Actor and fashion icon in the making Zendaya covers the November/December issue of Essence, and might I say the cover gave me Eartha Kitt vibes.
The 24-year-old actress opened up about her historic lead actress win for Euphoria, support she received from other black women after her win, and Beyonce’s impact on her career.
Check out a few highlights, as well as all the stunning photos taken by AB+DM below…
WHAT WENT THROUGH HER MIND RIGHT BEFORE HER HISTORIC EMMY WIN FOR EUPHORIA:
“There’s a video of me that a family friend took while I was waiting, and you can see my leg shaking. In my head I was like, ‘Dude, just chill out. What will be, will be.’ I remember taking a deep breath, and then hearing my name, and then my family screamed. I was worried that if they kept screaming for too long, I wouldn’t have any time to actually say anything—but I didn’t want to stop them, because they were having a great time. It was a very special night. I’ll definitely remember that one forever…”
THE SUPPORT SHE RECEIVED FROM OTHER BLACK WOMEN AFTER HER EMMY WIN:
“I’m honored to have that support, especially from my fellow young Black creatives. Through this Emmy’s period, especially, I felt a strong sense of support within our community, which I’m really grateful for. I think what’s slowly starting to happen is, artists like Issa Rae and Lena Waithe have created opportunities that have resulted in more of us being in these rooms. That’s such a special feeling, and I think it’s definitely changing the idea that there can only be “one at a time,” which is false. I love to see that genuine love and respect for each other’s work. I hope that we continue to expand that in all kinds of beautiful ways, because I think we’re on a really good path…”
HER NEW YEAR’S WISH FOR BLACK WOMEN:
“For us to continue to fully realize our power and harness it to do great things, because we are incredibly powerful. We’re often convinced that we’re not, and taught to shrink—but we have to believe in our collective power. I always think of that Beyoncé song, ‘They’ll never take my power, my power, my power.’ Let’s take that energy into the new year..”
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