Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman is a famous actress, singer and model in Hollywood. Coming out of Disney Channel, she achieved much success on screen as well as becoming a new fashion icon.

Coming from the “House of Mouse”, the place that once made famous stars Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez , Zendaya not only successfully broke the mold but also built a bold direction, bringing the image of a “princess”. Disney” has rare confidence and bravery.

At the age of twenty-six, Zendaya is living every girl’s dream, owning two Emmy awards, blockbuster movies and covering every fashion magazine with her modern beauty and trendy dressing sense.

Zendaya’s childhood years

Zendaya was born in 1996 in Oakland, California. Her parents are both teachers here, so Zendaya once shared with the press that if she did not participate in acting, she would work in the field of education.

Her father is African American while her mother is of German and Scottish descent. Zendaya is proud to be of mixed heritage, and she is always outspoken about her own privilege in Hollywood.

“Whether I’m a woman of color or white, the most important thing is that I’m using my privilege, my platform, to show you how much beauty there is in the African American community. I’m a Hollywood actress, I guess you would think that’s the acceptable version of a black girl and that has to change.” – Zendaya spoke at BeautyCon Festival

Since childhood, Zendaya has shown artistic talent, she also received great support from her relatives. At the age of eight, she joined the dance troupe Future Shock Oakland and studied Hula dancing for two years at the Hawaii Institute of Arts.

By high school, Zendaya decided to study at Oakland School of the Arts and had the opportunity to appear in several plays such as Bekeley, Playhouse , TheaterWorks at local theaters.

In addition, she also joined the musical team of the California Shakespeare Theater in Orinda, California. Her mother used to work as a manager and coach students in the theater’s special program here. 

Besides her passion for art, Zendaya once shared about her desire to become a basketball player, which is possible because she has an ideal height of 1m78. It was a “gift” she received from her parents when they both possessed outstanding physical bodies.

The first step on Zendaya’s career path

The California girl started getting involved in Hollywood at an early age. Zendaya’s role at that time was as a child model for fashion brands such as Macy’s, Mervyns and Old Navy, and even the toy brand iCarly.

Nowadays, Zendaya is known for her impeccable fashion sense but this is no coincidence. She was once noticed by retail group Sears and invited to star in fashion commercials with former Disney star singer Selena Gomez.

Although the Sears advertisement could not bring Zendaya’s name closer to the public, appearing with Selena Gomez was a highlight, marking the future cooperation of the two young girls.

In 2009, Zendaya auditioned for the female lead role of CeCe Jones in the Disney Channel series Shake It Up . However, the director later decided that Bella Thorne was more suitable, and Zendaya was chosen to play Rocky Blue.

Created by Chris Thompson, Disney Channel’s Shake It Up follows best friends CeCe (Bella Thorne) and Rocky (Zendaya) as they try to become professional dancers.

While Zendaya and Thorne played best friends, their real-life relationship was far from smooth. In an interview with J-14, Thorne shared about confusing situations during filming:

“Zendaya and I were put in an awkward position when we were forced to compete against each other on Shake It Up, which made the entire first season of the show very awkward for us.”

Putting aside the tension behind the scenes, Shake It Up then attracted more than six million views in its first broadcast. This is the work with the second highest viewership rating on the first day of release in Disney Channel history.

Throughout 75 episodes alongside Bella Thorne, Zendaya at that time did not possess outstanding beauty like her co-star. It is her natural acting that helps her shine, bringing opportunities to appear on the big screen later.

Despite a rough start, Zendaya and Bella’s relationship gradually improves in season two of Shake It Up . When J-14 conducted the interview, they shared their honest thoughts about each other:

Although not as highly appreciated as other Disney-branded works such as Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place or The Suite Life On Deck, Shake It Up itself also had three films before ending.

At that time, Shake It Up still attracted many audiences, but Disney Channel decided to shorten the work’s journey. This is an opportunity for the young actors to take a break before continuing to explore the Disney universe.

In 2012, Zendaya starred in the Disney Channel movie Frenemies with co-star Bella Thorne. The work has the participation of many young stars such as Stefanie Scott, Nick Robinson, Mary Mouser , Connor Price and Dylan Everett.

Frenemies is a teen drama series and is based on the novel of the same name by Alexa Young, revolving around competition between students. Initially sworn enemies, they gradually became close friends.

