Zendaya got her start in Hollywood at an early age. From dancing on the Disney Channel to
hanging out with sandworms, Zendaya has completely transformed before our eyes.
Zendaya Coleman knew from a young age that the world of entertainment was her calling. After
joining the dance group Future Shock Oakland, she honed her craft at the Oakland School for
the Arts and the California Shakespeare Theater in Orinda. She hopped between bit
parts and modeling gigs for a while before landing a role on Disney Channel's "Shake It Up" in 2010.
In the role of the bookish, hardworking high schooler and aspiring dancer Rocky Blue,
Zendaya got to show off her dancing background, her gorgeous singing voice,
and her extraordinary charisma. She also discovered a natural knack for comedy.
"Shake It Up" led to roles in other Disney Channel
projects and an appearance in Season 16 of "Dancing with the Stars," on
which Zendaya broke ground as the youngest contestant ever up to that point. Alongside
professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy, she finished as the season's runner-up.
Like many young Disney stars, she also launched herself as a singer. Her 2013
self-titled pop album that spawned the hit single "Replay" was well received.
By 2015, Zendaya was already reconfiguring the realm of possibility for a Disney star:
She became a big enough name to have an entire show built around her. The rising
star didn't stop at just starring on Disney Channel's spy comedy "K.C. Undercover,"
however — she ultimately became a producer of the show despite still being a teenager.
From that point on, it was nowhere but up for Zendaya. "K.C. Undercover" proved a sterling
showcase for her outsized star power, and she built on it with roles in two
hit films. The first was, of course, "Spider-Man: Homecoming," where she played an unusually droll
Mary Jane counterpart, Michelle "MJ" Jones. Zendaya played the character to perfection,
endearing her to Marvel Cinematic Universe fans the world over.
"What are you hiding, Peter? I'm just kidding. I don't care. Bye."
The other role came in the hit musical "The Greatest Showman," in which she and Zac Efron
played star-crossed lovers Anne Wheeler and Phillip Carlyle — as if the world needed any
more proof of Zendaya's tremendous pipes. She plays a trapeze artist in the film,
so she had to add that to her already long list of abilities.
A key aspect of Zendaya's public persona from early on has been her sense of style. A fashion
model from a young age, she garnered as many fans on social media for her always-impeccable
looks as she did for her acting and music. In 2015, she launched her own shoe line,
Daya, and dished to Complex about her enthusiasm for the endeavor. She said,
"I want to make something that I love, that I'm going to wear out,
that I'm going to work on the red carpet, that I'm going to be proud of."
Soon enough, with the help of her brilliant personal stylist Law Roach, it became clear
that Zendaya had grown into nothing less than a fashion icon for her generation. In 2018,
she partnered up with Tommy Hilfiger to design a collection that found its way to
the Paris and New York Fashion Weeks — and she made a point of having her
runways celebrate the beauty of women of color, plus-size women, and older models.
The following years saw Zendaya's star rise even higher in the fashion world. She made
a splash in back-to-back editions of the Met Gala,
with stunning Joan of Arc-esque armor in the 2018 edition, and a dreamy light-up
Cinderella dress that managed to stop the 2019 high camp festival in its tracks.
In addition to releasing her own music,
Zendaya has appeared in the music videos of several high-profile pop artists. The actor
is one of over a dozen individuals who feature in Taylor Swift's popular "Bad Blood" video.
Each featured celeb got to choose the name of their character, and Zendaya chose Cut Throat.
Zendaya talked about the video and working with Taylor Swift on Entertainment Tonight.
"There are some really powerful women in this cast, the ensemble, and I think that's really
cool [...] For me, it was just a cool experience because she asked me to be a part of it."
Zendaya also appeared in Beyoncé's visual album
"Lemonade," featuring in the music video for the song "All Night" in 2016. Then,
in 2017, Zendaya also appeared in Bruno Mars' "Versace on the Floor" video.
After two Disney Channel shows, Zendaya's next series took her career to new heights.
She hit new milestones with her portrayal of Rue Bennett in "Euphoria," the second
most-watched HBO show behind "Game of Thrones." Created by Sam Levinson,
the series follows students at a high school in California balancing teen issues
alongside darker topics like drug abuse and grief. Zendaya shared with Collider,
"When I read it, I immediately just loved it. There's no other way to put it. I just
fell in love with the script, and I fell in love with Rue and all of the characters."
