Zendaya, one of the biggest stars on the planet, is currently touring the globe to promote her new tennis romance drama “Challengers”, which hits theaters in North America on April 26th. She kicked-off her career on the Disney Channel, headlining 75 episodes each of “Shake It Up” and “K.C. Undercover”, along with some TV movies and guest appearances for The Mouse House.
Her first major big screen feature was a blockbuster — 2017’s “Spider-Man: Homecoming” as MJ. Less than six months later she co-starred alongside Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams and Rebecca Ferguson in musical “The Greatest Showman”. In 2018, Zendaya lent her voice to the Warner Bros. animated film “Smallfoot”, also featuring Channing Tatum, James Corden and Common.
Summer 2019 was a major one for Zendaya, with a return to the MCU in “Spider-Man: Far from Home” and the debut of HBO drama series “Euphoria”. The role of Rue would earn her two Best Actress in a Drama Series Emmy Awards, in 2020 for Season 1 and in 2022 for Season 2.
Zendaya starred in four films released in 2021, including “Malcolm & Marie” with John David Washington. Her performance garnered a Critics Choice Awards Best Actress nomination. Next-up: the voice of Lola Bunny in WB’s live-action / animation combo comedy “Space Jam: A New Legacy”, followed by her first appearance as Chani in the studio’s “Dune”. And then, at Christmastime, a third Spider-Man adventure with Tom Holland in one of the highest-grossing movies of all-time, “No Way Home”.
“Dune: Part Two”, which came out in March, saw Zendaya deliver what I think is her best performance in a motion picture to date. But that could quickly change with the release of “Challengers”. Director Luca Guadagnino’s latest was originally supposed to open last Fall, but the SAG-AFTRA strike pushed it to now. We’ll see if audiences love Zendaya’s performance.