Rachel Zegler

“People find comfort in boxes, is really what I've learned, and people found comfort in the bubbles they were filling out for standardized tests. And I don't understand it, because they made me uncomfortable.”

“West Side Story' was the first musical I encountered with a Latina lead character.”

“Getting to sing 'I Feel Pretty,' being a Latina on screen, is something I can't even really put into words. I really hope that young people everywhere are able to watch that and relate, and know that it's OK to relate and that it's safe to relate.”

“I saw 'Beauty and the Beast,' 'Little Mermaid,' 'The Lion King,' 'Mary Poppins' - I saw all of those before I was introduced to the classics.”

“I get scared sometimes.”

“I was scared of the original cartoon. I think I watched it once, and then I never picked it up again. I'm being so serious, I watched it once, and then I went on the ride in DisneyWorld, which is called, 'Snow White's Scary Adventures,' doesn't sound like something a little kid would like, was terrified of it, never revisited 'Snow White' again.”

“West Side Story' was a very integral part of my upbringing. It was the first time I had seen my culture represented in any way on screen.”

“Being on your own is such an interesting thing when you're coming out of a pandemic.”

“At the Ballet' from 'A Chorus Line' - that's my go-to, singing-in-the-car song.”

“It's okay to take risks.”

“I tend to use products that are for normal to oily skin because I have an oily T-zone.”

“My custom Dior dress ripped at the Critics Choice Awards as I was leaving. Lady Gaga taps me on the shoulder: 'I can't let you leave like that.' So she and Alana and Este Haim are MacGyvering a safety pin to save my dress. And then I kind of just hobbled out in complete shock.”

“I just started to use my voice in a powerful way, and my mom was really instrumental in making sure that I explored that aspect of my life.”

“I think that public gratification is what my mind is looking for. That is not what it's all about. It's about how you feel about yourself.”

“We look so many different ways and come from so many different places, and I love that about us. That's so important for the next generation to see themselves onscreen and know that they, too, can dance and express their Latin joy.”

“I just wanted Ben Brantley to write me a good review. That was my idea for the rest of my life.”

“I was one of those people who had decided that I was going to survive high school and not love it.”

“I'm a classic gal, like, I'm just a cheese pizza.”

“At the core of it is, how does Hollywood know to make more Latin stories if they don't perform?”

“If you don't know what the best-case scenario is, how can you gauge where you're at?”