Salma Hayek: Her journey to landing Marvels ‘Eternals’

Following the long-awaited releases of Black Widow and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings over recent months, the next instalment of the wildly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is poised to enthral us. Slated to open on 18 November, Eternals depicts the travails of immortal beings who reunite after millennia of hiding on Earth to battle their archenemies, the Deviants – and it promises to be the most diverse to date.

Much has been made of the fact that its core superhero cast will feature the franchise’s first openly gay character (Phastos), that Pakistani-American actor Kumail Nanjiani’s Kingo will be its first protagonist of South Asian descent, and Don Lee – of Train to Busan fame – the first South Korean superhero. What’s more, both director (Chloé Zhao) and lead (Gemma Chan) are Chinese. Rather less noise has resonated, however, over the casting of Mexican screen-siren Salma Hayek as Ajak, the Eternals’ spiritual leader. After all, the Desperado star will become the series’ first Arab actress (Hayek actually boasts Lebanese ethnicity through her father).

A 32-year veteran of the industry, Hayek is no stranger to breaking boundaries. She was one of the first Latina talents to make it big in Tinseltown, in no small part due to her versatility in the genres of drama, comedy, romance and action. But life hasn’t been all smooth sailing for the Frida thespian. We shine the spotlight on the soaring highs and challenging lows that she’s overcome…

Peace & Pesos
Salma Valgarma Hayek Jiménez was born far away from the shining lights of Hollywood in the southern Mexican port city of Coatzacoalcos on 2 September 1966. Her mother, Diana, was an opera singer, while her Lebanese-Mexican father, Sami Hayek Dominguez, worked as an oil executive in addition to owning an industrial equipment company. Her Lebanese surname reflects her paternal roots, while her first name ‘Salma’ means ‘peace’ in Arabic. She was fortunate to be raised in a wealthy home, which afforded her the opportunity to go to boarding school in the United States at age 12.

Boarding School Blues
Salma’s schooldays weren’t always easy, as she was diagnosed with dyslexia at an early age. This didn’t stop her from pranking her fellow students, however. In one interview, she recalled that her roommates – American girls – would wake early to curl their hair and put on makeup, whereas she’d rather “sleep until the last minute”. One day, she decided to turn back the clocks by an hour to mess with them. She was given detention, and ultimately kicked out of the strict Catholic boarding school in Louisiana. Despite these early hiccups and a learning disability, her innate intelligence saw her graduate from high school at just 15.

Acting Initiative
Throughout her late teens and early 20s, her stunning looks prompted approaches from casting agents. So, halfway through pursuing a degree in international relations and political science at Mexico City’s Universidad Iberoamericana, she dismayed her parents by dropping out to pursue a career in acting. At just 23, she had her big break, landing the starring role in Teresa, a telenovela that would catapult her to superstar status in her native land. Not content to rest on her laurels, she decided to move to Hollywood to pursue bigger roles. “I wanted to do films, and at that time in Mexico, a film industry didn’t really exist,” she explains. “So where do you go to do movies? You go to the mecca. I was already famous in Mexico by then, and they were laughing at me, asking ‘Why is she doing that?’”

Desperado Times
At first it seemed her critics were right since Hayek struggled for four years in California, unable to land a single role. In many cases, the reason cited by studios for her rejection was that she was too Latina. It wasn’t until 1995 that she got her chance to prove her mettle in Robert Rodriguez’s Desperado alongside fellow Spanish-speaker Antonio Banderas. Then, the floodgates opened, with the actress cast in a slew of major productions before the end of the decade – From Dusk till Dawn, Wild Wild West and Dogma, to name but three of her biggest hits.

Rosy Repertoire
In 1999, having established herself as an A-list leading lady, Hayek launched her own production company. Ventanarosa, which is Spanish for ‘rose-coloured window’, produced the acclaimed TV dramedy Ugly Betty, which would eventually garner two Golden Globes. It also helped her hit Hollywood-legend heights by producing the historic biopic Frida (2002). Hayek’s seminal portrayal of the surrealist artist Frida Kahlo saw her become only the second Latina actress to receive a Best Actress nod at the Academy Awards.

Charity Begins at Home
In addition to her achievements in film, she is a dedicated philanthropist and activist. Spurred by an awareness of her own fortunate circumstances and the precarious position of those in her homeland, the Salma Hayek Foundation not only raises aid and awareness for battered women in Mexico, but has branched out to help disadvantaged street children, too. Hayek has also been involved with several Unicef initiatives, including spearheading a campaign against neonatal and maternal tetanus, and was awarded the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award by the international charitable organisation in 2018.

Covid Survivor
The Eternals star was recently worryingly close to death. Laid low by Covid-19, she spent seven weeks isolated in a room of the house she shares with her husband, French billionaire François-Henri Pinault (CEO of luxury group Kering), and their 13-year-old daughter. She became so ill that she was put on oxygen. “My doctor begged me to go to the hospital because it was so bad,” she reveals, “but I said, ‘no, thank you. I’d rather die at home,’” adding that she still hasn’t regained her pre-pandemic energy levels.

“My doctor begged me to go to the hospital because it was so bad, but I said, ‘no, thank you. I’d rather die at home’”

Auteur Ego
In line with her go-getting spirit, though, this hasn’t stopped her from planning ambitious projects. Apart from Eternals, Hayek also appears in Ridley Scott’s biographical crime drama The House of Gucci, which was shot earlier this year, and hopes to direct a film based on a script she wrote 17 years ago. “It’s a very personal project and this is the right time. It couldn’t have gotten made two years ago or even last year [but] I don’t give up. I’ll get it made,” she says of the passion production. While she’s remained tight-lipped about any details, if her past CV is any indication, it will be an instant hit.

