Does Zendaya Have A Close Relationship With Her 5 Older Siblings?
Zendaya has been passionate about acting since childhood, an interest that has paid off thanks to her family. "I'm really lucky to have the parents that I have," she said on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in 2016. "They just have always instilled in me those core values that I think I have to carry with me through everything." Zendaya has a close bond with her parents and doesn't hesitate to show it.
Zendaya's father, Kazembe Ajamu Coleman, has worked as her manager and is often seen by her side. In fact, it was Coleman who moved with Zendaya to Los Angeles so she could pursue acting. "My dad quit his job as a teacher to make it happen," she told Glamour in 2017. Her mother, Claire Stoermer, remained in Oakland to keep her job as a teacher and at the California Shakespeare Theater and make her dream possible. "Luckily I had parents who were like, 'You know what? We believe in you,'" she added.
The couple didn't officially tie the knot until 2008, but Stoermer filed for divorce in 2016. The split was amicable, though, and Zendaya was annoyed that the media made a big deal out of the filing. "My parents ain't been together for a long time, y'all didn't know cause we private + they still homies," she tweeted, proving her family is as strong as ever. But the unit doesn't just include her parents. Zendaya also has siblings who play an important role in her life.
Zendaya looks up to her siblings
When Kazembe Coleman got together with Claire Stoermer, he already had four children — daughters Kaylee, Katianna, and Annabella, and sons Austin and Julien. Zendaya came along much later, but the age difference didn't interfere in their relationship. Zendaya is particularly close with one of her half-sisters. "I look up to my big sister and realize the influence she's had on me and making me a better person," she told Time in 2015. The "Euphoria" star was likely referring to the middle sister, Katianna, known as Kizzi.
One of her sisters even works with Zendaya, according to a 2021 British Vogue report. Zendaya also lives close to her brothers, who are pretty protective of her — much like her father. The men in her life went so far as to keep tabs on the people interested in dating Zendaya. The list of relatives who have to approve of her boyfriend is pretty extensive. "My dad, my brothers, it's a whole thing. Good luck to whoever wants to take that on," she joked in the interview, which happened around the time Zendaya and Tom Holland went public with their relationship.
Holland must have gained their seal of approval, as she does seem to value her family above most things. "Coleman Family... the people I do it for, my motivation, my support, my everything," she captioned a December 2016 Instagram post that featured close to 20 of her family members, including her father, siblings and their respective families.
Zendaya is a proud auntie
Zendaya isn't just close with her siblings. She's also pretty tight with their children, many of whom are older than her. She gets a kick out of that sometimes. "My niece, who is two years older than me, was wearing a side-part and skinny jeans, and I was like, 'Uh oh, you didn't hear? Skinny jeans are cancelled. You're out honey, you're out," she told British Vogue. But Zendaya wants to be a role model for the new generation in her family, much like her parents and older siblings were to her.
That's why she goes out of her way to respond to racially insensitive commentary, like when Giuliana Rancic said Zendaya probably smelled of weed because she wore dreadlocks to the 2015 Oscars. "My little nieces have curly hair ... Honestly, I think about my little nieces and my little nephews first," she told Complex. "Because one day they're going to have Twitter and they're going to have Instagram, and I'm going to be like, 'This is how you handle it, kids.'"
Even though Zendaya mainly uses social media to promote her work and the social causes close to her heart, she can't help but showcase her love for her young nieces and nephews — to whom she's Auntie Daya — every once in a while. In September 2017, she shared a picture to Instagram that showed her cuddling a toddler while they looked at a toy together. "Auntie Daya in full effect," she captioned the post.