These days, being online is often the best way to find opportunities. For the fresh, diverse talent in Hollywood today, that rings very true. Major productions like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Netflix original shows are discovering new stars via the internet, and many of them are the leads in diverse, female-driven movies and TV shows. These actresses prove that an everyday act such as scrolling on Twitter or answering a group chat can sometimes be life-changing.
Every single one of these actresses has landed plum roles that aspiring artists dream about. And fans of these stars have a lot to look forward to, as all of them have major roles and gigs lined up in the coming months.
Iman Vellani
Canadian actress Iman Vellani could easily be called the real-life Ms. Marvel. According to The Washington Post, Vellani herself grew up as a Marvel fan. She was introduced to the comics through Iron Man, then found Ironheart, and through that found Ms. Marvel. When the casting call for Ms. Marvel arrived, Vellani told The Tonight Show she thought it was a scam. She says she got the casting call from an aunt of hers who found it in a WhatsApp group chat. Vellani sent in a last-minute audition tape and was flown out to LA three weeks after.
As Kamala Kahn, Vellani is smart, bubbly, and badass. She struggles with her parents' expectations and balancing her home life with her nerdy fandom life. She’s set to reprise the role as Ms. Marvel in the MCU's highly anticipated The Marvels (2023), an adventure set to unite Captain Marvel, Photon, and Ms. Marvel against an evil threat.
Yasmin Finney
Initially gaining fame as a TikTok personality, Yasmin Finney became known in the acting world for her first role as Elle Argent in the Netflix series Heartstopper. According to Teen Vogue, Finney answered an international casting call for a trans woman of color and couldn't believe it until she landed the part. Elle is a quiet and shy transgender girl who transferred to the nearby all-girls school after transitioning.
And Finney's acting career has only just started. is set to appear in the 60th anniversary special of Doctor Who alongside David Tennant and Catherine Tate as Rose.
Meng’er Zhang
Like Iman Vellani, Meng’er Zhang found her breakout role in a group chat, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. In the chat, Zhang found a casting call that ask for a woman who could speak Mandarin Chinese and English. She sent in a self-tape and then discovered what project she was auditioning for when she was invited to take a screen test with Simu Liu. From there she went through intense training to become Xu Xialing, Shang-Chi’s expert fighter younger sister.
While Xu Xialing is set to come back to the MCU given the post-credit scene in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, no one knows when. But it has been confirmed that Zhang will appear as a human huntress named Milva in season 3 of The Witcher, one of Netflix's best fantasy shows.
Rachel Zegler
After going through 30,000 applicants, Steven Spielberg found his Maria in 16-year-old Rachel Zegler, according to People. Prior to her being cast as Maria, she released many song covers on her YouTube channel and Twitter, and has also gone viral for her cover of “Shallow.” Zegler had just started rehearsals for her high school production of Shrek: The Musical (she played Fiona) when she got the news that she had been cast in Spielberg's West Side Story. Since then, she has been cast in many other big-name films.
Zegler is set to lend her voice in a film called Spellbound as its lead, and she will play Snow White in the Disney live-action adaptation with Gal Gadot. Zegler also has a role to play in the upcoming sequel Shazam: Fury of the Gods and will be one of the leads in the Hunger Games prequel film.
Maitreyai Ramakrishnan
According to Variety, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan was chosen to star in Netflix’s teen dramedy, Never Have I Ever, amongst 15,000 applicants. Having never acted before, she responded to an open casting call on creator Mindy Kaling's tweet. After filming her audition tape from the library, Ramakrishnan went through an intense remote audition process before being flown out to Los Angeles and offered the role. This meant that she had to defer going to college, but her career took off from there.
Never Have I Ever season 3 drops on August 12, with a fourth and final season slated to release in 2023. Ramakrishnan has also found herself in voice work, having voiced Priya in Disney’s Turning Red and Zipp Storm in the My Little Pony series. She’s set to appear in her first film, The Netherfield Girls, a loose adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.
HoYeon Jung
According to Vogue, HoYeon Jung walked many famous runways, appeared in big-name magazines, and was even a contestant on Korea’s Next Top Model. When Jung felt that her modeling gigs were slowing down, she turned to acting. Jung would fly from her international runways to acting classes. Finally, she auditioned for her first major role at New York Fashion Week and when the director asked her to come in to audition in person, she got the role of Kang Sae-byeok in Squid Game on the spot.
When Squid Game became a worldwide phenomenon, so did Jung, and she won many awards in the Netflix series. And that's just the beginning. Jung will star in an A24 film called The Governess and appear in the Apple TV+ series Disclaimer.