(Text: Tenzing Thondup)

The promise of Timothée Chalamet…

At the tender age of 22, when most of his contemporaries were just beginning their careers, US thespian Timothée Chalamet was fêted by Hollywood as the youngest actor in almost 80 years to be nominated for Best Actor at the 2018 Academy Awards. Yet, much like Cinderella when the clock struck midnight, the following day saw Chalamet hit with the realities of his everyday life in Manhattan with no credit card, no roof over his head, and barely a few dollars to his name.

Yet, his perseverance in the face of such adversity has yielded huge rewards. Subsequent performances in big-screen productions such as Beautiful Boy, filmed later that year, and Little Women (2019) went on to garner critical acclaim and cement his status as a rising star.

Despite being something of a staple at red-carpet events lately – he sported white sweatpants and sneakers to what was dubbed the biggest fashion event of the year, the Met Gala – his rather recent entry into the limelight means that for the most part, his personal life remains an enigma. As Chalamet returns to the silver screen this month in the long-awaited film adaptation of cult sci-fi novel Dune, we delve into some lesser-known facts about the Call Me by Your Name star…

French Connection
Timothée Hal Chalamet – to give the now 25-year-old his full name – was born in the Big Apple to real-estate broker Nicole Flender and Marc Chalamet, an editor for UNICEF. Given his French-American roots, young Timothée spent many summers in his father’s hometown of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon and speaks fluent French.
Speaking to the duality of his upbringing, the actor explained: “Once I was there, I became the French version of myself. I was completely imbued in the culture and I even dreamed in French.” A talented linguist, Chalamet Jr also picked up a smattering of Italian prior to filming Call Me by Your Name, which was set in Lombardy.

High-School Posse
Bitten by the acting bug at an early age, Chalamet attended LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, one of the most prestigious such establishments in New York City – luminaries like Jennifer Aniston and Nicki Minaj are alumni. While there, he partnered for the first time with his Little Women co-star Ansel Elgort. Not only did the two prodigies share the stage there, they were also on the same basketball team. Remembering their personalities, their former drama teacher Harry Shifman said: “They were both like rock stars, in a school full of rock stars. Everybody recognised them as being particularly gifted.”
Elgort wasn’t Chalamet’s only high-profile schoolmate, though. He also met Madonna’s daughter Lourdes Leon while attending LaGuardia, and after years of speculation about their relationship, the latter admitted earlier this year that the two had been an item when they were students.

Rap Game
In addition to starring in various high-school productions, Chalamet also dabbled in rap while attending LaGuardia. Under the alias “Lil’ Timmy Tim”, he created a music video in which he waxed lyrical about how much he loved his statistics teacher, Ms Lawton. Although said teacher only gave him a D+ grade for his effort, the clip went viral after he shot to stardom, with talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres even playing it during Chalamet’s guest spot on her show. Later, when he appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden, he lamented: “I am never going to live this down. This is going to follow me everywhere.”

Interstellar Dropout
After graduating from high school, teen Timothée was accepted at the prestigious Columbia University, where he studied cultural anthropology. However, his enrolment coincided with the launch of his career, and he dropped out in 2014 after his freshman year, just before the release of his feature-film debut in sci-fi hit, Interstellar. Recalling the struggles of managing his acting commitments with his academic schedule, he said: “I just couldn’t figure out the balance, so I left school after a year, got an apartment in the Bronx… and have since been getting a steady stream of work.”

Young & Gifted
As mentioned, when the Call Me by Your Name breakout star was nominated for an Academy Award, he became the youngest actor to be so honoured since 1939, when then 19-year-old Mickey Rooney got the nod for his role in Babe in Arms. The event also made him the third youngest Best Actor nominee in Oscar history. While Chalamet has yet to clinch a major award, he has racked up a host of nominations for his CV, including three BAFTAs, two Golden Globes and four Screen Actors’ Guild Awards.

Gaining Respect
When #MeToo garnered global support in 2018, director Woody Allen was among the many Hollywood giants who faced backlash for his questionable past treatment of women. Chalamet was working with Allen in A Rainy Day In New York at the time, and in solidarity with the movement, the young man announced that he would donate his entire salary from the film to a list of charities aiding sexual assault victims and championing equal rights, such as Time’s Up, the LGBT Centre in New York, and RAINN. Explaining the move, he posted on Instagram: “I want to be worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with the brave artists who are fighting for all people to be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.”

Dune Bug
Even before he was attached to the newly released Dune, Chalamet was so keen to work with its director, Denis Villeneuve, that he set up a Google alert to track the film’s production and began reading the novel on the off chance that he would be cast. “I was about halfway through the book when he asked if I could come out to meet him, so I quickly busted through the second half of the book… And then I had that meeting, and it was such a joy,” he recalls. He certainly aced the face-to-face, nabbing his dream role as protagonist Paul Atreides in what will be an epic, two-part space odyssey.

How well do you know ‘The Suicide Squad’ actress Margot Robbie?

There’s no denying that Australia churns out more than its fair share of A-list actresses. From the chameleonic charm of Cate Blanchett to the ephemeral elegance of Nicole Kidman, screen sirens from Down Under have found wider fame in Hollywood. Headlining among a new generation of Australian talent to make their mark on the red carpet of Tinseltown is Queensland-born Margot Robbie.

Having her start in showbiz with a three-year stint as Donna Freedman in the long-running Aussie soap, Neighbours – a show that catapulted other eventual stars like Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth to Hollywood – Robbie hit the big leagues with such blockbusters as The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Suicide Squad (2016) and I, Tonya (2017), for which she picked up an Oscar nomination. On her welcome return to the silver screen in a familiar role as DC Extended Universe supervillain Harley Quinn, we delve into some lesser-known facts about this talented thespian.

Father from her Mind
Until roughly five years ago, all that was known about Margot Robbie’s father publicly was that he was a ‘former farm-owner’. It wasn’t until 2016 that Aussie magazine New Idea revealed his true identity: sugarcane tycoon Doug Robbie. Perhaps this oversight was deliberate on the actress’s part; after all, he abandoned her and three siblings when she was still a toddler. The two remain estranged to this day – it was her mother who walked her down the aisle when she wed British film producer Tom Ackerley – and when asked in an interview about the qualities she’d inherited from her dad, she fired back, “None. Nothing. I’m not like him at all.”

