You may have grown up watching her on “Shake It Up” or recently seen her in iconic films like :”Spiderman: Homecoming” or “The Greatest Showman.” Zendaya Coleman is one of our generation’s most influential females ever. She is an actress/singer, fashion icon, an activist, and designer of her own shoe line called Daya by Zendaya. Oh, and she’s the selfie queen! What can’t she do??
Ever since I was a little girl Zendaya has always been my biggest role model and inspiration for fashion and feminism. She is an activist for education for young children and encourages young girls to embrace who they are. After winning the award for choice summer movie actress at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards, Zendaya delivered an incredibly inspirational speech.
“With all the injustice and the hatred, not only in the world but in our country . . . I need you to be educated, I need you to listen, I need you to pay attention, I need you go ahead and understand that you have a voice and it’s OK to use it when you see something bad happening. So make sure you do not let people tell you what you think you should feel. You’re the future leaders of the world . . . you’re the future presidents, the future senators. You are the future, so take that very, very seriously,” she said.
Preach it, girl! With everything happening in this world and in our own country, it’s extremely important that we have someone like Zendaya who uses her platform to exude positive energy and help influence our generation to use our voice and fight against the injustice!
Zendaya embraces her ethnicity being biracial and influences other people of color to love and embrace their natural beauty. One way Zendaya likes to embrace her culture is by strutting the runway in various looks that were inspired from her family and their culture. For example, she attended the 2017 InStyle Awards sporting an afro in which she was inspired by an old photo of her dad and his sisters.
We also can’t forget the iconic look worn to the 2016 Grammy Awards paying tribute to David Bowie. Zendaya wore a sleek, black, pant suit and a blonde mullet to resemble the rock legend. Can we say ICON LIVING?
One of my favorite Zendaya red carpet looks is this Oscar red carpet look inspired by Lisa Bonet. She is wearing a white, off-the-shoulder, sleek gown designed by Vivienne Westwood and rocking a head full of gorgeous dreadlocks. A lot of people on social media made some racist remarks about her hair-do which led Zendaya to speak up and defended the black community. Not too long after this occurred, Zendaya was given her very own Barbie doll which was dressed exactly like her Oscar look! What better way to clapback against the haters, am I right?
I think every young girl should look up to Zendaya and recognize all the amazing things she has accomplished as a young female, having grown up in the entertainment industry. Even with acting at a young age and constantly being viewed under the spotlight, Zendaya has kept a good head on her shoulders. She continues to stand up for what she believes in no matter how many people may disagree with her.
I have looked up to Zendaya because of this and she helps me instill confidence within myself so I can love who I am, embrace my own style, and never let anyone invalidate my feelings and hard work. The future is female!