Zendaya Actor jumps from teen idol to superstar

Zold endaya Coleman, universally known by her first name alone, has never been short of attention, but it feels as if the 27-yearactor-model-producer is at a breakthrough moment

- Andrew Pulver

With the tennis romance Challengers, in which she is the central focus, arriving in cinemas, Dune: Part Two still reeling in audiences, and her face simultaneously on the covers of both the British and American editions of Vogue, she appears to have achieved a new level.

Zendaya's career has so far specialised in an impressive number of attention-grabbing moments, including an appearance in a spectacularly bizarre silver robot suit at the premiere of Dune: Part Two this year, and the release of the Challengers trailer in June 2023, with its suggestive premise of a three-way love affair.

Challengers, however, represents something of a high-stakes career recalibration. Co-starring Josh O'Connor and Mike Faist, and directed by the Italian auteur Luca Guadagnino, the film sees Zendaya transition into a more mature, dramatic role while not abandoning the younger audience that constitutes the bulk of her fanbase.