AP Breakthrough Entertainer: Rachel Zegler's baptism by fire

In another timeline, Rachel Zegler would have had her breakthrough moment last December.

That was when Steven Spielberg’s rendition of “West Side Story” was supposed to open and introduce the world to the New Jersey high school student who responded to an open call on Twitter and beat out thousands for the part of Maria. But the pandemic had other plans.

Yet 2021 wasn’t exactly spent waiting in the wings. In fact, her dance card filled up rather quickly: She was cast in and filmed the sequel to “Shazam" and snagged the role of Snow White in the live-action reimagining with “Wonder Woman” Gal Gadot playing the evil queen.

“It’s been a year of transition,” Zegler, 20, said in a recent Zoom interview from her family’s home in Clifton, New Jersey. “I stepped out of my comfort zone.”

And as soon as she got back from filming “Shazam 2” in Atlanta, it was time to dive into the “West Side Story” promotional circus. That meant interviews, photo shoots and many, many public appearances and red carpets, which she had never done before.

“My first red carpet was the Met Gala, which just feels like a baptism by fire,” Zegler said. “I said yes and then it was like, ‘Oh, now I have to go and I have to like, walk on the carpet and trip up the stairs, which I didn’t do and I’m really proud of myself (for)!’ But yeah, that was that was crazy.”

For her pivoting skills, Zegler has been named among The Associated Press' breakthrough entertainers of the year alongside Damson Idris, Simu Liu, Saweetie, Adrienne Warren, Ruaw Alejandro and more.

It was at the Met Gala that she got to meet the pop star Lorde and tell her how much her music meant to her. Much to her surprise Lorde — whose first name is Ella — knew exactly who she was, too.

“She...