Zendaya (Actor)

Zendaya (born Sept. 1, 1996) is an American actor, singer and model. She began her Hollywood career as a teen star on Disney Channel’s “Shake It Up,” on which she played dancer Rocky Blue. In 2013, she competed on “Dancing With the Stars” and finished as a runner-up. In 2017, Zendaya landed a breakthrough role as Michelle “MJ” Jones in “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” starring opposite Tom Holland. She reprised the role in the 2019 sequel “Spider-Man: Far From Home” and the 2021 follow-up “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Zendaya’s most celebrated performance is on HBO’s “Euphoria,” created by Sam Levinson. On the prestige drama, Zendaya plays Rue Bennett, a drug addict fresh out of rehab struggling with the recent death of her father. After Season 1, Zendaya became the youngest person to win the Emmy Award for lead actress in a drama series. Zendaya then won the coveted award again in 2022 for her performance in Season 2 of “Euphoria.” Her other credits include Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” films, in which she stars opposite Timothée Chalamet, as well as Levinson’s feature film “Malcolm & Marie.” In 2013, Zendaya released a self-titled studio album of original music, and she also lent her voice to songs featured in “Euphoria” and “The Greatest Showman,” in which she also starred. In addition to her two Emmy awards, Zendaya also has a Golden Globe under her belt, and she was featured on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list as well as named as one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. In 2020, Variety named her one of the 500 most influential figures in global media.