Disney princess is the queen of meme
YOU know you’ve made it very big when even memes about you go viral. Since last weekend, a clip created by YouTube user Gabriel Gundacker, featuring a song he wrote called Zendaya is Meechee, has racked up five million hits, prompting stars like Seth Rogen to tweet his approval, The New York Times called it ‘the first post-vine vine’. The clip, which references Zendaya’s role in the forthcoming animated film Smallfoot, was priceless marketing for Warner Brothers and also won the approval of its young protagonist. “Sang my name right and everything,” the actress shared on Twitter, with the tears-of-joy emojis.
But pop culture fans had, more or less, already gotten their heads around the pronunciation of her exotic moniker, (which is, in fact, a Bantu name, native to the Shona people of Zimbabwe). For while the path from Disney princess to bona fide adult star is treacherous, Zendaya has handled it with a cool aplomb that belies her tender years. Not for her the overly sexualised route of a Miley Cyrus or the debauched excesses of a Lindsay Lohan. Instead, at just 22 years of age, she has a slew of pop hits and big roles under her belt, making cameos in music videos for pals Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and Bruno Mars, and she has been tipped to possibly star in the much-anticipated live action version of The Little Mermaid.
And, of course, before all that, there is the anticipated box office behemoth of Smallfoot itself — a whimsical, inspirational take on the story of Bigfoot — in which she lends her voice talents alongside stars like LeBron James.
“I’m not surprised there’s already been such a big fan reaction,” she says. “You just have to look at the people who were involved in making it. The coolest part about the movie is that there are so many messages a person can take from it, to do with open mindedness and following your heart. It’s good for inspiration.”
Like any girl born in the Instagram generation, she is highly fluent in social media, and judging by her followers — 45.3m on Instagram and nearly 11m on Twitter — the world, by and large, is listening.
She uses the social media platforms to sound off on issues related to gun control, anxiety, racism — and the American press follows with bated breath her regular turns on the red carpet. On her own personal app, Zendaya,
‘I can see insincere people a mile away, I’m a pretty good judge of character’
you’ll see her do everything from giving eyebrow-shaping tutorials to taking a shopping trip: teen girls, particularly adore her, as do children: Mattel once commissioned a Barbie doll of her, a version of which she still owns.
She grew up in Oakland, California, the only child of two schoolteachers. She says she “always felt like I had something” in school but then adds, “you know, maybe a lot of kids feel that way but don’t necessarily make something of it.
“Neither of my parents were that involved in my early career, they’re both teachers, so this isn’t their world. As I got older, everything was my decision and I just went after things I wanted. If it felt good to me, I did it. I slowly became more confident in my creativeness. I was able to make decisions and know what I want.”
Before she was out of her teens, she was already modelling for companies like Macy’s and making appearances in TV ads. “I’ve just been taking my time the whole way along,” she explains. “It might appear like I had success quickly, but honestly I’ve only done things that feel right to me through and through.
“Both my parents were teachers and have instilled in me a love for knowledge. I had a hunger for wanting to learn more. It’s a pretty powerful thing.” Of her hometown, she says: “Oakland was a great place to grow up. It has a bad reputation, sometimes, but also a lot of creative people came from the city. There was a lot of activism that I grew up around and it’s just wedded into the fabric of the city.”
At 12, she starred in her first Disney movie, and by the age of 14, she had her own stylist. This was perhaps another key to her burgeoning stardom as she says it meant that, “I had someone by my side who was able to help me express myself with great choices.”
And what choices they were. For her Spider-Man: Homecoming premiere, it was a long, pink Ralph & Russo dress; for the 2016 Grammys, a beautifully androgynous tuxedo, paired with a feathery mullet, which was supposed to be an homage to David Bowie. And then there was the white off-the-shoulder Vivienne Westwood gown she wore to the 2015 Oscars. The look became news after Fashion Police host Giuliana Rancic commented that Zendaya’s hair, worn in long dreadlocks, “must smell like patchouli or weed”. Though the remark caused instant outrage on social media for its insensitivity (Rancic later made a public apology), it was Zendaya who took the high road by saying: “It was a learning experience for everyone.”
She doesn’t appear too eager to revisit the furore however, coolly telling me that “that was when I was 17”, as though that were several lifetimes ago, while adding that fashion is “about finding your identity… I find it to be a very empowering thing.”
Despite, or perhaps because of her career having gone stratospheric in recent years, she says she was careful to take some key people “with me” when she made it big. “I have a really small circle, most of them are related to me,” she explains.
“I like to exist in our little fortress.” She says she can be wary of new people; “I can see insincere people a mile away, I think I’m a pretty good judge of character. I haven’t really had to deal with people trying to get to know me, though, because I’m too boring; I don’t go out enough.”
So how does she let loose? “I just chill and hang out, you don’t need to do much to have a good time.”
Our time is nearly up, the publicist announces the last question. So are the stories true about her starring in the new version of The Little Mermaid?
With a twinkle in her voice, she says “just a rumour”, and then, like Ariel in an upward surge of seawater, she is gone.
‘Smallfoot’ is in cinemas nationwide