Excerpt
Zendaya
Chapter 1What’s in a Name?
Let’s get something straight: It’s pronounced Zen-DAY-uh. Not Zen-DIE-uh.
And don’t bother with a last name. She has one—it’s Coleman. But she doesn’t use it, professionally at least. Why just the one name, you ask?
“I just thought it was cool, like Cher or Prince,” Zendaya told
Allure.
“Cool” could be Zendaya’s middle name—it’s a word people often use to describe her. But her parents aren’t that cruel. She was born Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman. Her name is a road map to her complex heritage, which is really cool. Zendaya’s father was born Samuel David Coleman but took an African name, Kazembe Ajamu, reflecting his ancestry. Zendaya’s mom, Claire Marie Stoermer, is of German, Scottish, and other European heritage.
“I get like a mixture of all the worlds,” she told
Us Weekly. She has an African first name. And her middle name is French—like’s her mom’s middle name—but with an African spelling. “I’m proud of the fact that I know where I’m from.”
The name Zendaya comes from the Shona word
tendai, which means to give thanks or be grateful, and her dad’s love of the letter Z. (Shona is a Bantu language of the Shona people of Zimbabwe.)
Zendaya is gaining household-name status as the actor makes her mark in television and film. But she wasn’t always famous. Celebrities start out like the rest of us—ordinary, unknown babies. In Zendaya’s case, maybe her parents had a premonition that she would be famous someday and might need a slammin’ name.
But she had a pretty unremarkable childhood—at least in the early years. Zendaya was born on September 1, 1996, in Oakland, California.
Here’s the SCOOP! Zendaya says her grandparents had her colors read when she was still a toddler. Her aura is purple, which means creative. The guy who did the reading told them Zendaya was going to amaze them their whole lives. That prediction came true!Zendaya says she lived in a “not-so-amazing” neighborhood. She has five half-brothers and -sisters, but she’s the only child of Claire and Kazembe. She was born an aunt: An older sibling already had kids when she came into the world. So she has an older niece and nephew. Awkward! And some younger ones, too.
Back when she was just a regular Oakland kid with a first and last name, Zendaya’s parents were teachers and her mom was also the house manager at a local theater, the California Shakespeare Theater in Orinda. Zendaya spent loads of time there. And that’s where a little girl got the big idea that she might want to be an actor.
The catch? She was a truly shy kid. Her fans won’t be surprised by that info. Zendaya is pretty open about her personality and her proclivity to spend coveted free time at home watching Harry Potter movies and crime documentaries.
Her shyness could be somewhat debilitating when she was a kid. “I wouldn’t try anything,” Zendaya admits. “I always had this fear of failing and not doing so well.”
Here’s a double SCOOP! Zendaya was so shy as a kid that her parents had her repeat kindergarten!Tbh, it’s not that unusual for actors and singers to be shy kids. Sometimes people who get nervous around other people or are introverted by nature feel more comfortable onstage, performing. Zendaya calls herself introverted to this day. The introverted-actor thing makes sense if you think about it. There’s a separation between you and the audience. And you’re playing the part of a character—the stage lets you be someone else. There’s relief in that if you sometimes find it difficult to be yourself.
Whatever she was experiencing offstage, Zendaya liked to be on it. Her first role was in a production of James and the Giant Peach. She was bummed when they cast her as a speechless silkworm. But then, in true Zendaya fashion, she committed—giving her tiny part everything she had. “I was the best silkworm ever,” she says in MTV’s “The Story of Zendaya.”
And the cutest!
Like so many actors and singers, Zendaya got started early. There were plays, and theater workshops, and modeling for stores like Macy’s. And then came the Disney audition that changed everything. (More on that later!) But unlike a lot of child actors, Zendaya has managed (so far) to maintain a scandal-free life. On her show in 2016, Ellen asked Zendaya how she’s avoided that cliché.
“I gotta give it up to my parents. I’m really lucky to have the parents that I have and they just have always instilled in me those core values that I think I have to carry with me through everything.”
The more you get to know her, the more you get the impression she’s a genuinely nice person with a sense of humility, a woman with her feet firmly planted in the ground and a good head on her shoulders, speaking of clichés.
The SCOOP! Deets:
BORN: September. 1, 1996
BIRTHPLACE: Oakland, CA
BIRTH NAME: Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman
SIGN: Virgo
PARENTS: Claire Marie Stoermer and Kazembe Ajamu (born Samuel David Coleman)
SIBLINGS: Five older half siblings on dad’s side
DOG: Noon, a miniature schnauzer
CULINARY PREFERENCE: Vegetarian
HEIGHT: 5'10"
INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS: 64 million
STYLIST: Law Roach
Bottom line: She wasn’t a spoiled kid, and she hasn’t turned into a spoiled adult. When asked by
Vogue’s “73 Questions” how she would describe her childhood, Zendaya simply said, “Real.” Kudos to Claire and Kazembe for that, and kudos to Zendaya for keeping it real.
