At exactly 9.05pm every evening, a hushed silence descends outside the London Palladium. Tourists scurrying along Argyll Street stop in their tracks; traffic grinds to a halt; shoppers put down their shopping bags – and look up.
For there, behind iron railings on the first-floor balcony, a petite young woman with blonde hair, wearing a white ball gown, diamond necklace and glittering chandelier earrings, emerges from the theatre to sing her heart out to passers-by.
The figure is Rachel Zegler, the 24-year-old American actress who has been crowned the newest darling of the West End for her star turn as Eva Peron in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Evita.
Her alfresco performances of the iconic ballad Don’t Cry For Me Argentina attract thousands of fans each night, while millions have swooned over now-viral recordings uploaded to social media.
Inside the theatre, ticket-holders and other cast members watch Rachel perform on a 20ft screen, many of them so rapt by her rendition that they are moved to tears.
Among them, and more moved than most, is Nathan Louis-Fernand. Officially listed as part of the ‘swing’ backing ensemble for Evita, the 27-year-old Londoner also has another title: Rachel’s boyfriend.
The pair, who met during rehearsals for the musical in May, have been spotted together several times in the past few weeks – and appeared to confirm their relationship when they were pictured kissing and embracing at a concert in Hyde Park last weekend.
Rachel Zegler as Evita, on the balcony of the London Palladium, performing the iconic ballad Don’t Cry For Me Argentina to the crowds gathered outside the theatre on Argyll Street
On Instagram, where Rachel – the star of 2023 movie The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes – boasts 2.5 million followers and Nathan a mere 4,200, they have taken to calling one another ‘the darling girl’ and ‘the darling man’.
For Rachel, her blossoming romance is another indication of the good place she finds herself in, both personally and professionally.
Her path to worldwide fame, since she was plucked from obscurity by Steven Spielberg for his acclaimed 2021 adaptation of West Side Story, had become clouded in controversy.
Rachel is known for her outspoken views, particularly on race, American politics and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Earlier this year, she found herself at the heart of a toxic debate surrounding her suitability to play Snow White in Disney’s live action remake because of her Colombian heritage, not to mention her own remarks criticising the ‘dated’ love story of the original animated film.
There was also an alleged feud with her Israeli co-star, Gal Gadot – Rachel has been outspokenly pro-Palestinian – which was in part blamed for the poor box office performance of a film derided as being too ‘woke’.
But Nathan has helped Rachel put that behind her in the latest version of an age-old story of a star falling for a backing dancer.
On Instagram, where Rachel boasts 2.5 million followers and Nathan Louis-Fernand a mere 4,200, they have taken to calling one another ‘the darling girl’ and ‘the darling man’
Actress and singer Jennifer Lopez fell for dancer Cris Judd after meeting on the set of her music video in 2000, and married him a year later; while former Spice Girl Mel B, who recently tied the knot with her third husband, wed one of the band’s backing dancers, Jimmy Gulzar, in 1998.
And Madonna, who played Eva Peron in the 1996 film adaptation of Evita, has had several high-profile flings with her backing dancers – many of them several decades her junior. Nathan and Rachel ‘had an instant connection’, a source close to the show reveals, adding that she ‘brings a passionate energy to the production – and Nathan’s attracted to this’.
For his part, he’s an experienced performer, with recent ensemble roles in critically acclaimed musicals including Hamilton, & Juliet, Sleeping Beauty and The Lion King. You might not recognise his name, but if you’ve seen a West End show in the past five years, chances are he’s been on the stage.
Most recently, he was cast as a stripper in Magic Mike Live, the steamy stage show based on the films of the same name and created by their star, Channing Tatum. In it, half-naked male performers treat audiences to raunchy routines and acrobatic acts.
In one video from his time with the show, as he stands on stage topless, with muscular arms and a sculpted six-pack on display, a female compere tells the crowd: ‘I think if we scream loud enough, Nathan will take his trousers down.’ They duly do so, and he drops his jeans to the floor.
Rachel, who is known for her outspoken views, particularly on race, American politics and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at the Oscars with her Snow White co-star, Israeli actress Gal Gadot
Theatre accolades aside, it’s not hard to understand what Rachel sees in him.
But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Nathan is no stranger to rubbing shoulders with celebrities. Previously, his dance skills have won him work with artists including Jesy Nelson, Nicki Minaj and international supergroup Swedish House Mafia. He was also cast in the 2023 film Wonka, starring Timothee Chalamet, and performed at the closing ceremony before the Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium.