The competition between Avalon Greene (played by Bella Thorne) and Halley Brandon (played by Zendaya) when aiming for the editor position of the publishing company Burns Publications causes the relationship between the two to deteriorate.

However, later events made them decide to clear up their misunderstanding and become close friends like before. Avalo and Halley finally realized their own dreams.

In early 2012, the film was released on Disney Channel and attracted more than four million views in its first broadcast. Her role as Halley Brandon helped Zendaya receive a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Performance in a Drama in 2013.

Besides being an actress, Zendaya is also known as a singer. She has released many singles in the past and achieved certain achievements.

To promote Shake It Up, Zendaya released the singles Swag it Out and Watch Me featuring co-star Bella Thorne. After its release, Watch Me peaked at number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.

Not long after, Zendaya continued to attack the music market with the song My Baby composed by Bobby Brackins and produced by Glenn A. Foster. To date, the MV has reached more than twenty million views on Youtube.

In 2012, Zendaya signed with Hollywood Records and released the single Replay , which peaked at number forty on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Her self-titled studio album peaked at number fifty-one on the Billboard 200 chart after debut.

In the same year, Zendaya starred in the Disney Channel movie Zapped and released her first book, Between U and Me: How to Rock your tween years with Style , to help girls get through the troublesome teenage years. tangled.

This period saw Zendaya try her hand at many different fields, spending most of her time working on Disney movies and TV shows, while also participating in new music projects.

At the end of 2016, Zendaya gave up her school roles and showed a new image in Bruno Mars ‘s MV Versace on the floor . Her captivating expression made many viewers admire the combination between the two.

Thanks to her dancing talent, Zendaya later appeared on the sixteenth season of Dancing With The Stars and became the youngest contestant in the show’s history. She teamed up with dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy and the duo successfully won the runner-up position.

Zendaya’s famous formula is similar to many previous Disney stars when she released a series of singles, played the female lead in a number of prominent works, and was accompanied by attractive acting and singing skills.

Amidst the wave of skepticism about the discharge rules of young stars, Zendaya had a career breakthrough in 2014 when participating in the work KC Undercover. In addition to playing the female lead, she also participates behind the scenes as a producer.

The work was originally titled Super Awesome Katy , but Zendaya requested to change the film’s name as well as the personality of the character Katy Cooper.

“I want to make sure that she is not good at singing, acting, dancing or artistically inclined,” the actress who plays Rocky Blue, who dances or sings well in Shake It Up, stipulated conditions with Disney. There are other things girls can do,” Zendaya argued

One of the “other things” the young actress wants is martial arts ability. She believes that the young spy is an intelligent character with his own thoughts, so he certainly cannot be inferior to others just because of his gender.

The three parts of the work all received many positive reviews and owned a total of four awards and nine nominations at award ceremonies, including Best TV Series in the Kids’ Choice Awards 2018.

The biggest turning point that brought Zendaya into the Hollywood movie capital was when she participated in Marvel’s blockbuster Spider-Man: Homecoming . Overcoming many bright candidates, Zendaya is the perfect choice for the role of Michelle Jones, Spider-Man’s girlfriend.

“I just knew that it was a school girl character. I don’t even know what kind of character it is, because my character is very interesting, you know, like a loner. She is incredibly smart, funny and dry.” – She used to think it was just a normal school movie

Possessing a name that is easily associated with Mary Jane, Michelle Jones is completely different from Peter Parker’s famous red-haired lover. She appears with a somewhat frumpy appearance, a mysterious appearance and the ability to see through everything.

The matching personality is the reason the director decided to choose Zendaya. According to director Jon Watts, she proved herself to be an “incredibly technical actress” when she auditioned.

However, when announcing the role of MJ, some individuals strongly criticized Marvel’s casting process just because Zendaya is a black actress. In response to racist comments, Zendaya frankly expressed:

“I don’t know which “America” you live in but what I see when I walk the streets of New York is diversity. That is what should be reflected and is being reflected. So you have to accept it and get over it.”

Spider-Man: Homecoming revolves around Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland) , a teenager who is learning to balance the life of a high school student and a world-saving superhero, under the guidance of billionaire Tony Stark. ( Played by Robert Downey) .

Meanwhile, Zendaya’s role is not a constant concern for Peter Parker. Michelle Jones is a smart but lonely person, until she makes friends and discovers for herself the secret identity behind the Spider-Man costume.

