Zendaya Just Made History With Her Emmy Nomination
Zendaya has been a force in music, movies, and television since she was a child star. In 2020, her portrayal of Rue on HBO's smash hit series "Euphoria" earned her an Emmy nomination for outstanding lead actress in a drama series. She was up against acting veterans such as Laura Linney, Sandra Oh, and Olivia Colman, but Zendaya took home the award. "Just to be mentioned in the category at all was something — and just to have them support me really filled my heart," the former Disney star told the press at the time, per Deadline. Zendaya's Emmy win was record-breaking as she became the youngest recipient of that award. She somehow made it through her acceptance speech without letting the waterworks out. "I don't usually cry," Zendaya said. "I got through it without letting it take over completely."
Being the youngest to take home the award was not the only factor that made the Emmy win a surreal moment. The awards were remote due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the "Spider-Man: Homecoming" star had a person deliver the trophy in her home while they wore a hazmat suit, as she revealed in an interview with Timothée Chalamet for Elle in November 2020.
After the big win, the "Euphoria" star stayed committed to her character for Season 2. "I still have some scars on my legs, and got quite a few bruises," she told Entertainment Weekly in February about filming one particularly taxing episode. Now, that commitment to the role has continued to pay off.
Zendaya's work outside of acting earns acclaim
When the 2022 Emmy nominations were announced on July 12, Zendaya made history twice over. Once again she was nominated for outstanding lead actress in a drama series for her work as Rue on HBO's "Euphoria." That made Zendaya — at 25 years old — the youngest person to ever be nominated twice in that category, per Deadline. In addition to the acting nom, she also was nominated for her work as an executive producer on the heralded high school series, which made her the youngest producer to be up for an Emmy.
The former "K.C. Undercover" star had been in the spotlight most of her life, but noticed with the success of her HBO series and the "Spider-Man" franchise that her fame had grown considerably. "So thankfully I've had a little bit of time to ease and grow my experience in a way that wasn't just completely an overnight change," Zendaya told Vogue Italia for their June cover story. The "Malcolm & Marie" star admitted that even though fame was not new, the expectations could feel overwhelming. "It can be scary and nerve-wracking because then there comes the pressure and you wanna do it the right way," she said.
Despite the commercial and critical success, Zendaya's accomplished work as an actor, musician, and producer was not enough to satiate her creative appetites. "I gotta hurry up and figure out how to f***ing become a director, man," she told British Vogue in September 2021. "There's so much I want to do."