Margot the Maggot
Despite her status as a gorgeous Hollywood star today, Margot Robbie’s childhood classmates notoriously christened her “Maggot”, a nickname that stuck for years. Recalling this uncomfortable moniker, she has lamented, “‘Maggot’ started when I was five, in Grade One, and I detested it. By the time I was eight, I realised it wasn’t going anywhere so I embraced it, but when I moved to Melbourne [to begin acting], people started calling me it and I hadn’t even told them it was my nickname!”

Slap in the Face
Playing the character of Naomi Lapaglia, wife of Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jordan Belfort, in The Wolf of Wall Street is undeniably the role that got Robbie noticed. But her method of landing the part was unusual, to say the least. It was her unscripted slapping of the Titanic leading man in an argument scene while auditioning that wowed director Martin Scorsese and landed her the role. Recalling her momentous decision, she said: “In my head I was like, ‘You have literally 30 seconds left in this room and if you don’t do something impressive nothing will ever come of it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance, just take it.’”

No More Nudity
For that same role, Robbie – who until this point had maintained a sweet, girl-next-door image – performed a sex scene atop a pile of money that required full-frontal nudity. But appearing in the buff was so uncomfortable for her that she even lied to her parents about the graphic scenes. In order to avoid any awkward embarrassment, she convinced them that CGI had been used to fit her head to another actor’s body. It’s no surprise, then, that when Hugh Hefner reached out to her to appear nude on Playboy for a substantial amount of money, she turned him down. Interestingly, the scene led to ‘a million paper cuts’, with the star quipping afterwards: “If anyone is ever planning to have sex on top of a pile of cash: don’t.”

Trapeze Act
Whereas many young girls enjoy learning to dance, sing or play a musical instrument, fearless young Margot bucked the trend with a rather unusual passion – trapezing. At the age of just eight, she was enrolled by her mother in a circus school where she received a ‘trapeze certificate’. However, her love of acrobatics was soon replaced with an inclination towards acting. Years later, she began to have recurring dreams of flying through the air under the Big Top. “I couldn’t stop thinking about that stupid dream,” she recalled. “I feel like I missed my calling.” It was this sense of incompleteness that would eventually push Robbie to return to trapeze classes.

Drunk Tattooing
In addition to being a bona-fide trapeze artist, Robbie has also dabbled in tattooing. In fact, she even inked her Suicide Squad co-star Cara Delevingne and writer-director David Ayer. However, during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, she revealed that she’d given up the hobby after drunkenly tattooing a friend during a bachelorette party. “She walked down the aisle as one of the maids of honour in a backless dress and had this red, raw, scabbing tattoo and her mum was filthy with me … she was so angry and I thought, I really shouldn’t do this anymore,” laughed Robbie.

Suicide Stunts
In a serendipitous coincidence, the actress’s circus skills would come in handy when she landed her now-iconic role as Harley Quinn. Always a competitive spirit, though, she took things even further by performing many of her own stunts when filming Suicide Squad, including an intense fight scene which required her to hold her breath for minutes on end. Ultimately, her record was a staggering five minutes, though only one minute’s worth was actually used in the final cut. Recalling the intense physical acting by one of his leads, Ayer commented: “She has ridiculous depth, and she’s never been coddled, so she’s very physically courageous. The things she was doing herself as stunts, you wouldn’t believe. There’s only a handful of actors who do that sort of work themselves.”

Quinn-tessential Mismatch
Interestingly, despite the role having cemented her status as one of Hollywood’s major players, Robbie was not enamoured with the character of Harley Quinn, particularly her psychopathic personality. “I thought, I have nothing in common with her. I hate her,” she later said. “It was a really tricky one to get my head around.” Thankfully, she bit the bullet and accepted the part. Not only did this lead to Suicide Squad raking in nearly US$750 million at the box office, it spawned a 2020 spin-off, Birds of Prey, focusing solely on Quinn. Building on this commercial success, she’s reprised the role for a third time in yet another standalone sequel – rather unimaginatively titled The Suicide Squad – which premiered last month. Clearly, regardless of whether she’s overcome her Harley ambivalence or not, Margot Robbie knows which side her bread is buttered on…

(Text: Tenzing Thondup)

First Asian superhero in a Marvel movie: Simu Liu as ‘Shang-Chi’

The tide is rising in the Marvel multiverse, and there’s never been a more appropriate time to be a socially progressive fan of the superhero world.

Simu Liu, the 32-year-old Chinese-Canadian newbie actor of Kim’s Convenience fame, is shaking things at the white boys’ club. As the first Asian lead of a Marvel superhero film, he’s on the cusp of becoming the face of diversity, representing a population which isn’t all white, whilst carving out a permanent place for himself amongst Hollywood A-listers.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, due for release on 3 September, showcases a predominantly Asian cast, and pits superhero Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) against the terrorist group, Ten Rings, that was introduced in Iron Man. Social media sensation and Crazy Rich Asians’ actor Awkwafina also stars.
We take a look at Liu’s rocky path to stardom, which mirrors the progress of the times.

Canada Bound
Born in Harbin in 1989, Liu was raised by his grandparents until the age of five. His parents had migrated to Ontario to complete their education at Queen’s University and “start a better life”. By 1995, they were financially secured for their son to join them, but the two generations of the family were complete strangers. In an open letter to his parents, Liu states, “I was excited to finally meet my real parents and start my life in Canada, but I had no recollection of you.” It was a period of resentment, tough adjustment and culture shock for the youngster. “We fought often… If I tripped on my laces, I was clumsy. If I scored below an A, I was stupid. If I wanted to hang out with my friends, I was wasting my time. I spoke dismissively about you, told you I hated you, and that I couldn’t wait to leave the house. But privately, I yearned for your love and affection.”