Those who know him, however, say success hasn’t changed him – or made him forget his roots. He was born in Barnet, north London, in 1998, with his family – mum Allison, dad Ian and elder brother, Jordan – moving around before settling in Oakham, a market town in Rutland, where they lived for most of his childhood.
His parents have since moved to Manchester, where his father works as a business mentor.
His father also has links to St Lucia, where Nathan’s paternal grandfather, who died last year, owned a hotel. Nathan regularly holidayed there as a child.
At school, however, young Nathan had sport, not drama, on his mind. ‘I wanted to be a professional athlete,’ he has said.
‘Sport was what took up pretty much all of my time. I did anything I could get my hands on, really. Track and field, rugby, karate, hockey, football.’
Jordan, four years Nathan’s senior, had always been the brother who was into performing arts.
With British actor Tom Blyth in the 2023 film The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes
Indeed, he still is – his career has seen him dance on stages across the West End, and he’s currently appearing as part of the ‘swing’ ensemble in Tina The Musical. Soon, Nathan got the bug, too. With his parents’ support, he enrolled at the Rutland Youth Dance Academy, learning everything from street dance to musical theatre.
‘I used to sit up in the evening and watch videos of Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Ginger Rogers, Sammy Davis Jr and The Rat Pack for hours on end,’ he said. ‘I always wanted to learn to move the way they did.’ Thankfully, his teachers were ‘very supportive and encouraged me to push myself in drama and singing’.
One of his secondary school teachers, Leanne Mitchell, director of drama at Catmose College, told The Mail on Sunday last week that Nathan was ‘brilliant’ – even back then. ‘I first asked him about auditioning for a part in Oliver! in the West End after we’d seen it on a school trip,’ she explains.
‘Nathan did the audition, got a part in Fagin’s gang – and went on from there.’
Shortly after appearing in the production at the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane, the youngster applied to Sylvia Young, the prestigious performing arts school and alma mater of famous faces including Dua Lipa, Amy Winehouse and Nicholas Hoult. He won a place, joining the school in Year 9.
From Sylvia Young, he went on to study at the Urdang Academy in London, where he underwent conservatoire-style training in dance and musical theatre.
Today, Nathan describes dance as ‘the driving force in my life’. ‘It makes me feel unstoppable,’ he said in an interview last year.
Ian and Allison have supported their son’s ambitions from the start: ferrying him to auditions, facilitating his move to London, and applauding loudly from countless front rows, along with his proud brother Jordan.
The Louis-Fernand family remain close today, regularly holidaying, lunching and doing wholesome activities – from yoga to sunset walks – together. ‘If lead by example was a man… my father, Ian Louis-Fernand, has always shown me the way,’ wrote Nathan, alongside a recent video of his dad, 59, on social media.
The focus on family is a sentiment Rachel Zegler, who hails from equally humble beginnings, shares – and no doubt helped draw her to Nathan.
Her father Craig is a construction worker of Polish descent, and her Colombian mother Gina quit her job teaching children with disabilities to support her daughter’s career.
Rachel was raised near New York with her elder sister, Jacqueline. Although immersed in theatre since her youth – and apparently destined for stardom when she was selected aged 16 by Steven Spielberg from 30,000 applicants to play West Side Story’s Maria – her path to success has not been smooth.
Because of her outspoken views, she has faced a barrage of online abuse. Things got so bad around the time of Snow White’s release that people started ‘showing up at my apartment and screaming profanities’, she revealed.
Nathan (circled) with Rachel (centre) and the Evita company at the press night after-party at the London Palladium earlier this month
As the dust settles and Zegler sees her star once again in the ascendant, she seems eager to surround herself with people who are far-removed from the Hollywood rumour mill.
She has previously spoken about the importance of having a ‘familiar face’ on set.
‘I think any young actor can attest, it’s the biggest form of comfort,’ she told an interviewer.
Her last relationship, with American actor Josh Andres Rivera, who she met during West Side Story, is said to have ended late last year after three years.
Instagram posts in recent months show her relishing her time in the UK, spending weekends with friends in the country, going on walks and letting her hair down. In one album from last month, captioned ‘Happy, happy girl with her lovely people’, Nathan appears several times, always with his top off, honed abs on display. In every picture, he is gazing at Rachel, his face lit up with a lovestruck grin.
There is no doubt they make a beautiful couple, thrown together under the bright theatre lights and the heady thrill of doing what they love. But will their summer fling last the course?
With Evita scheduled only for a 12-week run, ending on September 6, Rachel will soon be flying back to New York, while Nathan stays in London. Only time will tell whether this modern-day fairytale – the starlet and the backing dancer – has a happy ending.
