Zendaya, from Disney kid to gorgeous Hollywood star: her story in photos

She's the beautiful MJ in the arms of 'Spider-man: Far from Home' (2019) and the upcoming movie 'No Way Home' (December 2021). What's the story of Zendaya, one of the hottest young Hollywood actresses of the moment? Let's see how she evolved over time and what kind of exciting productions she's starred in recently.

Zendaya has been a famous actress for a decade, but she's still quite young: her birthday was September 1, 1996, and she just turned 25!

Disney, an inexhaustible source of talent, recruited a very young Zendaya in 2010. She was 14 years old and gave life to Rocky Blue in the well-known series 'Shake it up'. Her co-star was another Disney icon: Bella Thorne.

For three seasons and 75 episodes, Zendaya proved that she knew how to be dramatic, funny, charming, chatty, and sing-songy. For a 14-year-old, her registers were extremely varied. Perhaps not surprising, because she grew up in an artistic environment: her mother was the manager of the Orinda Shakespeare Theater in California, and she trained the actress from a very young age.

Zendaya has Scottish and German roots on her mother's side and African-American roots on her father's side. Her name comes from Shona, a dialect of the widespread African language of Bantu. Its meaning is: "to give thanks."

Having become a Disney celeb, Zendaya participated in 'Dancing with the Stars' in 2013. She was 16 years old and the youngest contestant ever in the talent show. Zendaya became the runner-up behind country singer Kellie Pickler.

In 2013, Zendaya released her first album: 'Zendaya'. In addition, she published the book 'Between U and Me: How to Rock Your Tween Years with Style and Confidence.'

As the book title suggests, the then-17-year-old Zendaya gave a series of tips to adolescents about typical teenage issues and fashion.

Zendaya has appeared in all kinds of looks on the red carpet. She's a popular guest at events like the Academy Awards or the MET Gala (photo).

As a fashion influencer, Zendaya has maintained a close relationship with Tommy Hilfiger. Since 2018, she's been a global ambassador for the brand, a job that includes the creation of special collections by the actress herself. An example is Tommy x Zendaya, her acclaimed collection in which she combines the 1970s with African-American popular culture in the United States.

Meanwhile, the teen series on the Disney Channel continued. In 2014, Zendaya got a series of her own, 'K.C. Undercover', in which she played a young and ambitious spy. It was a big success on the Disney Channel until 2018.

From 2017 onwards, Zendaya began to appear in more mature roles, such as Anne Wheeler in 'The Greatest Showman'. The actress proved that she stood her ground in a musical, and she also had amazing on-screen chemistry in the film with fellow Disney alum Zac Efron.

Zendaya also played Michelle Jones, the 2.0 version of MJ (Mary Jane) in the new series of Spider-man movies. The first instalment in the series, 'Spider-man: Homecoming' (2017), took the world by storm and grossed $880 million.

Zendaya and Tom Holland (who plays Peter Parker / Spider-man) are pure fire on screen. Over time, media began to suggest that they might be a couple in real life too. And in June 2021, this rumour appeared to be confirmed, as the couple were seen kissing in Tom Holland's car (per Page Six).

One of Zendaya's most remarkable characters of late has been Rue Bennet in the HBO series 'Euphoria'. It's a leading role in which she plays a teenager with problems of love, identity and addictions. At age 23, Zendaya won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress for 'Euphoria' in 2020.

To put into perspective what Zendaya did in 'Euphoria' you only need to take a look at her competitors for the 2020 Lead Actress Emmy. Jennifer Aniston ('The Morning Show'), Olivia Colman ('The Crown'), Jodie Comer ('Killing Eve'), Laura Linney ('Ozark') and Sandra Oh ('Killing Eve') were the other contestants.

In early 2021, Netflix released a daring and intense black-and-white relationship drama starring Zendaya and John David Washington. They portrayed a tormented, passionate couple over the course of one night.

Zendaya looks remarkably mature in the film. Washington, who's twelve years older than her, told Variety that "she has far more experience than I do in the industry... I’m learning from her. I’m the rookie."

In 2021, two more big productions will arrive in cinemas. First of all, there's the Spider-man movie 'No Way Home'. Trailers have already shown new action scenes of Zendaya and Tom Holland, while the story of Spider-man and his alter ego(s) is also expected to take a surprising turn. Read more about the new Spider-man movie. 

Second, October brings Zendaya and a star cast in 'Dune.' This remake of the sci-fi classic is directed by Denis Villeneuve and stars Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson and Javier Bardem along with Zendaya. Fans will be glad once the film is out, because the pandemic has delayed its release for nearly a year.

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