Zendaya Talks Being A Light-Skinned Black Girl With Yara Shahidi As She Covers Glamour Magazine

Two of my favourite young Hollywood stars, Zendaya Coleman and Yara Shahidi sat down for a very refreshingly intelligent chat in the latest issue of Glamour Magazine.

Zendaya who is the publication’s November 2017 cover star talks being a light-skinned black girl in Hollywood, having to put her foot down at Disney, the women who inspire her and her clothing line among other things.

See more photos and excerpts below.

YARA SHAHIDI: Let’s take it all the way back. How did you end up moving to Los Angeles from Oakland as a middle-schooler to act?

ZENDAYA: I was basically like, “I want to do this,” and my dad quit his job as a teacher to make it happen. My mom stayed in Oakland because she had two jobs: teaching, and working at the California Shakespeare Theater at night. Those two jobs paid for all of our car trips back and forth for the year I was auditioning. Luckily I had parents who were like, “You know what? We believe in you.” I got my first job on the Disney Channel when I was 13, and it was just me and my dad in an apartment in downtown L.A. It was very difficult because I was dealing with all the pivotal girl moments. I remember getting my period and him not knowing what to do. It was a weird transitional phase.

On the women that inspire her: There’s definitely a long list. I am inspired right now by people who use their platforms: If people know your name, they should know it for a reason. I’m obviously inspired by my mother, and I have an obsession with Oprah. She’s someone who, even with everything stacked against her, has soared to unbelievable heights. If she wants to create a network, she can do it. She wants to produce a movie? She can do it. But then also there’s this level of realness to her. You feel like she’s your auntie.

On Shonda Rhimes: I mean, Shonda—she saw something nobody else was doing and said, “I’m going to create it myself. I’m going to put strong, powerful women of color in lead roles and create narratives for different types of people.” And she owns a day. She owns Thursdays.

On Beyonce & Michelle: And then, Beyoncé. She took it to the next level with Lemonade. She’s got twins, and she’s banging. She’s killing it. And, of course, Michelle Obama, because that is an intelligent woman.

On what gave her the confidence to reject Disney’s idea for her new show: I didn’t feel like there was any other choice. I was like, “If I’m going to do this, this is how it has to be.” There needs to be a black family on the Disney Channel. A lot of people who aren’t people of color can’t quite understand what it’s like to grow up and not see yourself in mainstream media. And you know, there is so much work left to be done. I’ve talked about this before, but can I honestly say I would be in the position I’m in if I weren’t a lighter-skinned black woman? No.

On her red carpet style: A huge part of my gaining confidence is because of fashion. What I love about someone like Rihanna is her fearlessness. It’s almost a sense of, pardon my language, I don’t give a fuck. When she wears a dress, it’s for herself, and you can see that. There’s something to be said for the fact that literally everybody can hate my outfit, but if I feel good in it, I’m the only one that should matter.

On what’s next for her: There’s a lot I want to do in the movie world. Having a Disney past sometimes makes it difficult for people to take you seriously, so I have to pick the right projects, make sure I do the right things, take my time. And then I want to produce and create shows and movies, whether or not I’m starring in them. You know when you watch a show and you’re like, “That’s so good. I wish I’d made it?” Why not? Why not make it? Wild idea, I know.

Read the full cover story here.