The Bookish Life of Zendaya

At simply 26, Zendaya has been a family title for half of her life. She was born Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman on September 1, 1996, in Oakland, California. She is the youngest of six youngsters; dad and mom Kazembe and Claire are each lecturers. She started performing at age 6, performing along with her associates in an elementary faculty play for Black History Month. During the summers she started serving to out on the California Shakespeare Theatre, the place her mom labored. From there, she rapidly started performing in addition to dancing, and attended Oakland School for the Arts.

Her early theater roles included Jo(e) in Caroline, or Change by Tony Kushner; Ti Moune in Once on This Island by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, based mostly on My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy, which is a retelling of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen; in addition to roles in Shakespeare’s Richard III, As You Like It, and Twelfth Night. She studied at CalShakes Conservatory and the American Conservatory Theater.

After transferring to Los Angeles in center faculty, Zendaya started working with the Disney Channel, showing on a number of long-running exhibits and starring in Frenemies, based mostly on the ebook by Alexa Young. She continued to work on Disney sequence whereas recording her first few albums and showing on exhibits together with Dancing with the Stars as a contestant and America’s Next Top Model as a visitor choose.

2017 was a busy 12 months for Zendaya. She made her characteristic movie debut as MJ in Spider-Man: Homecoming, which is of course based mostly on the Marvel Comics. Her function reimagines the traditional character Mary Jane Watson as Michelle Jones-Watson, a sarcastic and sensible classmate of Peter Parker. She has since reprised the function in 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home and 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. Also in 2017, she appeared in The Greatest Showman, a film musical from an unique script, based mostly (loosely) on the true life of P.T. Barnum; she performed trapeze artist Anne Wheeler. And in maybe her most internet-famous look, she competed on Lip Sync Battle in opposition to Tom Holland, her Spider-Man costar and future boyfriend, leading to his win and the well-known “Umbrella” video.

In 2018, Zendaya voiced a yeti named Meechee in Small Foot, an animated movie based mostly on an unpublished image ebook, Yeti Tracks by Sergio Pablos. She additionally had two songs on the movement image soundtrack.

Her function in 2021’s Dune: Part One, tailored from the novel Dune by Frank Herbert, was small, comprised principally of appearances in Paul’s visions. However, Chani and the Fremen will play a a lot bigger function in Dune: Part Two, due out later this 12 months. Dune: Part One was nominated for 10 Oscars and gained six, although none had been for performing.

Zendaya additionally appeared in Elvis Mitchell’s 2022 movie essay IS THAT BLACK ENOUGH FOR YOU?!? The documentary movie examines Black movie historical past, particularly within the Nineteen Seventies. While the movie is its personal doc and never based mostly on a ebook, there are a number of glorious books about Black cinema, together with Colorization: One Hundred Years of Black Films in a White World by Wil Haygood and Regeneration: Black Cinema, 1898–1971, an artwork ebook edited by Doris Berger and Rhea L. Combs in addition to an exhibition on the Academy Museum.

Off-screen, Zendaya has rocked the style world along with her exceptional Met Gala costumes. In 2018 she wore a surprising Atelier Versace costume impressed by Joan of Arc; the next 12 months, Tommy Hilfiger dressed her as Cinderella, full with a pumpkin carriage–formed purse.

Between her busy work schedule — together with movie, tv, and musical work, to not point out promotions for all of the above — and her activism, working with causes from UNAIDS to Feeding America, collaborating within the Women’s March on Washington, and getting out the vote with Michelle Obama, it’s arduous to consider Zendaya hasn’t been working for many years.

I can’t wait to see what Zendaya does subsequent!

Check out the remainder of our Bookish Life archives, together with seems to be on the bookish lives of Idris Elba, Pedro Pascal, and Angela Lansbury.