Behind The Scenes: A Peek At Zendaya's Rise To Fame And Fortune

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Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman was born on September 1st, 1996, and at the tender age of 25, she has earned an absolute fortune, putting her net worth valuation at a staggering $15 million. The actress and model has been in front of the cameras since a young age, and has seemingly effortlessly grown into a bonified star in front of our eyes. She has catapulted to superstardom and has dramatically expanded her fan following in recent years. Zendaya has worked through much of her childhood, and has an interesting perspective on fame and fortune, and fans are watching her career grow in leaps and bounds, while she continues to collect the accolades.

The Beginnings Of Fame

Zendaya was born and raised in California, and has always stayed true to her roots. She is now in her mid twenties, and admits that for as far back as she can remember, she has been forward-facing in front of a camera. She is completely unphased with cameras capturing her every move, and in fact, has parlayed that attention by using it as a way to expand her already impressive fan following.

At the tender age of just 8 years old, she joined a dance troupe called Future Shock Oakland, which specialized in hip hop dance routines. This helped Zendaya grow her confidence and expand her skill set, leading to her professional break in the world of modeling and dancing when she started to represent powerful brands. She represented Macy's and Old Navy in a series of ads, as well as putting her face forward to market iCarly merchandise. Then, she was cast as Rocky Blue on Disney's Shake It Up, and at that point, at the age of 14, everything began to shift and the world was about to be introduced to the power and confidence behind Zendaya.

People Began Recognizing Her

Zendaya starred alongside Bella Thorne for three full seasons in Shake It Up, and then proceeded to gain traction and grow her career in leaps and bounds when she dedicated herself to taking on all the projects that the Disney Channel was willing to throw her way. She and Bella released a song called Watch Me, which represented their combined efforts in the world of entertainment, and immediately, they made it to the Billboard 100.

Zendaya's impeccable dance moves were put on full display when she participated in Dancing With The Stars and came out of it with a second place win. She released her self-titled album, Zendaya, and went on to land the biggest career of her life up until that point, in 2017.

The More Sophisticated Side Of Her Career

Zendaya launched to superstardom when she landed the role of MJ in the film Spider-Man: Homecoming. This is where she met her now-boyfriend Tom Holland, and they have remained inseparable for quite some time.

Proving to the world that she had a diverse skill set as an actress, and demanding that she didn't get stereotypically typecast, she went on to challenge herself with the gritty role of Rue Bennett on HBO's hit, Eurphoria. Zendaya clinched a huge win for her role in this movie when she was handed a Primetime Emmy.

Her filmography continued to grow, as Zendaya took part in The Greatest Showman, Dune, and Space Jam: A New Legacy. In spite of the fact that her role in Dune was a very minor one, Zendaya had already made a splash on the entertainment scene, and was paid accordingly. She took home a $300,000 paycheck for her efforts.

Brand Deals

Zendaya is now recognized as being a young, talented, and highly influential figure in the entertainment industry. She has already left a huge footprint in the world of acting, and she is expected to continue to see her star rise even higher in the years to come.

With a fan base of an astounding 127 million followers on Instagram alone, it's obvious that Zendaya truly resonates with her fans, and is an incredibly influential, and powerful presence.

This had resulted in a number of lucrative endorsement deals for the young star. She has stunned audiences as the fresh-faced model representing CoverGirl, Lancome, Bulgari, and even the highly esteemed, world famous Valentino.

She has used her celebrity status to also promote Madonna's Material Girl fashion line, Beats and Chi Hair Care, and many more. She's a natural at turning heads and captivating a large audience, and some of the biggest, most impactful and legendary brands have secured Zendaya to promote their companies to her fanbase.

Financial Anxiety Is A Real Thing

In a matter of just a few short years, Zendaya has managed to change her earnings significantly. She went from generating thousands of dollars of income from each project to millions, instead.

She has attained an incredible amount of wealth for a young woman of such a young age, yet she has been honest about suffering from financial anxiety, and continues to proceed with the mindset that she needs to generate more, and is not fully secured within her wealth just yet.

During an interview with British Vogue, she addressed her anxiety surrounding the longevity of wealth by stating; “The hope is to have a career where you can be in a position, financially, to just do things you want to do because you enjoy the work and not have to worry about the other things but I’m always like, ‘I will always need to work.’ Because if I don’t work then everything can be gone tomorrow.”

Zendaya admits that it's painfully difficult for her to spend money on herself, and she suffers from anxiety when she makes a big purchase. She continues to have a hard time indulging on herself, in spite of the already impressive fortune she has amassed.

She is apprehensive about booking herself in for expensive vacation retreats, and isn't comfortable with self-indulgence. Using her money-sense in a different manner, she prefers to invest in real estate and more tangible items that hold their value. She purchased her own home in Northridge, California in 2017 for $1.4 million and she has held on to this piece of land for future resale.

Zendaya has since gone on to purchase a $4 million mansion in Encino, California which sits on 5,000 square feet and boasts 4 acres of land.

It's safe to say that if she continues along her humble path, she will continue to generate multi-millions worth of income, while simultaneously entertaining her loyal fanbase, and further enhancing her place in the Hollywood.

Sources: Life and Style Magazine, Seventeen, Stylecaster,