From Accounting to Acting
Like most Asian families, Liu’s highly qualified, aerospace-engineer parents raised him to pursue a career in the sciences. Little did they know destiny had other plans. After graduating from Western Ontario’s Ivey Business School by the skin of his teeth, he got an accounting job with Deloitte in its downtown Toronto office. It was crash and burn from the word go. Liu hated crunching numbers, Deloitte was not a fan, and after nine months, he was laid off. “The first round of cuts, and I was right out,” he recalls.

Ashamed and embarrassed, he considered leaping from the balcony to avoid facing his high-achieving parents. But the thing about hitting rock bottom is that you can only go up. A pink slip motivated him to try something new – performing arts – and he was instantly drawn to the world of acting.

Also Read: Five things you really need to know about Andrew Garfield

More than a Stunt
Liu’s leading man status has been hard-earned. He started out as a stunt artist; Hollywood expected an Asian man in the industry to know martial arts. As a side gig, he performed stunts at birthday parties for extra cash. Serendipitously, it was a Craigslist ad directed him to his first acting role – an extra “deep, deep in the background” in the 2013 sci-fi film, Pacific Rim.

The aspiring star has always showed drive. Not one to sit back and wait for the ideal role or the perfect opportunity, he grabbed whatever came his way and gave it his all – and that tactic has paid off, big time!

Plea to Marvel
The struggling actor was “handing out dog-food samples on the side of the road in Toronto” when he put out this 2014 tweet, “Hey @Marvel, great job with Cpt America and Thor. Now how about an Asian-American hero?” Seven years later, he has just become one.
Unbeknownst to him, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, often criticised for its affinity with conventionally handsome white males, was internally rebooting to stay socially and politically relevant in the #MeToo age. It was gearing up to unveil a swathe of diverse superheroes. Shang Chi, with its momentous Asian casting, promises to be one of this year’s marquee blockbuster releases. Simu Liu as a Chinese superhero has not only deepened the conversation around race and representation – the step up is also being seen as a huge leap for Hollywood – one that marks progress over profits and doesn’t reduce diversity to an act of tokenism, a stunt or a sidekick.

Happy Convenience
Years of toil on the acting fringes paid off in 2016 with a role in critically acclaimed Canadian sitcom Kim’s Convenience, the show about the day-to-day happenings of a Korean immigrant family. Liu plays one of the central characters, Jung Kim, in this smash hit; it quickly drew an avid following and was one of the most watched comedies on Netflix in 2018. Ironically, the show runs parallel to his own life and immigrant story.

Umma (Jean Yoon) and Appa (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) are mellow, easy-going folk, who gradually begin to see the world beyond the prejudices that surface with each new customer. Much like Liu’s own experiences, the children in the show – Janet and Jung – learn to appreciate their parents’ struggle, live through their idiosyncrasies and find love, care and support in their largely affectionless home. In the end, despite all the ups and downs, everyone pretty much gets along. Similarly, as Liu matured, he came to see the world through his parents’ eyes. His open letter is a tribute to them: “In hindsight, I know that you were doing the best. Money was always tight. And so you worked hard and often. You pushed me as hard as you could so that I would never have to know the struggle of not knowing where my next meal would come from.”

Familiar Face
With more than 30 film, TV and ad credits to his name, including Fresh Off The Boat, Orphan Black, Slasher and Bad Blood, the actor is increasingly popular on both the big and small screen. But you might recognise him from somewhere else. In 2014, during his dog-food promoting days, Liu did a photoshoot for iStock images for US$120 – a quick cash solution that he, at the time, didn’t realise would be splashed all over the internet – for countless job advertisements, bus posters and even as the cover of accounting books. “That stock photo shoot always finds a way to come back and haunt me. LOL”, he shares with his fans on Instagram.

Turning Point?
The world in which we grew up could not imagine an Asian as the face of a Marvel movie. Representation matters when you have millions of eyeballs forming an image of what heroes look like. Simu Liu’s starring role sends a powerful message – that in 2021, race, gender and sexual orientation should not come in the way of being a hero. Hopefully, the tide will continue to rise from one studio to another until the day issues of diversity will no longer be magazine stories.

(Text: Nikita Mishra)

Also Read: Think you know all about Colin Firth? It could be you’ve got him all wrong…

Wanderer at Heart: What you don’t know about the Oscar-winning actress Frances McDormand

Frances McDormand is that mythical creature in Tinseltown, a thespian who – despite her advancing years (she turns 64 this month) – has managed to not only stay relevant to audiences the world over, but also regularly out-perform actresses of all ages. Proof positive of this staying power can be found with even the briefest perusal of her laundry list of awards. She clinched her first Best Actress Academy Award in 1997 for her starring role in the black comedy, Fargo, while just this year, she nabbed yet another Oscar, a Golden Globe, a British Film Academy Award and a Screen Actors Guild win for her widely acclaimed performance in Nomadland.

Yet, despite having lived in the media limelight for nigh on a quarter of a century, the Illinois-born star’s penchant for evading almost all discussion of her personal life means that little is known about her aside from her onscreen performances. Over the years, though, the enigmatic actress has let a few interesting gems drop…

Her First Name
Frances McDormand was actually born on 23 June 1957 as Cynthia Ann Smith in Gibson City, Illinois. It wasn’t until she was adopted at the age of one by pastor Vernon McDormand and his wife, Noreen, that she acquired the name that would emblazon billboards promoting some 40 films since 1984. To date, she still doesn’t know who her birth parents are. She was given the opportunity to meet her real mother as a teenager, but turned it down, though she harbours suspicions that Smith Sr. may have been one of her father’s parishioners.

