With 42 million Instagram followers and a well-respected red-carpet reputation, it may come as a surprise that the July issue of Vogue is Zendaya’s first.
“I really don’t have any words right now…I’m grateful, honored and a million other beautiful things that wouldn’t fit in a caption,” she said of the cover on Instagram. “I’M ON VOGUE Y’ALL!!!!”
Zendaya (which, the article clarified, is pronounced “Zen-day-a”) was photographed by Mario Testino in a Calvin Klein feathered ensemble from Raf Simons’ debut collection for the brand. In the accompanying interview with Abby Aguirre, the 20-year-old Disney starlet, who is making her movie debut this summer in the newest Spiderman film, spoke out about her Oakland, Calif., roots, working as an executive producer on K.C. Undercover and how she’s stayed grounded in Hollywood.
1. She overhauled the K.C. Undercover premise before signing on to the Disney show.
Starting by changing the name of the show from Super Awesome Katy to K.C. Undercover, Zendaya took her executive producer role seriously, insisting on making K.C. a brainiac role model who isn’t interested in singing, acting or dancing and who holds a black belt in karate.
2. She does incredible impressions.
According to Aguirre, Zendaya can impersonate everyone from her father (Kazembe Ajamu, a former P.E. teacher) to her stylist, Law Roach, to Erykah Badu and even Bruno Mars with ease.
3. She did her own trapeze stunts in the P.T. Barnum biopic The Greatest Showman (due out in December).
Swinging through the air from a chain while taking direction is apparently no issue for the star.
4. Her aunties were Black Panthers.
According to her dad, meetings were occasionally held in the basement of his childhood home in Oakland, which Zendaya also grew up in.
5. Roach calls her “Zoprah.”
Not an inappropriate nickname.
