Rachel Zegler Pays Tribute to OG Snow White Actress Adriana Caselotti: ‘To Whom I Owe Everything’

Rachel Zegler is paying homage to original Snow White actress Adriana Caselotti on social media.

“just had to pay homage to the original snow white, miss adriana caselotti, to whom i owe everything ❤️,” Zegler, 23, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, March 16, sharing a selfie alongside an image of Caselotti, the original voice actress for Snow White in Disney’s 1937 animated feature. In the image, Caselotti wore her hair in tight curls up to her shoulders.

In her selfie, Zegler wore her dark hair in a bob up to her chin, styled with a red Jennifer Behr bow, along with a gray, off-the-shoulder top. She also included a black-and-white video of the late actress, who passed in 1997 at the age of 80, emulating Caselotti, down to the tight, shoulder-length curls, the red ribbon in her hair and, of course, the delicate hand placement.

Zegler also shared a black-and-white image of Caselotti as well as a drawing of Snow White, both with ribbons in their hair.

One day prior, Zegler attended the premiere of the live-action Snow White at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 15. Also in attendance was Gal Gadot, who portrays the reboot’s Evil Queen, as well as members of the film’s creative team: Marc Platt, Marc Webb, Jared LeBoff, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

In the years leading up to the film’s release, Zegler has been the center of significant backlash involving the film, beginning in June 2021 when some fans questioned her casting as Snow White since she is Latina. She also drew criticism after a September 2022 interview with Variety where she referred to the original 1937 Snow White as “dated.”

“She’s not going to be saved by the prince and she’s not going to be dreaming about true love,” Zegler said of her character in a September 2022 Extra interview. “She’s dreaming about becoming the leader she knows she can be and the leader that her late father told her that she could be if she was fearless, fair, brave and true.”

Late last year, Zegler shared that the backlash for the film ultimately made her sad.

“In all honesty, it made me sad that it was taken in such a way because I believe that women can do anything,” Zegler told Variety in October 2024. “But I also believe that they can do everything.”

“I would never want to box someone in and say, ‘If you want love, then you can’t work.’ Or ‘If you want to work, then you can’t have a family.’ It’s not true,” she said. “It’s never been true. It can be very upsetting when things get taken out of context or jokes don’t land.”

“The love story is very integral,” the actress continued. “A lot of people wrote that we weren’t doing [that storyline] anymore — we were always doing that; it just wasn’t what we were talking about on that day.”

Snow White hits theaters on March 21, 2025.