Rachel Zegler Had The Best Reaction To Seeing Herself In The West Side Story Trailer

Rachel Zegler says in the YouTube video that "West Side Story" is "important" to her, and thanks her fans for their support. "It just feels real now that I made something and people are going to see it," she adds. "And it's something that I'm really, really proud of. I had such a beautiful time making it."

Zegler also reacted to the trailer on Instagram. "My heart doesn't have the words just yet," she wrote. "Forever thanks to my favorite person, Steven Spielberg, and to sixteen-year-old Rachel who just decided to send in a poorly lit self-tape. Thank you."

The role means a lot to Zegler not just because it's her feature film debut, but because the original 1961 film starred Natalie Wood — a white actress — playing Maria, who is Puerto Rican. The remake of "West Side Story" is righting the wrongs of the original film and Zegler, who is Latina, told Vogue she sees the adaptation as "a beautiful display of Latin joy and the way that young Latin girls deserve to see themselves — dancing around in pretty dresses and singing about loving themselves."