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COVER STORY:

ZENDAYA COLEMAN CLAPS BACK! by: Rohn Padmore

Actress and singer Zendaya Coleman comes from a theatrical background. As the daughter of a stage manager, she spent much of her youth hanging around the California Shakespeare Theater. She also trained in the theater's youth program and appeared in some of its productions.

 

During her days as a student at her native Oakland School for the Arts, Zendaya landed a number of roles in local theatrical productions. She also honed her craft at the American Conservatory Theater and the Cal Shakes Conservatory. Zendaya had an interest in dance as well. She was a member of the Future Shock Oakland dance group for several years, and studied hula dancing at the Academy of Hawaiian Arts.

 

In addition to her theatrical work, Zendaya had some early success as a model, working for companies such as Macy's and Old Navy. For a Sears commercial, Zendaya performed as a back-up dancer for Selena Gomez. She eventually decided to use only her first name professionally. "Zendaya" means "to give thanks" in the language of the Shona people of Zimbabwe.

 

In 2010, Zendaya saw her career take off with the debut of Shake It Up on the Disney Channel. The then-14-year-old performer described the show toMcClatchy-Tribune Business News as "a buddy comedy about two best friends who dream of becoming professional dancers and finally get their chance when they get to audition for their favorite show."

 

Zendaya and her co-star, Bella Thorne, have become tween idols to their young fan base. The songs they've sung on the show, including "Something to Dance For," have been hit downloads with their target audience, and their two characters have become so popular that they even inspired their own fashion line.

 

Outside of her hit show, Zendaya lent her voice to the animated television movie Pixie Hollow Games (2011). She has also made guest appearances on such series as A.N.T. Farm and Good Luck Charlie, and starred with Thorne in the 2012 television movie Frenemies.

In 2013, Zendaya made the switch from the imaginary dance show to the popular televised competition Dancing with the Stars. She was paired with professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy on the show, and competed against such celebrities as Andy Dick, Kellie Pickler and Aly Raisman. Her previous experience, however, didn't prove to be much help. As she told Good Morning America, "I'm really used to hip hop dancing ... So I kind of have to forget what I know and restart all over again."

 

Zendaya seems poised for success on many fronts. In 2012, she signed a recording deal with Hollywood Records. The following year, she became a first-time author with Between U and Me. She shared her advice for her young fans in this book. The Disney star, 18, recently put Twitter trolls on blast, after users began to criticize her parents. One user tweeted a photo of Coleman with her mom and dad — Claire Stoermer and Kazembe Ajamu, accompanied by a less than polite caption … “they made a gorgeous a– child lol.”Other followers jumped on the bandwagon, calling her parents “ugly,” even going as far to say they “would cry” if their parents resembled hers. As expected, the “KC Undercover” star stepped in and effectively shut down the haters.

 

“While you’re so concerned about what my parents look like, please know that these are two of the most selfless people in the world,” she wrote on Saturday. “They have chosen to spend their entire life, not worried about trivial things such as looks and insulting people’s parents on Twitter, but instead became educators who have dedicated their lives to teaching, cultivating and filling young shallow mind[s].”

 

Her wise words continued as she urged critics to “please, log out, go to school, hug a teacher and read a textbook … and while you’re at it, go look in the mirror and know that you too are beautiful, because such hateful things only stem from internal struggles. Bless you.”

 

This isn’t the first time Coleman has spoken out to defend herself or her loved ones. Earlier this year she put “Fashion Police” host Giuliana Rancic on blast following a controversial description she made of her Oscar look. Rancic said that Zendaya’s dreads made her look like she “[smelled] like patchouli oil … or weed.” 

 

Mattel Toys, the makers of Barbie rewarded Zendaya's fearlessness and courage by creating a custom Zendaya Barbie doll in the same image of her Oscar look. Bravo to Zendaya for standing her ground. She’s becoming quite the role model for young girls today and we love it.

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