Bible Belt Travels
Since her adoptive father’s responsibilities as a minister of the Disciples of Christ church included revitalising flagging congregations across the United States, much of Frances’s childhood was spent relocating to various Bible Belt communities. In addition to his religious duties, Vernon and his wife also found time to take in nine children over the years, meaning that the actress grew up in a large family.

Freedom Through Expression
As the adopted daughter of a minister, she was required to behave with a certain amount of respectability and restraint. So, when her English teacher suggested the teenager take on the role of Lady Macbeth for a workshop, she leapt at the chance to leave propriety at the door. Speaking of this formative experience, she recalls: “That was the hook. It was the power of being a really shy, slightly suspect seventh-grader who could stand in front of a group of people and keep their attention.” Thus, the seeds of her acting career were sown.

Anti-Embellishment
In an industry where cosmetic surgery and impossible beauty standards reign, Frances McDormand is an unabashedly non-compliant standout. Not only does she frown upon award shows – she’s known to be highly sceptical of any ceremony where actors are dressed up like dolls – she also forgoes make-up and jewellery, preferring instead to display a bare-faced charisma. Borrowed haute couture is yet another facet of red-carpet life that she shuns, having worn her own denim jacket to one such glamorous event.

Brothers Plus One
The long-standing leading lady has been married to Joel Coen – half of the smash directorial duo, the Coen brothers – since 1984. In fact, the couple met when she auditioned for a role in their directorial debut, Blood Simple. Twelve years later, another collaboration between the trio, Fargo, would garner McDormand her first slew of critical awards, finally and permanently catapulting her into the big leagues. Speaking of their happy meeting, she divulged: “It was a revelation that I could have a lover who I could also work with and I wasn’t intimidated by. I thought ‘Oh, my God! I can actually love and live – not subvert anything, not apologise for anything, not hide anything!’”

A Mother’s Love
Though the couple don’t have biological children, they adopted a son, Pedro McDormand Coen, in Paraguay when he was just six months old. “As a mother, you live on the edge of disaster; you just do,” she has said. “I didn’t give birth to my son, I met him at six months old, but from the minute I held him and smelled him, I knew it was my job to keep him alive.” Interestingly, despite having Hollywood hotshots as parents, young Pedro has largely chosen to eschew the entertainment industry, and, instead, is a certified massage therapist and personal trainer.

And the Awards Go To…
Few actresses have as storied a CV as Frances McDormand. The chameleonic star’s seemingly effortless ability to portray a wide array of characters has garnered her widespread critical acclaim, not to mention a treasure trove of awards. She has won three Academy Awards and two Golden Globes for big-screen performances such as Fargo, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and the recent Nomadland. If that weren’t enough, she also nabbed an Emmy for her role in the 2014 TV miniseries Olive Kitteridge, and garnered a Tony Award for treading the boards in the 2011 play, Good People.

Grand Theft Oscar
Interestingly, the Oscar she won for Three Billboards in 2018 made headlines in its own right when it strayed from McDormand’s possession during the Governor’s Ball after party. A paparazzo at the event, Terry Bryant, posted a Facebook video of himself clutching the golden statuette while gloating, “This is mine!” The award was returned to its rightful owner that evening, and Byrant was arrested for grand theft. He denied the charge and the case was dismissed before it went to trial.

Bye-bye Acting?
Frances McDormand has never made a secret of her desire to leave Tinseltown and set off in an RV once she reached her sixties. This wish was further inflamed following her performance as Fern, a woman who loses her husband and her home, and journeys across the US picking up seasonal work in Nomadland. “[The movie] tapped into the truth of it,” she explains, “which was that at different points of my life, I’ve said to my husband, ‘I can’t take this anymore, I’m dropping out.’” Thankfully, while she has reportedly invested in a camper van, she hasn’t turned her back on Hollywood just yet, but that time may come sooner than the world expects – and is ready for.

Five things you really need to know about Andrew Garfield

Tick, Tick BOOM! is an appropriate enough title for the latest movie from ex-Spider-Man star Andrew Garfield as, despite its protracted and highly-public production countdown, no-one seems entirely sure as when it’s likely to explode on to screens. What we do know is it’s a musical, Netflix has bagged the broadcast rights and, apparently, it has to be contractually released before the end of the current year. While waiting for firmer tidings of the likely timings and critical reception, it’s the ideal opportunity to while away an idle moment or two uncovering Five Things You Almost Certainly Didn’t Know About Andrew Garfield…

One: Unlike most actors who are born out in the sticks and then head Hollywood-wards. Garfield was actually born within posturing distance of Tinseltown, before promptly decamping some 8,800 kilometres northeast to Epsom, an English market town best known for its bath salts. The second son of California-born Richard and Essex girl Lynn (who together ran an interior design business), the young Garfield divided his early years between stamp-collecting and swimming, proof positive, perhaps, of the limited opportunities London commuterland afforded an aspiring thesp.

Thankfully, he was able to follow up on his dramatic impulses by first enrolling in a Theatre Studies course at his local school, then graduating to the University of London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, the alma mater of such bigscreen heavyweights as Dame Judi Dench, Carrie Fisher and Sir Laurence Olivier. He then served his time in the world of provincial UK theatre (winning the Outstanding Newcomer Award at the prestigious Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2006), before making a guest appearance in the BBC’s Doctor Who, the world’s longest-running science fiction series. Various TV and movie supporting roles followed, before he hit the big time as the star of two high profile 2010 movies – Never Let Me Go and The Social Network. Two years later, he was Spider-Man.

Two: It’s fair to say that it was The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) that transformed the actor’s fortunes from: “Andrew, who?” to “Oh really? I thought it was Toby Maguire…” (the incumbent Spidey in the preceding web-slinging trilogy). Despite describing the role as a “massive challenge in many ways” – and despite the popularity of his long-standing predecessor, it soon seemed as though Garfield had made the part his own. Indeed, The Guardian – the relatively, high-brow, left-leaning former broadsheet not best known for its love of the cinematic superhero genre – went as far as to acclaim him as “the definitive Spider-Man”. Sadly, he didn’t stay definitive for all that long.

