Zendaya

Zendaya (born September 1, 1996, Oakland, California, U.S.) is an American actor, singer, and dancer who first gained fame for comedic roles on the Disney Channel and later transitioned to more complex and critically acclaimed parts such as Rue Bennett in the HBO series Euphoria, for which she won two Emmy Awards. Over the years the popular star, who prefers to go by her mononym, has earned a reputation as a fashion icon and is particularly known for her showstopping ensembles at red carpets, fashion weeks, and premieres. Zendaya has also been chosen as the face of luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Bulgari.

Early life and interest in performing arts

Zendaya was born to teachers Claire Stoermer and Kazembe Ajamu. She began performing in Oakland, California, at a young age, practicing hula with the Academy of Hawaiian Arts and dancing with Future Shock Oakland, a hip-hop dance troupe. She went on to study at the Cal Shakes Conservatory Program, Orinda; the American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco; and the Oakland School for the Arts. While attending the latter, Zendaya acted in many stage productions, including Once on This Island at the Berkeley Playhouse and Caroline, or Change at Palo Alto’s TheaterWorks (both in California). Her other theatrical credits include William Shakespeare’s Richard III, Twelfth Night, and As You Like It. She also modeled, appeared in TV commercials, and was a dancer in a Kidz Bop video.

Disney stardom, music, and rise to fame

In 2010 Zendaya won the part of Raquel (“Rocky”) Blue, one of the lead characters in the Disney Channel’s Shake It Up, a comedy about two Chicago teenagers attempting to realize their dreams of becoming professional dancers. The show ran until 2013, and during that time Zendaya released her first single, “Swag It Out” (2011), and her first full album, Zendaya (2013), which features the hit song “Replay.” She also starred in a number of Disney made-for-TV movies, including Frenemies (2012) and Zapped (2014). Between her acting and singing, Zendaya had developed a large fan base, and in 2013 she published a book of advice, Between U and Me: How to Rock Your Tween Years with Style and Confidence, aimed toward her preteen fans. In addition, Zendaya put her dancing skills to the test as a contestant on the 16th season (2013) of Dancing with the Stars. Although she had the highest scores for most of the season, she finished the competition as runner-up. From 2015 to 2018 Zendaya starred as K.C. Cooper, a smart and sassy high schooler leading a double life as a slick undercover spy, in Disney’s K.C. Undercover. The actor also produced a number of episodes of the show.

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Big-screen debut and subsequent projects

Looking to broaden her range, Zendaya appeared in her first non-Disney role in 2015, guest-starring as Resheida in season two, episode four of the TV comedy Black-ish. About this time she also appeared in a number of music videos, including Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood” (2015), Beyoncé’s “All Night” (2016), and Bruno Mars’s “Versace on the Floor” (2017).

In 2017 Zendaya bagged her first big-screen role, as Michelle (“MJ”) Jones in Spider-Man: Homecoming and became part of her first Marvel Cinematic Universe film. That same year she portrayed Anne Wheeler, a trapeze artist, in the musical film The Greatest Showman and showed off her many talents, including singing (with Zac Efron) one of the movie’s most-talked-about songs (“Rewrite the Stars”). In 2019 Zendaya also had a guest spot on the TV drama The OA.

Zendaya reprised her role as MJ in Spider-Man: Far from Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Her other movies from 2021 include the romantic drama Malcolm & Marie, where she portrayed the titular character Marie, and the animated Space Jam: A New Legacy, in which she voiced the character of Lola Bunny. Zendaya starred as Chani alongside Timothée Chalamet in Denis Villeneuve’s multipart (2021 and 2024) adaptation of Dune, Frank Herbert’s 1965 science-fiction epic. She was also a part of Elvis Mitchell’s documentary Is That Black Enough for You? (2022), which explores the history of Black cinema.

She followed up with her role as Tashi in Challengers (2024), a romantic drama chronicling the relationship between a trio of professional tennis players. She also stars opposite actor Robert Pattinson in The Drama, which will be released in 2025.

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Historic wins for Euphoria and other awards

In 2019 Zendaya took on the lead role of Rue Bennett, a high-school student battling anxiety and drug addiction in the HBO series Euphoria. The role was a significant departure from her Disney days, and in interviews the actor opened up about playing such an emotionally demanding character. In a 2022 interview with ELLE Australia, the actor talked about the experience of filming a particularly difficult episode:

I was scared to tackle it because I didn’t want to see Rue like that, or have to go through that. Your body is a person, it doesn’t know that what you’re doing is not real. My brain can say, “Okay, I’m pretending,” but when I’m doing it, my body and my heart don’t know that it’s not real. It can be exhausting in that way, and it can make you feel bad because she says and does things that I don’t want her to do and say, but here I am.

Lauded for her “haunting, painful, and affecting performance” in Euphoria, she received two Primetime Emmy Awards (2020 and 2022) for outstanding lead actress in a drama series and a Golden Globe (2023) for best actress in a TV drama. Both of her Emmy wins were historic. At the time of her first award in 2020, Zendaya was the youngest actor to win in that category, and in 2022 she became the first Black woman to win that Emmy twice. In addition, she was the youngest two-time Emmy winner. The actor also won a BET Award for best actress (2022) for her performances in Euphoria and Spider-Man: No Way Home. Zendaya has also received a slew of other awards, including an MTV Movie & TV Award for best performance in a show (2022) for Euphoria and a Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Award for favorite female TV star (2017) for her role in K.C. Undercover. She was also featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in 2016.

Interest in fashion

In addition to acting, singing, and dancing, Zendaya is also known for her interest in fashion. She has often turned heads at red-carpet events with her bold, playful looks, including at the 2015 Academy Awards ceremony, where she appeared in an elegant off-the-shoulder ivory gown with her hair in dreadlocks. After a commentator made questionable remarks about the hairstyle, Zendaya addressed the racism inherent to such criticism the next day on Instagram. She stated: “There is a fine line between what is funny and disrespectful.…There is already harsh criticism of African American hair in society.…My wearing my hair in locs on an Oscar red carpet was to showcase them in a positive light.” The commentator apologized, and Mattel soon created a Barbie doll modeled after Zendaya’s red-carpet look.

In 2016 Zendaya launched a fashion line called Daya. She then collaborated with American designer Tommy Hilfiger on Tommy x Zendaya, which debuted in 2019. That year the collection won acclaim for its fall show in New York, which featured all Black models ranging in age from 18 to 70 and included such veterans as Pat Cleveland, Beverly Johnson, Veronica Webb, and Grace Jones. In 2021 the actor was awarded the CFDA Fashion Icon Award. In 2024 Zendaya was chosen as a cochair (alongside Bad Bunny, Chris Hemsworth, and Jennifer Lopez) for that year’s Met Gala, the annual benefit for the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. She has been appointed the global brand ambassador for luxury fashion brands such as Valentino, Louis Vuitton, and Bulgari and the sportswear brand On.