in the world days after its release, with Zegler getting some much-needed recognition for her talents. It is hard to go on TikTok without hearing Rachel’s siren-like voice, as multiple songs from the film which were all sung live on set have gone viral.  

The silence from all those who jumped on the hate train, willing to tear down a girl who’s just entering the peak of her career, is deafening. It is safe to say that Rachel Zegler proved detractors wrong through her performances. Whether people liked her or not, there was no denying her talents, and no denying how much she deserves to shine on screen. 

Looking forward for Rachel Zegler, while she has booked roles in some other upcoming films, her performance in the ‘Snow White’ live-action is yet to be seen until 2025 as it was pushed back due to the SAG-AFTRA labour strike. It will be hard to say whether people will go back to criticising her casting or will show their support in recognition of her talent. 

She may follow the same path as Halle Bailey in ‘The Little Mermaid’ 2023 live action. When a POC actress is cast as Disney princess that was originally drawn as white, it is seemingly inevitable there will be backlash. People were all too willing to criticise the actresses without even seeing their performances. It is likely that just like Halle, people will once again be captivated by her performance and enchanting singing voice, and regardless of the plot.

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Enjoyed reading this article? Check out some of our full-length reviews on the best films of the year:

Review: Oppenheimer | Redbrick Film

Review: The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes | Redbrick Film

Review: The Marvels | Redbrick Film