Although he was once again swinging across the New York skyline in 2014’s somewhat unimaginatively-titled The Amazing Spider-Man 2, it was to be his last outing as the arachnid-venomed villain-thwarter. The third part of the putative trilogy – which, let’s take a wild stab, was called The Amazing Spider-Man 3 – was sadly never to be.
Disappointingly, it wasn’t Doc Ock, the Green Goblin, Kraven the Hunter or any other of Spidey’s gaudy back catalogue of bad-doers that saw him off. Rather more prosaically, it was the conclusion of a long-term global copyright contretemps. This saw the rights to Spidey relinquished by Sony and permission granted for Peter Parker (the webslinger’s alter ego) to join the rest of the cinematic Marvel universe in time for 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, a sort of prelude to the box-office bazookaing end of the wider Avengers’ storyline.

Sadly, when Spidey did get to catch up with the rest of his comic book counterparts – notably Thor, the Hulk and Iron Man – he looked a lot like 20-year-old up-and-coming actor Tom Holland and not a bit like the now surplus-to-requirements Garfield.

Three: Although dumped from the Spideyverse, Garfield can take some comfort from the fact his undoubted charms have seen him woo some of the world’s most beautiful women. Just prior to cinematic superheroing taking him centrestage, he was in a long-term relationship with Westworld actress Shannon Woodward. This apparently foundered when superstardom kept the couple apart. The fact that Woodward came out as gay a couple of years later, however, probably indicates the affair was ill-fated from the off.

Later years saw him linked to his The Amazing Spider-Man co-star Emma Stone, fellow Marvel alumnus Susie Abromeit and Rita Ora, the feted and award-winning British singer-songwriter. More recently, he was said to have been dating stunning model and med school graduate, 27-year-old Christine Gabel. Rumour has it, though, that they too have split, with born-again bachelor Garfield apparently spending much of 2020 isolating at home alone.

Four: Thankfully, the Covid-19 outbreak didn’t totally curtail his dramatic career, with filming of the forthcoming Tick, Tick BOOM! completed in November last year. The movie sees Garfield take on the role of Johnathan Larson, a wannabe playwright reduced to waiting tables in New York while he awaits his big break.

Said to be an autobiographical tale – the “real” Johnathan Larson, the man behind the Tony Award-winning musical Rent, wrote and composed the piece – the movie also stars Alexandra Shipp and Vanessa Hudgens, while marking the directorial debut of Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creative tour de force behind Hamilton, one of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time.

Five: While excitement is certainly building with regard to the premiere of Tick, Tick BOOM!, it’s upcoming arrival has been all but eclipsed by rumours of Something Even Bigger waiting in the wings – Garfield’s return as Spider-Man. Even more compelling, there is no suggestion that his successor, Holland, has been ousted, but rather that he will be joining him (and his own predecessor Maguire) in the allegedly dimension-hopping Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is due to hit your local multiplex at some point in December this year.

Should the rumours be borne out, this will see the Spidermen of various realities teaming up to combat a veritable multi-verse of villains, with Alfred Molina, Jamie Foxx and Rhys Ifans returning as Doctor Octopus, Electro and The Lizard respectively from their own earlier incarnations of the franchise. Although Marvel Studios is proving coy about officially confirming this mix and matching of the wider Spidyverse, it’s now come to be regarded as petty much the Worst Kept Scripting Secret in Hollywood (and competition is high for such a title).

It’s fair to say, should it not come to pass, several generations of the Webbed Wonder’s most devout followers are going be left choking on their novelty Peter Parker Popcorn packets. Good as it might well certainly be, the eventual arrival of Tick, Tick BOOM!, may not suffice to make up for any such disappointment.

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Go Girl: Is there no stopping Gone Girl actress Rosamund Pike?

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Go Girl: Is there no stopping Gone Girl actress Rosamund Pike?

It’s a rare talent indeed that can don and shed roles with the ease of changing an outfit, but that’s exactly what British actress Rosamund Pike seems to do so effortlessly. Whether portraying a hidden double agent (Die Another Day), playing a jilted wife who fakes her own death and frames her husband (Gone Girl), bringing to life the complicated struggles of 18th-century scientist Marie Curie (Radioactive) or embracing villainy as the anti-protagonist in the recent I Care A Lot Netflix movie, this talented thespian seems to revel in the challenge of bringing powerful female roles – with all their intrinsic struggles and triumphs – to the screen.

Unlike many of her fellow leading ladies, who all too often lay bare their lives for public consumption, Pike is notoriously private about her off-screen life. Over the course of her 20-year career, however, she has let slip one or two interesting facts…

Youthful Inspiration
Rosamund Mary Ellen Pike was born on 27 January 1979 in East London’s Hammersmith district, the only child of opera singers Caroline Friend and Julian Pike. Given her parents’ clear love of performing, it probably came as no surprise that she was bitten by the acting bug while still a child. Recalling watching her parents on stage as a child, she says: “All I was really looking at was whether I believed the performance, whether I believed that this was something that was real and human and true. I think all I’ve ever been interested in is the truth.”

Star Student
Since the age of seven, the London-born star lived in several cities across Europe due to her opera singer father’s various commitments. As a result, she speaks fluent French and German. Despite the constant relocation, Pike remained an outstanding student, eventually winning a full scholarship to Bristol’s prestigious Badminton School, before enrolling at Oxford University to major in English Literature.

Acting Bug
Although her parents’ career piqued Pike’s interest in stage performance, it wasn’t until she watched renowned actor Daniel Day-Lewis’ performance in 1993’s In the Name of the Father that she decided to enter the industry herself. Addressing the influence of this seminal performance, she says: “It made me realise the power of film and made me aware that this medium could inspire a physical reaction within me.”