Zendaya herself calls her character “dry, weird, smart, and because she knows she’s smart.” It was the actress who suggested creating a Michelle “without makeup and with a cup of exotic herbal tea next to her.”

To date, the film has brought the producer $880 million in box office revenue. This is a huge number, helping Spider-Man: Homecoming climb to eighth place in the ranking of the highest-grossing works in the Marvel cinematic universe.

Although it was her first role on the big screen, Zendaya received many compliments from critics and famous magazines. The Hollywood Reporter commented, “Zendaya is a talented new star with a performance that attracts all eyes and occupies the entire screen.”

“I feel like an idiot standing in front of someone so young who is so good” – Jon Watts expressed surprise at Zendaya in an article about the actress published in Vogue magazine

With global sales and explosive effects from Spider-Man: Homecoming, Zendaya quickly won the hearts of a large audience and became an important character in the life of the “Spider”.

In 2019, Zendaya continued to return in the second part Spider-Man: Far From Home . With global sales surpassing the billion dollar mark, Tom Holland and Zendaya are even more explosive than they were two years ago.

Spider-Man: Far From Home is a sequel to the time after Infinity War when the superhero team witnessed many losses and pain. Spider-Man is also one of them and he is expected to become a replacement for Iron Man.

As for Zendaya, she did a great job bringing the nervous, somewhat irritable version of MJ to the big screen. The banter with Peter and his classmates makes MJ one of the most lovable characters in Far From Home .

In addition to its commercial success, Spider Man: Far From Home received a lot of praise for exploiting the multiverse theme very well, thereby creating momentum for other works to further develop the theory. multiverse later.

“This is one of the closest Matrix movies ever in the MCU, and Spider Man: Far From Home is the first Marvel movie to keep audiences glued to their seats in theaters.” – Critic Adam Graham shared on Detroit News 

The Spider-Man film series not only gives Zendaya a bright future in her acting career but also gives her a beautiful love affair with “Spider” Tom Holland.

Not resting on her laurels, Zendaya always looks for opportunities to assert herself through outstanding roles, thereby leaving many deep impressions in the hearts of the public.

At the end of 2017, Zendaya “transformed” as circus artist Anne Wheeler in the musical The Greatest Showman . The skinny curly haired girl has reached the peak of her beauty every year when showing off her hot body alongside beautiful outfits. 

Pairing with Zac Efron , an actor from the same Disney Channel, Zendaya continued to bring her great success when she was nominated for Favorite Movie Actress at the 2018 Kid’s Choice Award.

Inspired by the life of showman and vaudeville founder PT Barnum, The Greatest Showman vividly recreates the world of the first circuses through the lens of music and dance. 

The film revolves around Barnum (played by Hugh Jackman) , the son of a poor tailor with a low status in society. He always wanted to stand under the spotlight and shine.

In his youth, he soon fell in love with Lady Charity (played by Michelle Williams) , who came from a wealthy family. Overcoming all social prejudices, Barnum promises to bring Charity a happy life, worthy of what she exchanges for.

On the journey to realize that promise, this guy brought a revolution to the entertainment industry. At the same time, the ambitious game manager also receives countless profound lessons about life, when dreams are not rosy.

In addition to her excellent role playing, Zendaya also performed her voice in the song Rewrite the stars with Zac Efron. At this time, her singing and acting talents were fully revealed and received great love from the public.

The performances of the two actors were highly praised. Critic Gleiberman evaluated “Zendaya and Zac delivered a great performance and an unbeatable combination” in Variety.

With a revenue of $420 million, The Greatest Showman is officially on the list of highest-grossing musical works of all time. The film also excellently received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Musical Film of 2018.

After the success of the hit series, Zendaya is still working hard in the film industry, voicing works such as Smallfoot (2018), Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) . 

In addition to being a voice actress, Zendaya also took on a production and acting position in the horror film A White Lie (2017), transforming into the first African-American woman to graduate from Vassar University.

Based on the book The Gilded Years by Karin Tanabe, the work tells the true story of Anita Hemmings, an African-American woman descended from slaves. She had to pretend to be white to attend Vassar in the 1890s.

At Vassar, Anita is returned to her perfect world, where she is treated like an educated, aristocratic white woman who finds romance with a wealthy Harvard student.

After its release, A White Lie did not receive much attention from the public even though the work was a milestone marking changes in the actress’s acting image.

