In 2010, Zendaya Coleman was featured with another future star Bella Thorne in the Disney Channel’s Shake It Up!, a story about two average teenage girls who also happen to be backup dancers on a local TV show. (At the time, all Disney Channel content was created under the shadow of High School Musical and Hannah Montana.) But it wasn’t until the 2015 Academy Awards that she became truly famous — mainstream famous, you’re-allowed-to-use-only-one-name-because-you’re-just-that-famous famous.
Zendaya is very mindful of social politics.
What drew attention to Zendaya during the Oscars scandal was her meticulous and measured response: she articulated exactly what made Rancic’s statement so insulting and how difficult the history of discussing black women’s hair is, and then concluded on a note of uplift.
Zendaya understands how to utilize dress to express tales.
Before the notorious Fashion Police episode aired, Zendaya was dominating the 2015 Oscars red carpet. Her white satin gown was eye-catching yet controlled, so the whole appearance was decidedly adult; but the adult in a mature, not provocative, sense. That was one of her better appearances.
Zendaya is committed to taking control of the discourse around her.
After that fatal Fashion Police episode, it’s easy to see another young up-and-comer in Zendaya’s shoes standing back and keeping her mouth shut, choosing to embrace the publicity as a win and attempting not to make waves.
Instead, Zendaya wrote a meaningful, forceful response, ensuring that the entire debate around her hair and Fashion Police’s obligations unfolded on her terms. That’s because Zendaya is really skilled at both seizing creative control and then doing intriguing things with it once she has it.
Zendaya doesn’t appear to have the same clout in Hollywood as she did at Disney: She’s the star of Euphoria, but she doesn’t create it as she did K.C. Undercover. But she’s keeping a close eye on whatever tasks she takes on and trying hard to develop methods to govern her initiatives herself. She is and will be everyone’s favorite forever.