Breakout Role
The actress entered the big league when she starred in the 2014 American psychological thriller Gone Girl, although it was actually a movie released some 12 years earlier that was truly her big break. Her captivating performance as double agent Miranda Frost in Die Another Day, the Pierce Brosnan-starring Bond instalment, saw her receive widespread acclaim, opening the door for far juicier roles in the years to come.

Jilted Bride
Despite boasting an award-winning career, the I Care A Lot actress’ personal life has been anything but smooth sailing. In particular, her romances have all too often turned sour, with her two-year relationship to Pride & Prejudice director Joe Wright – who she met while filming the movie in a supporting role and whom she was engaged to at the time – ended when the groom-to-be chose to pull the plug just days before the wedding. Thankfully, she had better luck with her next love affair with British mathematical researcher businessman Robbie Uniacke, with whom she now shares two children.

Imperfect Beauty
In an industry where photoshopping images of actors to create unrealistic standards of beauty is the norm, Pike has been extremely vocal about criticising this practice of ‘body tuning’. Complaining of her eyes being changed from green to brown in promotional material for her 2019 biographical drama, Radioactive, as well as having been given a huge breast augmentation in posters for 2011’s Johnny English Reborn, she says: “There’s probably countless times where our image is doctored and we might not even notice as I think we are all losing our grip on what we really look like.”

Baddie Vibes
Over the years, Pike has received widespread acclaim for her ability to portray strong, independent women, many of whom, typically, set out to buck a particular trend. Her most beloved roles, however, are arguably those that see her playing a villain. Most famously, she played Amy Dunne in Gone Girl, who fakes her own murder and frames her husband to punish him for his infidelity. In her most recent small-screen outing, I Care A Lot, she once again goes to the dark side with her portrayal of Marla Grayson, an amoral professional legal guardian who scams the elderly out of their homes and pensions. Not only did the critics cheer her tour de force performance – one even went so far as to rave: “Pike is almost too effective, her delicious villainy too irresistible to completely loathe.” – she even received her first Golden Globe for this particular performance.

Buried Accolades
For most dwellers in Tinseltown, receiving an award is something to take pride in and something to show off at every opportunity. In the case of Pike, who has won a Golden Globe, an Emmy Award and a British Independent Film Award, the exact opposite is true. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, she said: “I find it an uneasy thing to display any award in your home. It’s probably deeply psychological, like some deep underlying imposter syndrome, so I bury them in the garden with a little bit showing up, so you can have an enticing glimpse of a hand or globe…”

Social Media Influencer
After years of shunning social media, the Gone Girl star finally caved in and joined the popular Instagram service a few years ago. Since then, she’s gone on to acquire more than 450,000 followers, largely thanks to her quirky posts and intriguing snapshots of her personal life. In February this year, she went viral after displaying her more innovative side via a post showing how to eat a pineapple without using a knife.

Multitalented
As if being an award-winning actress weren’t enough, the British star has her finger in a number of other pies. This has seen her become the face of LK Bennett, the high fashion brand beloved by Kate Middleton, while she also narrated the 2009 documentary Yesterday We Were in America, the story of the first pilots to complete a non-stop transatlantic flight successfully.

‘Gorge’ Washington: Exploring the life and career of Denzel Washington

Few African-American actors have had as storied a career as Denzel Washington. With a success-packed CV stretching back more than 40 years, the much-loved thespian has consistently been celebrated for his engaging, tour-de-force performances, abiding charisma and down-to-earth personality. Indeed, the 66-year-old New York native has forged his own path in the entertainment industry, breaking down stereotypes and proving the dramatic strength and box-office attraction of black male leads time and time again. For his efforts, he’s been showered with countless awards and critical acclaim, with a sterling Hollywood reputation that few of his contemporaries – of any race – could hope to match.

Despite being in the limelight for decades, the famed actor has been notoriously tight-lipped about his private life. Yet, the man who has found success in bringing the stories of true-life characters to the big screen has had an equally interesting life away from the cameras. From his allegedly misspent youth to his struggle with a higher calling, some of the lesser known facets of Denzel Washington’s life certainly merit exploring…

A Hard Start
The actor’s staggeringly successful career is one that few could have imagined, let alone Washington himself. Born on 28 December, 1954, in Mount Vernon, New York to Denzel Hayes Washington Sr., an ordained Pentecostal minister, and Lennis, a beauty parlour owner, his upbringing was anything but easy. Following his parents’ divorce during his teen years, his strongest memories are of seeing his single mother scramble to put food on the table. Yet, despite the struggles, he still cites his parents as being true role models, saying: “My father was a preacher – a kind, spiritual person. My mother owned a beauty shop. She was a go-getter and wanted more for us kids. My parents were inspirations by example.”

Flirting with Crime
Growing up on the streets of Mount Vernon, Denzel fell in with a crowd of rambunctious teens and often got into trouble with the law. Recalling this, he says: “I was what they call ‘throwing rocks at the penitentiary’, but I never hit it. I never got caught… but I also knew right from wrong, so I never wanted to go too far.” Nevertheless, his put-upon mother managed to scrape together enough money to get him away from temptation, sending him to boarding school in upstate New York.

Realistic Portrayals
Since the ’80s, the talented thespian has consistently won widespread critical acclaim for his portrayal of important real-life figures. Most notable among these were 1987’s Cry Freedom, where he played South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, his role as Muslim minister and human rights activist Malcolm X in the eponymous 1992 biopic, football coach Herman Boone in Remember the Titans (2000), and gritty drug kingpin Franc Lucas in 2007’s American Gangster.

Perfect Beauty
A scientific article, Biological Basis on the Perceptions of Beauty, published in Newsweek during the ’90s, singled out the actor as being a prime example for the “perfection of beauty”. The study, which cited facial symmetry as being a key indicator of attractiveness, pointed to his perfectly centred nose, aligned eyes, lips and ears as modelling the highest standards of facial beauty.

