The Stunning Transformation Of Zendaya

Zendaya grew up in the same Oakland home as her dad, but it was hardly the same Oakland, Calif. The only child of a white mother and black father — both of whom were teachers — Zendaya told Vogue the Oakland she was raised in was full of "free-spirited, forward-moving" millennials. Her dad, Kazembe Ajamu Coleman, on the other hand, grew up during the civil rights movement in the same neighborhood as some of the original members of the Black Panthers Party. Apparently the revolutionary organization held meetings in his family's basement. "My aunties were Black Panthers," Zendaya said. "Afros, the whole nine."

Despite the difference in eras, Coleman, who has four children from a previous marriage, believes Zendaya, who attended the private school where he taught, is in touch with her roots. "Because I lived it, and her brothers and sisters experienced it, she knows it exists," Coleman told Vogue. "She knows she's reaping the benefits from those who paved the way for her."

There was a familiar face dancing behind Selena Gomez in her 2009 commercial for Sears — a few of them actually, though they weren't famous at the time. Zendaya landed the role of backup dancer in Gomez's ad after years of honing her craft with her hip-hop dance troupe, Future Shock Oakland. She told J-14 that Gomez "was really sweet to me and really nice," adding, "And she was really helpful."

Gomez was starring in her own Disney Channel show, Wizards of Waverly Place, at the time, while Zendaya hadn't yet landed her first series, Shake It Up, on that very same network. If you look closely at the commercial, you'll also spot Leo Howard, future star of Disney XD's Kickin' It, and Ross Lynch who'd go on to star in Austin & Ally and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. "That's a funny commercial because it's so weird to think that later on — Ross was in it, Leo Howard was in it — and we were backup dancers, we weren't even the lead kids," Zendaya previously told J-14. "It's funny where things evolved from and it's cool to start small." 

Zendaya can pinpoint the moment she first considered giving up meat and becoming a vegetarian. She was 11 years old and had passed a slaughterhouse on a road trip with her dad, which led to a conversation about what exactly went on in there. "I thought it was awful, all those animals getting packed up in there waiting to be killed," she revealed on her now-defunct app, as reported by People. "I couldn't believe that's how I'd been getting my meat!" Once she watched the PETA documentary Glass Walls, she'd seen everything she needed to see to go meat-free.

Was it hard? She told New You there was an adjustment period, but once "you find out the things that you like, you end up not missing it at all." But there is one thing she craved after going vegetarian. "The only thing I kind of miss are my mom's famous turkey burgers," she revealed on her app, "but that's it."

Giuliana Rancic felt the wrath of Zendaya and her supporters following the 2015 Oscars. While discussing Zendaya's dreadlocks at the awards on Fashion Police, Rancic said (via Entertainment Tonight), "I feel like she smells like patchouli oil or weed." Zendaya responded in an Instagram post that went viral by calling the remarks "ignorant slurs" and "outrageously offensive." Zendaya added, "There is already harsh criticism of African American hair in society without the help of ignorant people who choose to judge others based on the curl of their hair. My wearing my hair in locs on an Oscar red carpet was to showcase them in a positive light, to remind people of color that our hair is good enough."

Rancic apologized on Twitter, claiming her comments "had NOTHING to do with race" and then apologized some more on-camera. "I've learned a lot today," Rancic said, "and this incident has taught me to be a lot more aware of clichés and stereotypes, how much damage they can do –- and that I am responsible, as we all are, to not perpetuate them further." Zendaya responded on Twitter, saying, "I appreciate your apology."

Zendaya didn't let gender expectations dictate the clothes she wore growing up. She told Glamour that she mostly shopped in the boys' section. So when it came to designing her own clothing line, Daya, she didn't want to put restrictions on who got to wear what. "If you're a dude and you want to wear a dress, then wear it," Zendaya told People. "The whole point is [to wear] whatever you feel confident in." Zendaya said fashion played a large role in her confidence, explaining to Glamour, "Everybody can hate my outfit, but if I feel good in it, I'm the only one that should matter."

Before you go searching for Daya, we should note the clothing line is no more. There were plenty of customer service complaints, which led to Zendaya announcing (via People) that she fired the company in charge in 2018. That same company was sued the following year for allegedly having "breached the deal" they had with the PR company hired to handle the Daya campaign, according to The Blast. Zendaya wasn't named in the lawsuit, but she probably learned a hard lesson in business.

Zendaya wasn't who most first pictured when they thought of Spider-Man's love interest, as Spider-Man's most well known lady love in the comics is Mary Jane Watson, a white woman with red hair. Zendaya assumed the odds were against her when auditioning for the Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot and told Marie Claire she straightened her hair to improve her chances, not realizing the film was taking an inclusive approach to casting. "Part of my pitch [to Marvel] initially was that it should look like an actual Queens high school," director Jon Watts told Backstage. "Queens is one of the most diverse places in the world."

Watts cast Zendaya in the role of Michelle "M.J." Jones in the film, despite not initially knowing who she was after she first auditioned. "She's been doing it for such a long time that she had both of the things that we want: being a really good technical performer and also having a sort of effortless charisma," Watts said. The 2017 film grossed $880 million at the worldwide box office, according to Box Office Mojo, and introduced Zendaya to older audiences.

It was one thing for Zendaya to take on roles in Spider-Man: Homecoming and The Greatest Showman as she transitioned away from Disney Channel. It was another to play a foul-mouthed drug addict in HBO's Euphoria, perhaps one of the most controversial shows on television. Zendaya told Vogue her Euphoria gig was the hardest role to prepare for. And, in an interview with The New York Times, she said, "There's a lot of people who probably think I can't do it because they don't truly understand my personality. And I get it: I'm a Disney kid. There's a lot to prove."

Even Zendaya admitted to doubting herself at times while shooting the series. "I finally felt like I was doing something that I could push myself [with]," she told Paper. "But always you're still going to have that doubt, and [I'm] still in my head, like, Wait, can I do it?" Turns out she could. Variety called her performance as Rue in Euphoria "breathtaking." Tina Knowles-Lawson wrote on Instagram that she deserves an Emmy nomination (via Yahoo! Entertainment). And she's Beyoncé's mom — that has to count for something.