Zendaya covered the June 2019 issue of American Vogue, her first time on the front of the magazine, and used the interview to talk about the kind of work she wants to do next.
The actor and singer, then 22, said she hoped to see more film and television made by young Black artists, and named the activist and scholar Angela Davis as someone she would like to play on screen one day.
From Disney to HBO
The cover story came at a turning point in her career. Zendaya first became known to young audiences through the Disney Channel series Shake It Up and K.C. Undercover. In 2019 she was preparing for the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, in which she played MJ, and for the premiere of Euphoria, the HBO drama in which she starred as Rue.
She told the magazine she did not see herself as an activist, but said she wanted to support people she grew up with in Oakland and the Bay Area who were working in their communities.
Influences
Asked about other careers she follows closely, she named Donald Glover, whose mix of acting, writing and music she said she found interesting because he moves between forms on his own terms.
Euphoria premiered a few weeks after the issue went on sale, in June 2019. The role later earned Zendaya two Emmy Awards for lead actress in a drama series, in 2020 and 2022, making her the youngest two-time winner in that category.
Sources: Vogue, June 2019 cover story and interview.