Rachel Zegler's Parents Are the Actress's Heroes – Meet Gina and Craig Zegler

Rachel Zegler's parents have been instrumental in her career. While she rose to fame for her impressive performance in "West Side Story," the actress credits all her success to her parents.

Rachel is an actress and singer-songwriter. At 14, she reached an impressive milestone on YouTube after her rendition of Lady Gaga's song "A Star is Born" garnered millions of views.

The 21-year-old is famously known for her role as Maria Vasquez in the 2021 musical drama film "The West Side Story," for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.

At such a young age, "The West Side Story" star has hit impressive milestones in the entertainment industry. She thanks her parents for supporting her and considers them heroes.

Many of her fans don't know that Rachel Zegler's parents come from diverse backgrounds. Here is what we know about the actress' parents.

Rachel Zegler's Parents Named Their Daughter after Rachel Green of 'Friends'

Rachel was born in May 2001 in New Jersey to a Polish father and a Colombian mother. Rachel Zegler's parents were born in the USA, but her maternal grandmother relocated from Colombia in the 1960s to give birth to her mom.

On Rachel's YouTube channel, she has 230K subscribers who keep up to date with her content.

Even though Rachel pursued a career in the entertainment industry, her parents followed a different path. Her mother, Gina Zegler, works at a school for children with special needs, while her father, Craig Zegler, works in the construction industry.

Besides Rachel, Craig and Gina have an older daughter Jacqueline. Both of their daughters studied at an all-girls Immaculate Conception Catholic school. In 2019, Rachel revealed through her Twitter page that she was named after Rachel Green, played by (Jennifer Aniston) on the Emmy-Award-winning comedy sitcom "Friends."

Rachel Zegler's Parents Supported Her at the Start of Her Acting Career

When Rachel began her acting career, she was still a minor. She revealed that her parents gave her endless support, and she considers them heroes. Speaking to Hola, she said:

"My mom and my dad are my heroes truly. My mom sacrificed a lot and, she left her job to come with me and be with me on the set of 'West Side Story' cause I was a minor when I first started working on it."

When Rachel, her parents, and her sister attended the New York premiere of "West Side Story," she revealed she felt lucky her mother was there to support her; if that weren't the case, she probably would have had an emotional breakdown.

Rachel also revealed that her father supported her in many ways. She said he worked many hours to ensure his family had a good life, including going on vacations.

Only one of Rachel Zegler's Parents Show Up on Her Social Media

Rachel grew up in New Jersey, and as a young Latina woman growing up in a primarily white community, things weren't always easy for her. She revealed that she faced much discrimination and racism when posting content on social media.

Rachel's experience of cyberbullying wasn't easy, but even though it came with a lot of negativity, the actress also had an advantage—it made her the perfect person to play Maria in "West Side Story," and she easily related to the role.

Rachel's social media blew up following her role in the romance/musical film. As of this writing, she has 868K followers on her Instagram page and 202K on Twitter.

On Rachel's YouTube channel, she has 230K subscribers who keep up to date with her content. She has at least 150 videos on the video-sharing platform where she does different cover songs of artists like Harry Styles, Sia, Lady Gaga, and more.

Occasionally, Rachel shares photos of her dad on her social media. For instance, in 2019, she shared a picture of daughter-father duo hanging out and wished him a happy father's day. The actress rarely shares photos of her mother.