- Zendaya Coleman broke out as a Disney star when she was 14.
- The now 22 year old has gone on to become a blockbuster star and fashion icon.
- She’s currently starring on HBO’s dark and graphic teen drama, “Euphoria.”
Zendaya has gone from Disney star to a box-office wonder and her Hollywood moment is not going to end any time soon.
She was only 14 years old when she landed her first onscreen role on Disney Channel. Since then, the dancer, singer, and actress has written a book, designed her own clothing line, and joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
As if that wasn’t enough, the 22-year-old is an activist and feminist, fighting for equality and diversity.
Here’s a look at how Zendaya has taken over Hollywood.
Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman was born September 1, 1996 and grew up in Oakland, California.
Source: Twitter
Her name is pronounced Zen-DAY-uh.
Source: Twitter
She was introduced to theater and acting as a young child because her mother was the house manager at the California Shakespeare Theater in Orinda.
Source: Diablo Magazine
She quickly got into dancing and was in a hip-hop troupe when she was only 8 years old.
Source: W Magazine
The teen started her career as a young model for brands like Macy's and Old Navy and was soon showing off her dance skills in commercials and a 2009 Kidz Bop music video.
Zendaya danced her way into one of the lead roles on Disney Channel's "Shake It Up!" when she was 14.
Source: IMDB
As a rising Disney star, Zendaya appeared on other Disney shows including "Good Luck Charlie" and "A.N.T. Farm."
She also scored lead roles in the Disney TV movies "Frenemies" and "Zapped."
She wasn't even 16 when she signed with Hollywood Records — previously, the label of artists such as Selena Gomez and the Jonas Brothers — in 2012.
Her debut self-titled album was released in 2013, and peaked at 51 on the Billboard 200. Watch her music video for "Replay" here.
Source: M Magazine
The same year as her album debut, she competed on "Dancing With the Stars" and placed second.
Source: MTV
She was featured on the 2015 "Finding Neverland" soundtrack, and in February 2016, she dropped a single featuring Chris Brown.
You can listen to Zendaya on "Neverland" here.
She also collaborated with Prince Royce in 2017.
Source: Rolling Stone
In a 2019 interview though, Zendaya said she was stepping away from music for a bit.
"I think the [music] industry takes a little bit of passion away from you," Zendaya told Paper magazine. "It sucks you dry a little bit."
She even found time to write a book titled "Between U and Me: How to Rock Your Tween Years with Style and Confidence."
Source: Amazon
She starred in and served as a producer on "KC Undercover," another Disney show.
"The only way I was going to come back to the Disney Channel was if I was in a position of more power," she told Cosmopolitan about the show. "One thing that is really important to me is diversity on the channel ... Representation is very important."
She had very specific demands on how her Disney show was going to be.
"I wanted to make sure that she wasn't good at singing or acting or dancing. That she wasn't artistically inclined," Zendaya told Vogue. "There are other things that a girl can be ... I want her to be martial arts-trained. I want her to be able to do everything that a guy can do ... I want her to be normal with an extraordinary life."
Zendaya was thrust into the limelight for her response to comments E!'s Giuliana Rancic made about her hair during the 2015 Oscars.
Source: People
Rancic said her dreadlocks must have smelled of "patchouli" and "weed." The teen responded with a lengthy Instagram post that was widely applauded.
"My wearing my hair in locs on an Oscar red carpet was to showcase them in a positive light, to remind people of color that our hair is good enough. To me, locs are a symbol of strength and beauty," she wrote on Instagram.
Mattel created a Barbie in her image to honor the young star for being a role model.
Source: Today
The teen strives to be an advocate for people. "I want to be a spokesperson for self-love and for diversity," she told Elle.
Source: Elle
She also considers herself an activist and uses her social media to support charities and movements.
"There are a lot wonderful things and opportunities to put light on issues that are important to me, like the 'Black Lives Matter' movement," she told Elle. "I can use [social media] and do a lot of good and a lot of great, great things."
She doesn't shy away from calling herself a feminist.
"I think feminism - I've said this before - is believing in the power of a woman as much as you believe in the power of anybody else," she told Elle.
