What is Zendaya's ethnicity? Here's the real meaning of her name and all details about her roots
What’s in a name? Well, your entire heritage if you’re Zendaya. So what exactly does Zendaya mean? Appropriately it means 'to give thanks' and Zendaya certainly has a lot to be thankful for this awards season. Zendaya's acting chops are certainly being lauded in 'Malcolm & Marie' for which she has been nominated for a Best Actress award at the upcoming Critics Choice Awards. There is even considerable Oscar buzz surrounding Zendaya's performance.
But it's not just as an actor but as a role model that Zendaya will also be honored at the Critics Choice awards. Zendaya is set to receive the SeeHer Award at the 2021 Critics Choice Awards. The SeeHer Award recognizes a woman who embodies the values set forth by the SeeHer movement, which advocates for accurate portrayals of women and girls in advertising and media. Previous recipients of the award are Kristen Bell, Viola Davis, Claire Foy and Gal Gadot.
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Clearly Zendaya is flying high but let’s now look at this young superstar’s roots. Zendaya’s heritage is all summed up in her name. Zendaya, whose full name is Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman, wears her heritage proudly on her sleeve and in her name. Zendaya has always been clear that it is extremely important for youngsters in particular to feel connected to their roots. In fact for Immigration Heritage Month, Zendaya, along with her parents Claire Stoermer and Kazembe Ajamu, even talked about their family history and cultural heritage in a PSA for non-profit organization Welcome US.
In the video titled 'Z for Zendaya', Zendaya speaks about her parent's African and German roots and how she has grown to embody both. Talking about her name and the history and culture that her name carries in the video Zendaya says, "I have my African first name. I have a middle name, that is [my mom's] middle name which is French, but we did an African spelling. So, it's literally me in a name," she says. "And then you have Stoermer, and then you have Coleman. I literally have a timeline in history in my name." You can catch the video below.
The Critics Choice Awards are held annually to honor the finest in cinematic and television achievement by the Critics Choice Association. The award show will air from 7 pm ET to 10 pm ET on The CW.