ZENDAYA COLEMAN

Date of Birth: September 1, 1996

Known professionally by her first name only (which means "to give thanks"), Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman was born in Oakland, California. Her mother was the house manager at the California Shakespearian Theatre, and as a little girl, Zendaya would help her mother and later began appearing on stage herself. She also modeled for stores such as Old Navy, Sears and Macy's and took dance lessons. She spend three years dancing with hip hop dance troupe Future Shock Oakland and two years dancing hula with The Academy of Hawaiian Arts. Zendaya worked as a backup dancer in music videos before landing a starring role as Raquel "Rocky" Blue on her first television show, Shake It Up!. The show, produced for Disney Channel, ran from 2010 to 2013 and made Zendaya an instant star amongst her age group.

During that time, she also made guest appearances on other Disney Channel shows such as Good Luck Charlie (in character as Rocky) and A.N.T. Farm. She also played opposite her Shake It Up! co-star Bella Thorne in the Disney TV movie Frenemies (2012).

In 2013, Zendaya danced her way to the finals in season sixteen of Dancing with the Stars, winding up as runner-up on the final night, losing to country singer r Kellie Pickler and her dance partner, Derek Hough. That same year, Zendaya released her self-titled debut album on Hollywood Records, which yielded the Platinum single "Replay." Also in 2013 Zendaya released her first book, Between U and Me: How to Rock Your Tween Years with Style and Confidence (Disney Publishing Worldwide).

When Shake It Up! wrapped after 75 episodes and three seasons, Zendaya was signed on to star in the Disney Channel TV movie Zapped opposite Spencer Boldman. Most recently, she starred in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).

Zendaya is the new Fashion Spokesperson for Carmex Moisture Plus and recently was also chosen by Madonna as the face of her fashion line, called Material Girl. Zendaya lives in Los Angeles with her family and her dog, a Giant Schnauzer named Midnight.

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