Rachel Zegler will forever feel "indebted" to director Steven Spielberg for changing her life by casting her in West Side Story. The 24-year-old was plucked from obscurity and made a star when the famed Jurassic Park director cast her as Maria in his 2021 version of the classic musical. She has since gone on to star in major films, including Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes and Disney's live-action Snow White, as well as the Broadway revival of Romeo + Juliet and the West End revival of Evita. After Spielberg came to see her stage musical last weekend, Zegler posted a series of snaps from his visit alongside throwback photos from the West Side Story press tour on Instagram. "We had a very special guest @officialevita last weekend - a man who believed in me when i was 17 and is the reason i was ushered into the many opportunities i have been blessed with thus far," she captioned the post on Thursday. "Seven years later and he's still so supportive of every venture, and i couldn't be more thankful. "Steven spielberg, you changed my life. i may never be truly able to return the favor, but i hope a performance of 'rainbow high' every now and then gives you some comfort in knowing i am taking care of the career (kristie and) you've so graciously given me. grateful isn't the right word. indebted, maybe. you get the picture." Zegler, who also credited Spielberg's longtime producer Kristie Macosko Krieger, sings Rainbow High during her role as Eva Perón in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical. She has won critical acclaim for her performance, which concludes at the London Palladium on 6 September.