Born and raised in Oakland, California, Zendaya began her career as a child model and backup dancer.

Her Zac Efron collaboration, "Rewrite the Stars", from The Greatest Showman soundtrack (2017), reached the top 20 of several record charts and has received multi-platinum sales certifications globally.

[10] At age 8, Zendaya joined a hip-hop dance troupe called Future Shock Oakland and was a member for three years.

Zendaya helped her seat patrons, sold fundraising tickets, and was finally inspired to pursue acting by the theatrical performances.

[16][15] Reviewing the latter, Keith Kreitman of San Mateo Daily Journal called the 11-year-old Zendaya's performance "a pure delight".

For the soundtrack, Zendaya also recorded three other songs: "Made in Japan", "Same Heart", and "Fashion Is My Kryptonite", released as promotional single.

In August 2013, she was cast as 16-year-old Zoey Stevens, the lead character in the Disney Channel Original Movie Zapped, whose "smart phone begins to somehow control all the boys around her".

[40] In November 2013, Zendaya was selected as Elvis Duran's Artist of the Month and was featured on NBC's Today, where she performed live her single "Replay".

[51][52][53][54] The following month, musician Timbaland confirmed that he was working with Zendaya on her second album, following her switching record labels from Disney to Republic.

[63] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter praised her as a "scene stealer",[64] while David Ehrlich of IndieWire called her the film's "MVP", despite her brief screen time.

She portrayed a trapeze artist who falls in love with Zac Efron's character at a time when interracial romance was taboo.

[74] The series premiered on June 16, 2019, to positive critical reception, with her performance receiving acclaim: Rebecca Nicholson of The Guardian wrote that "Zendaya is reinvented as the self-destructive, self-loathing Rue, in what is a truly astonishing, mesmerising performance, upending every expectation of what she could do";[75] Doreen St. Felix of The New Yorker echoed the sentiment writing: "It becomes difficult, and then absolutely silly, to recall the pink outlines of her early career on the Disney Channel, so grandly does she inhabit this dark new role.

[77] Critic Christy Lemire called Zendaya's portrayal "darkly alluring" and praised her "humorous, deadpan charm".

[85] Brian Truitt of USA Today described her as "luminous" and "absolute fire", Richard Brody called her performance "the movie's only redeeming quality", and Variety's Peter Debruge praised her for "wear[ing] Marie's fragility on the surface, only to reveal the character's strength through reaction shots and silence".

[91] Zendaya played Chani in Denis Villeneuve's science fiction film Dune, the first part of a two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel of the same name.

[92] Critic Glenn Kenny dubbed her portrayal "better than apt", while Brian Lowry of CNN noted that her role was limited to "gauzy images" in the protagonist's visions.

RogerEbert.com's Brian Tallerico praised Zendaya and Tom Holland's chemistry as well as her execution of MJ's "emotional final beats".

[102] Zendaya next appeared in the documentary film Invisible Beauty, based on work of American fashion model and activist Bethann Hardison.

[104] Zendaya next starred in and produced the romantic sports drama Challengers, directed by Luca Guadagnino, opposite Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist.

[109][110][111][112] In her review for the New Statesman, Simran Hans wrote that the film is "a brilliant showcase for Zendaya, whose on-screen magnetism has rarely been channelled so effectively".

[117] Zendaya was the face of Beats Electronics,[118] X-Out,[119] Material Girl,[120] CoverGirl,[121] and Chi Hair Care.

[144] In July 2015, she visited South Africa with UNAIDS, the United Nations programme dedicated to preventing and creating access to treatment for HIV and AIDS.

Then she also held a fundraiser with Crowdrise, with proceeds going to non-profit, community-based, Ikageng charity in Soweto for a family of AIDS orphans.

In September 2017, she partnered with Verizon Foundation as a spokesperson for their national #WeNeedMore initiative to bring technology, access and learning opportunities to children.

[145] In March 2018, Zendaya teamed up with Google.org to support students at a community school in Oakland funding an innovative computer science curriculum.

[148][149] She took part in the George Floyd protests in June 2020 and temporarily lent her Instagram account to Patrisse Cullors to share anti-racism resources and media.

[151] In September 2020, she encouraged her fans with Michelle Obama, and her "When We All Vote" nonpartisan[152] organization, to check their voter registration ahead of elections.

[153] In October 2013, she took part in P&G's movement called Mean Stinks, and co-hosted the nationwide live-streamed assembly joined by almost 500 schools.

[191] She was included on TIME magazine's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022; Dune director Denis Villeneuve wrote of her saying, "She is an autonomous creative force herself.

A person driven by pure inspiration, empathy, and respect for her craft, who uses authenticity as a new superpower [...] Zendaya is the future.