Who Is Ariana DeBose? 6 Things to Know About the ‘West Side Story’ Actress

Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Who Is Ariana DeBose? 6 Things to Know About the ‘West Side Story’ Actress

A movie newcomer! After appearing in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, Ariana DeBose has quickly become a rising star in Hollywood, racking up impressive nominations that prove she’s here to stay.

The North Carolina native, 31, played Anita in the 2021 adaptation of the classic love story, following in the footsteps of Rita Moreno, which was no small feat.

“Ariana needed to bring her entire existence into this character,” Spielberg, 75, told The Hollywood Reporter in January. “The biggest challenge for her was to own her Anita, and from her audition all the way through production there was an empowerment about her that was just so palpable. I’m not sure anyone can watch Ariana’s performance and not feel how tightly she had her arms around her own Anita and created her own special light.”

While the Schmigadoon! alum was initially wary about stepping into the 90-year-old Oscar-winning actress’ shoes for the film, she powered through her hesitation.

“I was really tired one evening after [performing on Broadway in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical], and Cindy Tolan, the casting director, called and goes, 'Hey, can you come to Brooklyn tomorrow at 10 a.m.?' I was like, 'But it's 11:30 p.m. right now. Great, so can I just dance and sing?’” DeBose recalled of her audition process during a January appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “She said, 'Sure, sure, sure. I got you.' So I get there the next day, and I walk into the room and there's Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner. … So, I danced for him and he really liked my dancing.”

She gushed about the script at the time, adding, “These scenes — these are Tony Kushner-expanded scenes. They can be wordy. They're important. You gotta nail it. Quite frankly, I'm not in the business of going in a room as a Black woman and not getting it right. You've got to come in prepared.”

DeBose has stolen scenes on the big screen in both West Side Story and The Prom, but she initially got her professional start as a dancer. In 2009, she competed on season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance.

“That show was the craziest whirlwind for an 18-year-old. I had known quite a few people that had done it,” the Seaside actress gushed to Simu Liu during an “Actors on Actors” interview for Variety in February. “I grew up dancing with Travis Wall and Martha Nichols. And so, it felt very tangible to me. That is a crazy thing that I just said, but it felt really tangible. And so going into it, it’s what everybody thinks it’s going to be. It’s a little dog-eat-dog. Dancers, we love each other, but we want our spot, you know?”

She added: “I think the greatest thing I learned is that it is a television show. You think it’s just about dance, right? No, it’s still TV programming. So it is casting and creating story lines and relationships and all this stuff. You definitely don’t know that at such a young age, or at least I didn’t.”

Scroll below to learn more about the 2022 Golden Globe winner:

Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Who Is Ariana DeBose? 6 Things to Know About the ‘West Side Story’ Actress

A movie newcomer! After appearing in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, Ariana DeBose has quickly become a rising star in Hollywood, racking up impressive nominations that prove she’s here to stay.

The North Carolina native, 31, played Anita in the 2021 adaptation of the classic love story, following in the footsteps of Rita Moreno, which was no small feat.

“Ariana needed to bring her entire existence into this character,” Spielberg, 75, told The Hollywood Reporter in January. “The biggest challenge for her was to own her Anita, and from her audition all the way through production there was an empowerment about her that was just so palpable. I’m not sure anyone can watch Ariana’s performance and not feel how tightly she had her arms around her own Anita and created her own special light.”

While the Schmigadoon! alum was initially wary about stepping into the 90-year-old Oscar-winning actress’ shoes for the film, she powered through her hesitation.

“I was really tired one evening after [performing on Broadway in Summer: The Donna Summer Musical], and Cindy Tolan, the casting director, called and goes, 'Hey, can you come to Brooklyn tomorrow at 10 a.m.?' I was like, 'But it's 11:30 p.m. right now. Great, so can I just dance and sing?’” DeBose recalled of her audition process during a January appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “She said, 'Sure, sure, sure. I got you.' So I get there the next day, and I walk into the room and there's Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner. … So, I danced for him and he really liked my dancing.”

She gushed about the script at the time, adding, “These scenes — these are Tony Kushner-expanded scenes. They can be wordy. They're important. You gotta nail it. Quite frankly, I'm not in the business of going in a room as a Black woman and not getting it right. You've got to come in prepared.”

DeBose has stolen scenes on the big screen in both West Side Story and The Prom, but she initially got her professional start as a dancer. In 2009, she competed on season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance.

“That show was the craziest whirlwind for an 18-year-old. I had known quite a few people that had done it,” the Seaside actress gushed to Simu Liu during an “Actors on Actors” interview for Variety in February. “I grew up dancing with Travis Wall and Martha Nichols. And so, it felt very tangible to me. That is a crazy thing that I just said, but it felt really tangible. And so going into it, it’s what everybody thinks it’s going to be. It’s a little dog-eat-dog. Dancers, we love each other, but we want our spot, you know?”

She added: “I think the greatest thing I learned is that it is a television show. You think it’s just about dance, right? No, it’s still TV programming. So it is casting and creating story lines and relationships and all this stuff. You definitely don’t know that at such a young age, or at least I didn’t.”

Scroll below to learn more about the 2022 Golden Globe winner:

Credit: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock

1. She’s a Broadway Veteran

DeBose made her Broadway debut in Bring It On: The Musical in 2012, playing Nautica. Since then, she has performed in Motown the Musical, Pippin, Hamilton: An American Musical, A Bronx Tale: The Musical and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. She earned her first Tony Award nomination in 2018 for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Donna Summer. 

Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

2. She Turned Down ‘West Side Story’ 4 Times Before Accepting Role

“I asked her to come in and she said no. She refused four times and I had to talk her into coming in,” casting director Tolan told Variety in January, noting that DeBose struggled to see herself as Anita. “With Ariana, it was just so clear that she had the triple. But we got her in the room with Steven who does his camera work, and it became this no-brainer.”

 DeBose has since been recognized with nominations at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the BAFTAs and the Academy Awards for her performance.

Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

3. She Got Her Start As a Dancer

Before her big break on SYTYCD, the Blue Bloods alum trained in multiple dance styles.

“Dance is my first language so I wasn’t terribly nervous about that,” she told British Vogue in December 2021 about tackling Justin Peck’s intricate West Side Story choreography.

Credit: Tom Dymond/Shutterstock

4. She Hails from North Carolina

DeBose grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Credit: Instagram; Shutterstock; Instagram

5. She’s a Proud Cat Mom

The I.S.S. star adopted two felines, whom she frequently posts photos of via her Instagram.

Credit: Rob Latour/Shutterstock

6. She Won Her First Oscar for Her Role in ‘West Side Story’

DeBose won the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role after playing Anita in Spielberg’s adaptation of the movie musical.

“Oh, my word, what is this? Now you see why that Anita says, ‘I want to be in America,’ because even in this weary world that we live in, dreams do come true,” she gushed in her acceptance speech in March 2022. “And that’s really a heartening thing right now. … It was the summer of a lifetime [filming this movie] and I am the most grateful to have spent it with all of you. My God, thank you, Steven Spielberg, you’re stuck with me now! Yay!”

She continued: “Imagine this little girl in the backseat of a white Ford Focus, look into her eyes. You see an openly queer woman of color, Afro-Latina who found her strength in life through art and that’s what I believe we’re here to celebrate.”