Want to Know Every Single Fact About Zendaya? Same, Let’s Go
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Things Zendaya has casually accomplished: leading two Disney Channel shows, releasing her own music, writing a book, winning an Emmy for Euphoria, and starring in Netflix's new Oscar-buzzy film Malcolm & Marie. And she’s only 24 years old. So yep, now’s the appropriate time to contemplate what you’ve been doing with your life! (It's fine, I'm right there with you.)
Zendaya is clearly the literal coolest—but glitz and glamour aside, there’s plenty you probably don’t know about her. Keep on reading to learn more about this future EGOT winner (casually MANIFESTING that), including her very first acting gig and the time she teamed up with Selena Gomez.
Her full name is Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman
Zendaya's first name is inspired by the Shona word “tendai,” which means “to give thanks.” Her dad has “a thing for Zs and zen,” hence Zendaya!
She was born on September 1, 1996
As Zendaya once said, “I’m a Virgo, and I know what I like.”
She’s a mom to a floof bb
Meet Zendaya's miniature 5-year-old schnauzer, Noon. All together now, awww:
Her first acting role was in theater
According to a 2014 questionnaire in Us Weekly, Zendaya got her start as one of the witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
She was a backup dancer for Selena Gomez
Before she became a Disney star, Zendaya appeared in a Sears commercial with *the* Selena Gomez (and a few other kids who went on to be Disney stars).
She used to be super shy
In her Vogue cover story, Zendaya’s mom revealed that her daughter was so shy, she and Zendaya’s dad had to attend seminars for parents of timid children.
She’s obsessed with ice cream
Zendaya's hidden talent is being able to bite into ice cream with her front teeth. (BTW, her favorite flavor is Häagen-Dazs’s coffee.)
She loves Harry Potter
Zendaya told InStyle that she watches Harry Potter “like, once a day,” adding “It’s just calming to me, so that’s my thing." Cool, same with me and Euphoria.
She loves to watercolor
Zendaya showed her watercolors to GQ, saying “This is some real corny shit, but I started this. It's a journal or art-book thing that my friend Hunter [Schafer] from Euphoria got me, actually. My new thing for myself is to try not to be so damn controlling all the time and just paint. Just whatever the fuck comes out, that's what comes out.”
She doesn't read comments on social
Zendaya told Vogue's 73 questions that she doesn't read comments on Instagram "unless they're from my friends, then I'll read those."
Her beauty philosophy is "there are no rules"
That said, she told Vogue that a product she won't go one day without wearing is SPF—and she def takes her makeup off before going to bed! Oh, and fun fact in this list of fun facts? She does her own glam for events.
Channing Tatum is probably her celebrity crush
Channing has been a consistent name in Zendaya's lineup of celeb crushes through the years. (Can ya blame her?) She got to work with him for a day on the film Smallfoot.
Her backup career was teaching
Both of Zendaya's parents are teachers, and she told Teen Vogue that if she weren’t in the entertainment ~biz~, she’d be a teacher “in a heartbeat—guaranteed!”
Her parents did everything to support her acting career
When she was in middle school, her dad quit his job to move to Los Angeles with Zendaya while her mom held down two jobs in their hometown of Oakland, California, to financially support the three of them. They really believed in her, y’all. And look where she is now!
She’s a published author
Her book Between U and Me was released in 2013. In it, she shares life advice about pursuing your dreams, maintaining friendships, and more.
She called out Giuliana Rancic for her racist red-carpet commentary
Giuliana made the following racist remark about Zendaya on E!’s Fashion Police during the 2015 Oscars: “That hair is swallowing her. I feel like she smells like patchouli oil.” Zendaya addressed this the next day in an Instagram post, saying, “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 beauty and strength, almost like a lion’s mane.” Giuliana apologized in a Fashion Police episode later that week.
She inspired a Barbie doll
Back in 2015, Barbie modeled a doll after Zendaya’s Academy Awards look—yep, the same look Giuliana criticized. So major.
She called on Disney to put a Black family on one of its shows
After Shake It Up! came to an end, Zendaya told Disney that they needed to cast a Black family for K.C. Undercover, the show she would star in next. “I didn’t feel like there was any other choice. I was like, ‘If I’m going to do this, this is how it has to be.’ There needs to be a Black family on the Disney Channel. A lot of people who aren’t people of color can’t quite understand what it’s like to grow up and not see yourself in mainstream media. And you know, there is so much work left to be done,” she told Yara Shahidi in her cover interview with Glamour in 2017.
She responded to the age-gap controversy in Malcolm & Marie
Zendaya spoke to E! News about online commentary regarding the decade-plus age gap between her and Malcolm & Marie star John David Washington, saying "I've played a 16-year-old since I was 16. It's like watching your younger sibling now, you know, they're grown. So it's hard for people to wrap around the idea that I am grown in real life. You know, even though I do play a teenager on television still.”
Her idol is Oprah
Who could disagree?! In her 2017 cover interview with Glamour, Zendaya raved about the talk-show host and philanthropist: “She’s someone who, even with everything stacked against her, has soared to unbelievable heights. If she wants to create a network, she can do it. She wants to produce a movie? She can do it. But then also there’s this level of realness to her. You feel like she’s your auntie.”
She came SO close to winning Dancing With the Stars
At the time, she was the youngest contestant ever to be on the show—only 16! Her partner was Val Chmerkovskiy, and let me say, they were absolute 🔥 on the dance floor. She lost to Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough.
She’s allegedly dated Jacob Elordi
Fans started speculating that these two Euphoria costars were dating when they were spotted on a trip to Greece in 2019. In February 2020, Jacob was photographed kissing her head in New York. You know the vibes.
That's it for now but reminder to watch Malcolm & Marie when it drops on Netflix on February 5, kay?
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