Based on the Israeli series of the same name , Euphoria is a story about young people through thorny and controversial aspects. The work is highly appreciated for the uniqueness of each scene as well as the great acting of Zendaya.

In Euphoria , Zendaya plays Rue, a young drug addict vulnerable to her unsavory past. Depressed, Rue turned to drugs and continuously pushed herself into a near-death situation. 

“I don’t understand why her brain does so much work, so I rely a lot on producer and director Sam Levinson, because he’s the one who created Rue.”- Zendaya shared the hardest part when plays Rue

Rue has struggled to keep her life balanced, but everything is still unstable and uncertain. Besides, following Rue, the veil on the lives of high school students is also “naked” in Euphoria.

Throughout eight episodes, the audience can easily see the way of life of today’s new generation. That is the life where girls and boys consider “no longer a virgin” as something to be proud of.

Even taking revenge on ex-boyfriends by having sex with someone new right in front of them. Besides, the film also shows viewers a new perspective on “finding a partner” in the age of information technology.

The film has the appearance of Lady Bird (Rebellious Age) when reflecting the lifestyle of a group of teenagers in the US and Europe. Euphoria was then the “key card” that helped HBO compete with Sex Education and 13 Reasons Why on Netflix.

Many experts praised Zendaya’s performance for successfully conveying the pain and conflicts in the character’s psychology, especially the scene where Rue is in pain and despair because of drugs.

“Zendaya’s face changes constantly according to the situation. Most notable is the scene where Rue pleads with the salesperson. With just a slight crack in her voice, Zendaya lost Rue’s youthful exuberance, while she seemed very heartbroken” – Independent commented

Thanks to this role, Zendaya won the Emmy Award for Best Actress, becoming the youngest actress in history to win the award, surpassing big names like Jodie Comer of Killing Eve or Olivia Colman of The Crown.

More than any criticism, the award affirmed the young girl’s acting talent. This was the beginning of the wide-ranging film career that Zendaya would have in the future, from the blockbuster Dune to the Malcom & Marie project .

In early 2021, the young star participated in Malcolm & Marie, a highly rated psychological drama on the Netflix platform, where she transformed from the image of a high school girl to become a mature and complex woman.

Under the hands of “molding” from script to director of Sam Levinson, the enchanting black and white film by Zendaya and John David Washington portrays true love through doubts, obsessions and emotions. I’m unpredictable .

The former “Disney princess” is now transformed into the role of seductive muse Marie. Zendaya’s comeback this time marks a spectacular “transformation” because the role requires a complex interiority, making viewers “breathless” at her mature charisma.

After its release, the work faced mixed reviews from critics because Zendaya – Washington’s performance and chemistry could not make up for director Sam Levinson’s unattractive script.

“Malcolm & Marie’s ambitions are not always fulfilled satisfactorily, but its flaws are offset by the strong chemistry between its stars.” – Rotten Tomatoes

The performances of Zendaya and John David Washington in the film received much praise from critics, including two acting awards for Zendaya at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Hollywood Critics Association (HCA).

At the end of 2021, Zendaya returned to the screen with the science-fiction blockbuster Dune (Sand Planet) with famous Hollywood stars such as Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard and Jason Momoa.

Dune is adapted from the novel of the same name by writer Frank Herbert. Written by Eric Roth, the screenplay retains the spirit of the original, especially the ideas about religion, politics and power.

Set in the year 10191, Dune revolves around Paul Atreides (played by Timothy Chalamet) , the only son of Duke Leto Atreides (played by Oscar Isaac) and Lady Jessica (played by Rebecca Ferguson) .

According to the Emperor’s orders, the Atreides family must manage the desert planet Arrakis, which is rich in “spice”, which is considered a magic medicine and can be used as fuel for interplanetary travel.

As the family heir, Paul must learn and perfect the necessary skills to replace his father’s position in times of emergency. The film focuses on recreating the coming-of-age journey of Paul Atreides as the heir to the Atreides family .

In Dune, Zendaya plays Chani, a strong, strong Fremen girl who always appears in Paul’s (played by Timothée Chalamet) dreams and tells him about the planet Arrakis.

Despite participating in massive promotions and having majestic appearances at launch events, the actress’s little screen time in the blockbuster Dune made fans feel disappointed.

Everything was only shown in just seven minutes with lackluster dialogue, making Zendaya’s role not as groundbreaking as expected. Her fans then “flocked” to Twitter to share their disappointment about the movie.

