Zendaya

Biography of Zendaya

Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman was born on September 1, 1996 in Oakland, California. She is an American actress, singer and dancer.

She is best known for her roles as Raquel "Rocky" Blue in the Disney series Shake It Up (2010-2013) and as the spy K.C. Cooper in the series K.C. Undercover (2015-2018). Since 2019, she has played Rue Bennett in Euphoria, for which she won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2020 and 2022.

Zendaya was born to Claire Stoermer, a German-Scottish mother, and Kazembe Ajamu (Coleman), an African American. The name Zendaya comes from the Shona language and means "to say thank you". Her mother worked at the California Shakespeare Theater as a janitor, which is why Zendaya was introduced to acting at an early age.

She appeared there in numerous smaller stage productions and often helped her mother with the work. She later went to the Oakland School for the Arts, where she played, among other things, in the musical Once on This Island. She also participated in the CalShakes Conservatory program and attended the American Conservatory Theater. Zendaya has appeared in the plays Richard III, What You Want and As You Like It, among others. Today she lives in Los Angeles.

Zendaya began her professional career as a model at Macy's, Mervyns and Old Navy. She starred alongside Stefanie Scott in a commercial for an iCarly toy. She was also seen as a background dancer in a commercial for Sears and danced in various music videos.

From 2010 to 2013, Zendaya starred in the Disney Channel Original Series Shake It Up. She took on the role of the braver and always upbeat Raquel "Rocky" Blue, alongside Bella Thorne. Zendaya has also had guest appearances on other Disney series, including Good Luck Charlie, PrankStars and A.N.T.: Attention Natural Talents.

From March to May 2013, Zendaya took part in the 16th season of Dancing with the Stars, the US version of Strictly Come Dancing. She and her partner, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, took second place behind Kellie Pickler and her partner Derek Hough. At 16 at the time, she was the youngest participant on the television show. In September 2013 she released her first album entitled Zendaya.

After Disney Channel canceled Shake It Up in November 2013 after three seasons, she took on the lead role of Zoey Stevens in June 2014 in the Disney Channel Original Movie Zapped. She also starred in the K.C. Undercover as Katy Cooper in 2015.

She also starred in the 2017 comic book adaptation Spider-Man: Homecoming alongside Tom Holland in the role of Michelle "MJ" Jones. She played the same role in the sequels Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). In the series Euphoria she plays the role of Rue.

In the relationship drama Malcolm & Marie by Sam Levinson she can be seen opposite John David Washington in one of the two title roles. In the September 2021 remake Dune by director Denis Villeneuve, Zendaya can be seen in the role of Chani.

In late June 2020, she became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.