She's also been known to stand up for anyone being bullied online, including herself.
She's shut down rape jokes, trolls who called her parents ugly, and some guy who mocked a makeup artist.
She's also called out a magazine for retouching her body and contributing to "unrealistic ideals of beauty."
"Had a new shoot come out today and was shocked when I found my 19-year-old hips and torso quite manipulated. These are the things that make women self-conscious, that create the unrealistic ideals of beauty that we have," she wrote on Instagram. "Anyone who knows who I am knows I stand for honest and pure self-love. So I took it upon myself to release the real pic (right side) and I love it. Thank you @modelistemagazine for pulling down the images and fixing this retouch issue."
And she's incredibly proud of her heritage — her father is African-American, and her mother is German and Scottish.
"My mother's proud of where she's from, and her history, and her past, and same with my dad," she told US Weekly. "I have roots in Africa. Like, I am from Africa as well as from Germany, and I am very proud of that."
Some people may recognize Zendaya from her appearance in Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood" music video.
She played Cut Throat.
Or from Beyoncé's visual album, "Lemonade." That's her in the bottom right corner.
Zendaya is a huge Beyoncé fan and freaked out after being asked to appear in Beyoncé's "Lemonade."
"It was beautiful because it hit on so many points, not just about feminism or empowerment but it talked about heartbreak and healing all at the same time,"she told Seventeen of the experience. "It touched on cultural and societal issues. ... It was so empowering as a black woman to watch it and be a part of it."
Zendaya was cast in "Spider-Man: Homecoming," her first feature film role.
She was cast as a character named Michelle.
Many fans guessed early on that she might be playing Peter's love interest Mary Jane Watson.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
While that's not entirely true in this movie, she does reveal at the end that she goes by MJ, Mary Jane's nickname.
She is one of Peter's friends and classmates.
She is returning in the sequel "Spider-Man: Far From Home."
The movie is set for release on July 2, 2019.
Early in 2016, she was also revealed as the new face of CoverGirl.
Source: Teen Vogue
As if all of that work wasn't enough, the 20-year-old is now a shoe and clothing designer. Daya by Zendaya is sold at Nordstrom.
Source: Daya by Zendaya
She has established herself as a fashion icon.
Her outfits are always stunning.
And looked stunning at the 2017 Met Gala.
Even Rihanna agreed - a fact which caused Zendaya to freak out.
She took her look even further at the 2019 Met Gala.
She channeled Cinderella for her 2019 look and the dress was complete with luminescent electrical work that made her dress glow.
Zendaya teamed up with Tommy Hilfiger for a collaboration called Tommy x Zendaya,.
The runway show featured all black models who ranged in age from 18 to 70.
In February 2018, Zendaya became the new face of Lancôme.
She joined other actresses including Lupita Nyong'o and Julia Roberts.
She stunned in Bruno Mars' sexy video for "Versace on the Floor."
The two were in the video together.
She was in the musical biopic "The Greatest Showman" as a trapeze artist, alongside Zac Efron and Hugh Jackman.
It was nominated for best original song at the Oscars.
You can also hear Zendaya voicing characters in "Duck Duck Goose" and "Smallfoot."
Both movies came out in 2018.
The actress briefly appeared on "The OA's" second season.
She played a character named Fola.
Zendaya was cast as Rue on HBO's gritty and dark teen drama "Euphoria."
Rue struggles with anxiety and depression and is a drug addict.
Zenday wrote a trigger warning on her Instagram for her fans informing them of the difficult subject matter.
"It's a raw and honest portrait of addiction, anxiety, and the difficulties of navigating life today," she wrote. "There are scenes that are graphic, hard to watch, and can be triggering. Please only watch if you feel you can handle it."
She will play Anita Hemmings in "A White Lie."
Hemmings was the first African-American woman to pass as white so she could attend the most exclusive women's school, Vassar, in the 1890s.
She is also filming the crime thriller "Finest Kind."
She'll star alongside Ansel Elgort and Jake Gyllenhaal.
To top off her upcoming list of projects, she will also be appearing in "Dune."
The "Dune" reboot includes a massive cast including Timothee Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.