“We are so tired of seeing Zendaya show off her face during promotions. Zendaya deserves more for the effort she has put in.” – Vulture reporter Zoe Unlock shared on Twitter

However, Dune ‘s resounding success at the 2022 Oscars somewhat consoled fans when it won six out of ten nominations, including Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Film Editing. Best visual effects.

In 2021, Zendaya returned in the blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home and continued to play the role of MJ, “Spider-Man’s girlfriend”.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is not only the end of Tom Holland’s film trilogy but also opens up a promising future for the character when he escapes the shadow of Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jr.) .

Not only that, the work also touched fans by continuing the unfinished journey of the two old versions performed by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.

Spider-Man: No Way Home revolves around the turned upside down life of Peter Parker (played by Tom Holland) . The villain Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home announced the identity of Spider-Man to the whole world.

Summoned by the magic of Dr. Strange (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) , “Peter One” Tom Holland must join “Peter Two” Tobey Maguire and Peter Three” Andrew Garfield against six villains.

Playing the role of assistant to Peter Parker, Michelle Jones and Ned Leeds (played by Jacob Batalon) also have similar acting opportunities. The “comedy” performances and touching scenes are all handled smoothly by the two young stars.

“Holland, Zendaya and Batalon are an invaluable trio. The various villains and “other actors” appearing make this pure drama even more interesting. Fans will have the best experiences when enjoying the blockbuster.” – Deadline Hollywood writer Pete Hammond

Erik Kain of Forbes declared Spider-Man: No Way Home the best Marvel movie in years and asserted “everything I hoped for surpassed my expectations, continuing to hit the mark right from the start.” the first moment to the last”.

With this re-release, Spider-Man: No way home becomes the sixth blockbuster to surpass the two billion dollar mark. This is also a gift that the studio gives fans on the twentieth anniversary of Spider-Man coming to the screen. wide shot with Spider-Man (2002) .

Possessing 153 million followers on Instagram, Zendaya is one of the most influential young people today. She clearly understands the value of “influence” with clear views on the issues facing young people.

While feminism is gradually becoming complicated and becoming a topic of debate for many people, Zendaya does not hesitate to share that she is a feminist, but she has her own understanding.

“A feminist in my opinion is someone who believes in the power of women the same way they believe in the power of anyone. It’s about equality, it’s about fairness, and I’m glad I can be among those people.” – Zendaya gave an interview to Flare magazine

As a person of color, Zendaya actively participates in the Black Lives Matter campaign. In mid-2020, she participated in protests after the death of George Floyd and had strong views on racial issues, especially as a black female actress in the Hollywood empire.

Zendaya is known as an outstanding fashion icon for young people to learn from. Personality appearance, trendy style and special charm made Zendaya quickly receive the public’s attention.

Recently, thanks to her great influence, Zendaya was honored by the American Fashion Design Association (CFDA) with the Fashion Icon award.

At the same time, Zendaya is also on the list of actresses to receive this prestigious award alongside big names such as supermodel Naomi Campbell, and female singers Beyoncé and Lady Gaga.

Zendaya herself also has her own fashion brand Daya by Zendaya, launched at the end of 2016. The young girl was then considered the “muse” of many fashion houses, and in 2018 she became an ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger. and collaborated with this brand for the Tommy x Zendaya collection.

2020 is considered “Zendaya’s year” when she is continuously voted the best dressed star of the year, appears on the cover of a series of fashion magazines and continuously collaborates with high-end fashion houses such as Lancome (2019). ), Valentino (2020).

Zendaya has always been tight-lipped about her love life since coming into the spotlight. Some of Zendaya’s rumored boyfriends, including Trevor Jackson, Euphoria co-star Jacob Elordi or player Odell Beckham Jr., were all quickly denied by her.

Zendaya and Tom Holland began to stir up romance rumors in 2017, she insisted that their relationship was “just friends”. In an interview with Variety, Zendaya expressed:

“He’s a great guy. He is truly one of my best friends. Many months ago, we went on a press tour together. There are very few people who understand what that’s like.”

By early 2021, Tom Holland and Zendaya officially confirmed their relationship. In July of the same year, the couple was photographed by the media kissing in a car in Los Angeles, USA.

So far, neither Zendaya nor Tom Holland have spoken out about their relationship. But they have spoken out together many times, hinting at the challenges of dating as public figures.