Zendaya, the ‘It Girl next door’ shopping at her local Waitrose. But is he really as desperate as he seems?

Every season has its stars. In the 1950s, the talents who made it, such as Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley, are still household names. Today, given the plethora of social media influencers and reality TV stars, it takes more to keep shining in such a crowded space.

Zendaya is one of the few who has – a star who really deserves the credit. He has two Primetime Emmys, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award to prove it, as well as a string of top-flight brand endorsements, including multi-million dollar contracts with Bulgari and Louis Vuitton.

Like Marilyn and Elvis, the 27-year-old Californian actress, who boasts 184 million followers on Instagram alone, is so famous that she goes by just one name.

Having been on the stage since the age of six, and on the screen since the age of 13, by rights, he now needs to hit his rebellious streak, recover from burnout or develop a reputation that I am a violent person. Except he isn’t.

She’s been a hit on the red carpet this month thanks to her new movie Challengers. But when she’s not at work, the 5ft 10in star can be seen in jeans and a bomber jacket, strolling the tinware aisle of New Malden Waitrose in South-West London, next to her boyfriend , Spider-Man actor Tom. Holland, has a four bedroom home.

Indeed Vogue has aptly named Zendaya ‘the Girl next door’. As if to clarify the irony, while praising her low-key personality, the fashion bible also gave her the rare honor of appearing on the cover of two Vogues at the same time .

Last week, Zendaya was revealed as the cover star for the May issues of American and British Vogue – becoming only the second cover star to appear on both, after Adele in 2021.

The US cover, shot by celebrity photographer, Annie Liebowitz, sees her wearing the best of Paris. The British version, shot by the little-known Carlijn Jacobs, features her in sportswear by UK designer Grace Wales Bonner.

The look is completely contradictory, highlighting Zendaya’s broad appeal. That she can embrace classic Hollywood glamor and Gen Z-friendly casual wear with equal ease is one of the key secrets to her success.

Indeed, Zendaya has pulled off the rare feat of appealing to 50-year-old women and teenage girls at the same time. Gaining the respect of one number of people often means dismissing another, but it is a testament to his unique ability and talent that he commands the attention of both. This has not been lost on the fashion world, where luxury brands have lined up to lock him down for exclusive contracts.

Such is Zendaya’s power that, despite being paid a seven-figure fortune as a brand ambassador for Louis Vuitton, she doesn’t just wear the label. At this year’s Oscars, she wore a black and pink dress from Armani Prive, a brand with which she has no connection.

And a few weeks ago on a world press tour promoting his upcoming film, in addition to wearing Louis Vuitton, he surprised fans with the designs of Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Thom Browne and Loewe, a successful carrying the oldest game. clothes. Like Margot Robbie, I’m a fan of the ‘costume style’, where the characters’ tour outfits amplify the theme of their film.

Where Robbie wore pink to promote Barbie, Zendaya wore a series of tennis outfits, reflecting her role as a coach caught up in a love triangle on Challengers, which has been described by one reviewer as ‘ the best tennis movie ever made’ .

Or remember Thierry Mugler’s robot suit worn to promote the sci-fi movie Dune II, a fashion moment that quickly went viral?

It helps, of course, that Zendaya is as tall, thin and beautiful as any supermodel. But equally important is her personality, and it appeals to the under-30s, a demographic that luxury brands are eager to engage with.

Unlike many celebrities, Zendaya doesn’t shy away from talking about race and social injustice. ‘I’m grateful for my peers, but I’d like to see more like me around me,’ she says in Vogue in this month’s issue. ‘I think it’s the most important thing.’

Born on September 1, 1996 to an African-American father, Kazembe Ajamu Coleman, and a German/Scottish mother, Claire Stoermer – both teachers – Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman grew up in Oakland, California.

He is the youngest of five children, all siblings from his father’s first marriage, whom his mother says is always strong: ‘He has his older sisters and they live a normal life. completely at home.

‘They checked him. If he had a big head, they would say: “Are you kidding me? Sit down.” ‘

At the age of six, he played in his first school play. At the age of 13, she began modeling and dancing, before landing her acting role in 2009, as Rocky Blue in the Disney Channel sitcom Shake It Up. Focusing on a pop career briefly, he released his first single in 2011 and his first album in 2013.

But it was four years later that he was punched. As trapeze artist Anne Wheeler in the 2017 hit The Greatest Showman, she starred alongside Zac Efron, doing all her own stunts.

In the same year, she became the love interest of Peter Parker,

MJ, in the box office mega-hit Spider-Man: Homecoming – became his love interest in real life when he fell for Tom Holland, who plays the Marvel star.

The two were first reported dating in 2017, but it wasn’t until July 2021 that they were spotted kissing. Despite the extreme interest of fans, the couple always tried to keep their relationship as private as possible. When asked in a 2021 magazine interview if they were a couple, Holland, also 27, beamed: ‘It’s not a conversation I would have without him.

‘I respect him too much to say. This is not my story. It is our story. And we’ll talk about it when we’re ready to talk about it together.’

Maintaining a relationship for more than three years is no small feat in your 20s, but when you’re two of Hollywood’s hottest stars, you deserve Oscars everywhere.

‘Tomdaya’, as the internet has coined them, seem to really get along, support each other’s careers, and are keen to live as normal a life as they can, given their fame.

Last year, they were seen hanging around Hampton Court, posing for pictures with fans. Speaking to Vogue about Holland’s upcoming London performance in Romeo & Juliet, she says she “couldn’t be more proud”.

In the latest issue of Vogue, she talks fondly about watching Holland’s fame grow with that 2017 Spider-Man hit. We were both very young, but my career was already taking off, and his life changed overnight. . . One day you’re a kid and you’re hanging out with your friends, and the next day you’re Spider-Man.

‘I really saw his life change in front of him. But he handled it beautifully,’ he said.

Since that first Spider-Man movie, Zendaya has starred in two more movies from the franchise (and is set to reprise that role in the upcoming fourth installment).

But it was a drug-addicted 17-year-old in the dark but wildly successful HBO series Euphoria, where she really kissed her way from her clean Disney beginnings. The role won him a Golden Globe and two Primetime Emmys.

He went on to appear in the science fiction films Dune I and II, playing Chani alongside Timothee Chalamet.

Although her success could easily have gone to her head, Zendaya seems to be on the verge of becoming great. It’s amazing that he’s down to earth for the kind of celebrities who dropped his last name long ago. Madonna and Cher may claim temperature-controlled dressing rooms and a phalanx of scented candles, but Zendaya doesn’t have a truckload of such status-enhancing sentiment.

See also, his appearance on BBC’s The One Show last week. If the thought of a Hollywood megastar on a morning magazine show sounded incongruous, Zendaya didn’t seem to notice, but chatted as if sitting on the BBC’s green sofa was the greatest honor conceivable.

‘She’d rather be at home, with her hair down and no make-up, in the afternoon [her miniature schnauzer]watching the film, her longtime producer, Law Roach, told Vogue.

It’s a quote that any ‘best friend’ would give in a desperate attempt to make themselves seem ‘normal’ – but in Zendaya’s case, it paints a pretty accurate picture. refreshing.