Paloma Garcia-Lee is an American actress known for her role as Adrienne on the FX limited series Fosse/Verdon and as Graziella in Steven Spielberg’s upcoming West Side Story.
Born into a theatrical family and home schooled by her parents so she could pursue a career in the arts – Paloma left home at 14 years old to attend North Carolina School of the Arts where she completed High School in 3 years. She graduated from NCSA’s School of Drama and within a few months of moving to New York made her Broadway debut at 17 years old. She has been seen on stage in New York in 6 Broadway shows and has also appeared in numerous live television broadcasts.
Steven Spielberg has been making West Side Story in his head for a very long time. As a boy in Phoenix in the late 1950s, he had only the soundtrack, and he tried to picture the action and dancing that might accompany it. “My mom was a classical pianist,” says the filmmaker. “Our entire home was festooned with classical musical albums, and I grew up surrounded by classical music. West Side Story was actually the first piece of popular music our family ever allowed into the home.
“ I want to be in the space of someone who loves creating and storytelling in a way that lights me up and inspires me. I want to connect with the people I work with, knowing that we complement each other’s energy.”
You wouldn’t call Drama and Dance alumna Paloma Garcia-Lee’s artistic journey a conventional one. The 2008 high school Drama graduate originally came to UNCSA to study ballet. She’d grown up hearing about the school from her mother, high school dance alumna Teresa (Terri) Garcia. “I heard about NCSA from the first moment I can remember,” Garcia-Lee says. “Within the first week [...]
I have a commitment, a romance, a love affair with dance, with the feeling that happens when the music and the steps so perfectly align and I can't help but get chills. That feeling when my partner and I are dancing as one, when everyone onstage feels the same heartbeat, when it's just me alone [...]
Yesterday, additional casting was announced for the highly anticipated film adaptation of West Side Story from director Steven Spielberg. Paloma Grace-Lee was cast as Graziella, the girlfriend of the Jets' member Riff, who will be played by Dear Evan Hansen's Mike Faist. ANGELS IN AMERICA scribe Tony Kushner is currently working on the film's script. Joining Spielberg as producers [...]