The show sees the actor pushing herself to her limits, like in the opening scene of
Season 2's fifth episode. Zendaya commented to Entertainment Weekly about the episode,
"I mean, I beat myself up. I still have some scars on my legs, and got quite a few bruises."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just - I don't know what to do."
Not only did the role introduce the actor to new audiences and help put her Disney
Channel days behind her, but it also helped her make history as the youngest winner of
the Emmy Award for outstanding lead actress in a drama series. Zendaya has won the award twice,
along with several others for her role as Rue. The actor has also contributed music
to "Euphoria," earning two Emmy nominations for outstanding original music and lyrics.
Zendaya continued working with Sam Levinson on the black-and-white film "Malcolm & Marie." Starring
alongside John David Washington, the movie follows a writer-director and his girlfriend
as they argue about their relationship and the reviews of his latest project.
"Malcolm & Marie" was filmed over two weeks in the summer of 2020 as one of the first movies
to start and finish production during the COVID-19 pandemic. Zendaya and Washington
received praise for their portrayals, but that didn't help the poor critical reception. Most of
the criticism was aimed at the screenplay. Jake Coyle wrote for the Associated Press,
"In self-indulgent dialogue reverberating around ego,
art and filmmaking, 'Malcolm & Marie' more reflects a Twitter argument brought to life."
What drew more attention than the reviews was that when Netflix bought the distribution
rights for "Malcolm & Marie," most individuals involved with the movie
received a cut of the $30 million. The cast and crew had a chance to earn film points,
which gave them a percentage of the revenue. Zendaya shared with Variety,
"It just felt like the right thing to do. These
are the people that are laying all the tracks and were with us through
the whole thing — and literally putting their blood, sweat and tears into it."
Zendaya returned as MJ for 2019's "Spider-Man: Far From Home" and 2021's "No Way Home." She
takes on a more significant role in both installments; in the latter,
she's trying to help Peter Parker as villains from several different timelines appear on their Earth.
The gang teams up with the Spider-Men from those timelines to put the villains back in their place.
"Why'd you do that?"
"I was trying to see if you had the tingle thing."
MJ experienced plenty of growth over the trilogy. Zendaya shared in a behind-the-scenes featurette
that she enjoyed watching the two characters rely on each other and grow together in different ways.
In 2021, Zendaya joined a well-known franchise when she took over as the voice of Lola Bunny
in "Space Jam: A New Legacy." Landing the gig was a huge moment for the actor,
not only because Lola is an iconic character,
but also because of the people involved with the sequel. Zendaya told Entertainment Weekly,
"It was flattering, because I got a call from Ryan Coogler,
who is a producer on the film [...] I've always wanted to work with him."
She appreciates the "reimagining" of the character, who underwent a redesign for
the new movie to be less provocative and have a more developed personality. This decision
received backlash online, which Zendaya wasn't expecting at all. She continued,
"I didn't know that was going to happen [...] I definitely know we love her,
but I didn't know it was going to be as much of a focus as it was."
Despite the reaction to Lola's new appearance, Zendaya is happy to have had the chance to be
a part of the franchise saying that it was a great experience.
Zendaya continued with sci-fi and fantasy films, taking on the role of Chani in
Denis Villeneuve's "Dune" franchise. Chani is a Fremen warrior who, for most of the first movie,
appears in Paul Atreides' visions. She becomes his love interest in the second
film. The films are based on the book of the same name by Frank Herbert, published in 1965.
Despite being a significant part of the marketing campaign for "Dune," Zendaya only appeared in the
first film for seven minutes. There was initial disappointment from moviegoers,
though the director confirmed the goal was for Chani, and other characters,
to appear more in "Dune: Part Two." Villeneuve shared with the Los Angeles Times,
"There are some characters that are less developed that I'm keeping for
the second film — that's the way I found the equilibrium [...] Then, in the second one,
I will have time to develop some characters that were left aside a little bit."
The second movie brings Chani back, putting her in the center of the action,
but that isn't without trials and tribulations as the film comes to
a close. Zendaya said during an interview with ComicBook.com,
"There's heartbreak, there's betrayal,
there's loss and confusion. I feel like it's quite a painful ending. It doesn't end like,
'Oh, someone won!' It's not that. [It's] a lot of broken dreams and hearts."