Zendaya, born Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman on September 1, 1996, has become one of the most successful stars in the Hollywood industry presently. From child star to Hollywood A-lister, she turned her life around and has now worked with the likes of Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Hugh Jackman, Javier Bardem, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, and many others. Here is a look at her start in the industry along with her rise to one of the biggest stars in the Hollywood industry.
Zendaya’s early life
Zendaya’s upbringing was heavily rooted in theater and acting, all thanks to her mother. While growing up in Oakland, California, her mother used to work as the house manager at the California Shakespeare Theater in Orinda. This is where the actress spent most of her childhood helping out, studying acting, and training in hip-hop dance groups and local theater productions, which all helped hone her skills in the arts.As for her education, she attended the Oakland School for the Arts and spent her time performing in Shakespearean plays like ‘Twelfth Night’ and ‘Richard III.’ She also started working as a child model and commercial actor at the time, before she and her family moved to Los Angeles to give her career in showbiz a better chance.
Zendaya has worked in the industry for more than a decade now, and has worked on a lot of genres, from teen drama, to historical, and thriller. (Instagram)
Zendaya’s breakthrough as child actress
She scored her breakthrough roles around 2013, landing her role as Rocky Blue alongside Bella Thorne on the teen show ‘Shake It Up.’ This helped her solidify her footing in the industry and helped her also explore music as a profession. She also released her self-titled debut pop album in 2013, featuring the hit single ‘Replay.’Her next big project came with ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ where she finished as the runner-up at age 16. She was the youngest contestant at the time. She later returned to acting to star in and produce ‘K.C. Undercover,’ one of her first roles as a producer.
Zendaya’s film debut with ‘Spider-Man ’
In 2018, she finally scored her leading role in the film ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ opposite Tom Holland. The film was a massive success and launched the star right into global stardom. Around the same time, she also starred with Zac Efron in the hit musical ‘The Greatest Showman’ and went viral after it was reported that she did many of her own trapeze stunts in the film.Her role as Rue Bennett in ‘Euphoria’ made history in 2020 as she became the youngest recipient to win the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She won the award yet again in 2022. Following this, she starred in a lot of blockbuster hits, including the ‘Dune’ franchise, ‘Challengers,’ ‘Malcolm & Marie,’ the ‘Spider-Man’ franchise, and ‘The Drama.’
Zendaya and Tom Holland’s relationship timeline
Zendaya and Tom Holland met for the first time when they started filming for ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’. The two got engaged in 2024, and are now possibly married. (Instagram)
Holland and Zendaya met for the first time during the filming of the first ‘Spider-Man’ film, and right from the beginning they became close friends. Right from the start, rumors of the two being in a relationship started circulating; however, for the next couple of years, the two maintained that they were nothing more than good friends. In 2021, however, paparazzi photographed the co-stars sharing a kiss in a car in Los Angeles. Later that year, Holland publicly acknowledged their relationship in a GQ interview, sharing that they felt “robbed of their privacy.” Since then, the two have maintained that their relationship is their private business and that they do not wish to share any aspect of it with the public.Around 2024, after attending events together on multiple occasions, Holland proposed to the ‘Shake It Up’ singer in an intimate, low-key setting over the 2024 holiday season. Zendaya made the engagement public when she debuted her diamond ring at the 2025 Golden Globes, sending fans of the couple into a frenzy. Since earlier this year, there have been rumors of the two getting married in a private ceremony, which were started by Law Roach, Zendaya’s designer, who had earlier shared that the two had already gotten married.Since then, Zendaya has not shared any statements about the topic. Holland has called her his wife during an interview while promoting ‘The Odyssey.’
