Zendaya was born in Oakland, California, to an African-American father and a German-Scottish mother. The actual meaning of her name is “to give thanks.” And, her childhood nickname was “Daya!” She is the last of six children born to parents, both of whom were teachers. Zendaya attended the school where her mom taught for two decades. Even at a very young age, she was very much interested in acting and dancing. At the Academy of Hawaiin Arts, Zendaya spent a couple of years dancing the hula.
Zendaya started her career as a fashion model. She then acted in the Disney sitcom, “Shake It Up,” which became a huge hit. In June 2011, she released the song, “Watch Me,” which peaked at number 86 on the Billboard Hot 100 list. Zendaya went on to become such a huge sensation that there is a line of clothing that was actually inspired by the outfits she had worn in “Shake It Up.”
In the year 2012, Zendaya made her movie debut in “Frenemies.” In the film, “The Greatest Showman,” she acted along with Zac Efron. Following this, she won a lot of awards and accolades. She has a Golden Globe Award to her credit and she has also won a couple of Primetime Emmy Awards. Zendaya won these Emmy Awards for her strong role as Rue Bennettt in the HBO drama series named, “Euphoria.”
Zendaya has a house in Los Angeles and she is an animal lover. In the year 2022, Variety ranked her as one of the 500 most influential people.