Ariana DeBose Is 'Floored' by Her Journey from Small Town Theater to Acting in West Side Story
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From living in a small town to starring in West Side Story, Ariana DeBose feels lucky to have ended up nominated for an Academy Award.
"I just wanted to make the movie, to be honest," DeBose, 31, told Gerrad Hall and Janine Rubenstein on PEOPLE & Entertainment Weekly Red Carpet Live: Hollywood's Biggest Night ahead of Sunday's 94th Academy Awards. "This is all… it's icing on what was already a delicious, scrumptious, exquisite cake."
DeBose picked up a Best Support Actress nod for playing Anita in Steven Spielberg's West Side Story. Spielberg, 75, received recognition in the Best Director category and the musical earned a Best Picture nomination.
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Just as Anita moved from Puerto Rico to New York City to pursue a better life, DeBose hoped of finding success in the Big Apple while growing up in North Carolina.
"I started out dancing in New Bern, North Carolina and then we moved to Raleigh and I got into theater and I just hoped it'd get a job on Broadway," the So You Think You Can Dance vet continued to Hall and Rubenstein. "And all of a sudden I made a big fat movie with one of the greatest directors of all time. And I ended up at the Oscars and I'm just floored by my journey. And absolutely grateful for every moment of it."
RELATED VIDEO: Ariana DeBose Reveals That She Shared a Bra with Rita Moreno
A win on Sunday would mark DeBose's first Oscar victory. Her costar Rita Moreno won the Best Supporting Actress honor in 1962 for playing Anita in the original West Side Story.
DeBose opted for a custom Valentino Haute Couture look that included a plunging crimson crop top with matching wide-leg trousers and a floor-length cape for the big night. The actress complemented the outfit with jewelry from De Beers, including a bracelet from the brand's "Arpeggia collection" — a tribute to Ludwig van Beethoven's "The Moonlight Sonata."
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"When I choose jewelry, I choose jewelry that's bout the names and the design," DeBose explained. "So all of these are about music, everything's about music or light."
PEOPLE & Entertainment Weekly Red Carpet Live: Hollywood's Biggest Night aired live on PEOPLE.com, EW.com, PEOPLE and EW's YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as PeopleTV, beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, March 27, 2022.
The 2022 Oscars are airing Sunday from Hollywood's Dolby Theatre on ABC.
