Zendaya – The Queen Who Queened At The Emmys
In 2020, Zendaya shattered the glass ceiling into bits and pieces when she won the Lead Actress In A Drama Series for “Euphoria” at the age of 24, making her the youngest actress to do so. She was also the second-ever Black woman to win the category.
But that’s not where her astronomical impact in the drama category ended. The actress set the standard for excellence by winning—you guessed it—another Emmy for the “Best Actress in a Drama Series” for her captivating portrayal of 17-year-old drug-addict Rue Bennet in “Euphoria”, the teen drama series known for its tricky twists and turns, eye-catching makeup, and state-of-the-art visuals.
With this, she became the only Black woman to win two Emmys in this category.
This win is huge, considering she had competitors like Jodie Comer for Killing Eve, Sandra Oh for Killing Eve, Laura Linney for Ozark, Reese Witherspoon for The Morning Show, and Melanie Lynskey for Yellowjacket, so you just *know” she had what it took to one-up them all.
In her acceptance speech, Zendaya thanked everyone involved in the making of the Israeli series and included those who’ve shared their stories of addiction with her.
Zendaya said she hoped that Euphoria, which talks about recovering from drug addiction, can help heal people. She said, “I want you to know that anyone who has loved a Rue, or feels like you are a Rue, I’m so grateful for your stories and I carry them with me and carry them with her. Thank you so much.”
Her achievements at such a young age are phenomenal, really, but the actress is as humble as one can get. She told Vanity Fair in an interview, “I had no idea I would be a part of this today,” but “I am so proud of our team and the work we do together. I’m very, very proud.”
The actress’ area of expertise stretches beyond the realm of acting.
The Euphoria actor was nominated for four awards. The actress who’s dating the friendly neighborhood superman, Tom Holland, was the youngest star nominated for producing—as an executive producer for HBO on the second season of “Euphoria”.
She also received a nomination for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for two songs she co-wrote with Dominic Fike and Labrinth, the show’s composer. Both songs, “Elliot’s Song” and “I’m Tired” appeared in the season finale.
Despite being massive hits, the nomination came as a surprise to the actor.
She said, “I had no idea! The intention was just to work with Lab [i.e., Euphoria composer Labrinth] in a deeper sense, and he always creates such a warm environment to collaborate.”
She further stated, “Whenever we made things on set, it was just about the goal of enhancing the emotional journey of these characters and how to tell the story through another medium—so yeah, I had no idea I would be a part of this today. It’s very cool.”
The series premiered on January 9, raking in an average of a whopping 16.3 million viewers across multiple HBO and HBO Max. The success scored Euphoria a renewal for Season 3, so there’s hope that Zendaya will pull all stops and become the first-ever woman to win three Emmys in the category.