Award Winner
Across his 40-odd-year career, Washington has accumulated a whole host of accolades for a variety of roles. Key among these are two Academy Awards (he was the first African-American to be accorded such an honour), three Golden Globes, a Tony Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2016, he was even the recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award from the Golden Globes jury for his “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment”.

Director’s Chair
After decades of starring on the silver screen, in 2002, he stepped behind the cameras for the first time and made his directorial debut with the highly-biographical film Antwone Fisher. Five years later, he returned to the director’s chair for another biographical movie, The Great Debaters. After a long hiatus, 2017 saw him star and direct in a third film, Fences, which went on to be nominated for Best Picture at that year’s Academy Awards.

Prophesy Fulfilled
While the Training Day star was a struggling 20-year-old student at Fordham University, he had his fortune told at his mother’s beauty salon. A customer there scribbled a note that said: “You’re going to speak to millions of people. You’re going to do great things” and handed it to him. Though sceptical at the time, his fortunes changed and he still has that piece of paper today.

Family Man
Standing in stark contrast with the oft-lurid personal lives of Hollywood’s elite, Washington’s home life is refreshingly normal, something that he sees as a point of pride. In fact, he’s even been quoted as saying: “Acting is just a way of making a living, but family is life.” He’s been married to wife Pauletta, whom he met on the set of the TV film Wilma, for an amazing 37 years. Together, the couple have four children.

Preacher, Preacher
The Hollywood A-lister has never been shy when it comes to sharing his strong belief in the Christian faith and championing how it has positively impacted on every aspect of his life. What is less known, though, is that at one point, he considered foregoing acting to become a preacher, even going so far as to ask his pastor about how to make the change. Though he ultimately decided to remain an actor, motivational speaking has also become a big thing for him over recent years. Explaining why, he says: “I’ve always understood that I’ve been blessed to be put in this situation and I’m more than happy to take advantage of it and preach, if you will, about what God has done in my life.”

Black Panther Maker
A true believer in giving back to the community, the actor has a long history of donating funds to a range of causes, including college scholarship funds for black youths. One of the students he sponsored, unbeknownst to him, was the late Black Panther star, Chadwick Boseman. At the 47th AFI Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony celebrating the venerable star, the younger actor even went so far as to say: “There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington.”

Keeping up with the Jones: Keeping tabs on Felicity Jones is no easy matter…

“Often, the last thing I want to do is stand up in front of 50 cameras on the red carpet. I’d rather have a cup of hot milk and an early night,” says British actress Felicity Jones. Despite her outwardly demure nature, however, the past decade has seen her headline countless cinematic blockbusters, thrusting her into the limelight over and over again. This, perhaps, is because the 37-year-old seems to have a golden touch when it comes to selecting the movies she chooses to involve herself with, while her ability to play powerful female roles resonates with audiences the world over.

Felicity Rose Hadley Jones, to give the lady her full name, was born in the West Midlands city of Birmingham on 17 October 1983 to journalist Gareth Jones and Julia Jones, an advertising executive. The couple separated when she was still very young and she credits seeing her working single mother striving to keep food on the table as helping to instil into her the importance of hard work.

It was this very work ethic that saw her kick-start her career when not yet a teenager. Bitten by the acting bug at the tender age of 11 – perhaps influenced by her maternal uncle, actor Michael Hadley, who most recently appeared in 2017’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword – she made her small-screen debut in the British-Canadian TV series, The Worst Witch, at just 14-years-old.

The following year, she took an unusual step when she accepted the voice-only role of Emma Grundy in BBC 4 Radio’s staggeringly popular long-running soap, The Archers. It was a role that she would go on to play more than 10 years, a period that took her through her schooling and all of her years at Oxford University. She also believes it set her on the path to stardom, saying: “That’s where I learnt my craft. When I was at home, I was particularly popular among friends’ parents on account of appearing in The Archers.”

In the years that followed, she went on to appear in numerous TV series, including The Worst Witch sequel, Weirdsister College, in 2001, the 2003 BBC One drama Servants, and the 2007 small-screen adaptation of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey (in which she played the lead role of Catherine Morland). Then, in 2008, she finally made her silver screen debut, appearing in Flashback of a Fool, starring James Bond actor Daniel Craig and Claire Forlani of Meet Joe Black fame.

It wasn’t until 2011, though, that she finally hit the big league, landing a starring role in the romantic drama, Like Crazy. The film received the much-coveted Grand Jury Prize when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, with Jones’ heartbreaking and captivating performance as the protagonist, Anna, singled out as meriting particular critical acclaim.

Over the next 10 years, she established herself as a true Tinseltown leading lady, one who’s CV is punctuated with both hugely successful box-office hits and highly-rated indie flicks. Throughout this period, one thing became clear – she has a particular affinity for bringing to life strong female characters, ones who combat sexism, stereotypes and stigmas in equal measure.

In 2016, for example, she took on the role of Jyn Erso, the female protagonist in the action-packed Star Wars spin-off Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Perfectly portraying a plucky resistance leader, she assembled a rag-tag team on a quest to capture the plans for the apocalyptic Death Star weapon.

“Jones has a a particular affinity with strong female characters, ones who combat sexism and stereotyping”

Then, two years later, she confirmed her feminist leanings in On the Basis of Sex, a biopic of the (now) late, great US Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, with a focus on the opening years of her career. Despite her tour-de-force performance and an intriguing plot, the film opened to mixed reviews. Recalling the audience’s reaction, she later said: “I felt there was an ingrained sexism, at certain points, that came out in response to the film. Even now, it’s hard to put out a film like that into the world, something that focuses on female triumphs, female success…”

Apparently not in the least disheartened, her next silver screen outing, 2019’s The Aeronauts, saw Jones bring to life Amelia Rennes, a daredevil 19th-century hot air balloon pilot, renowned for reaching new heights against all odds. Generally well received, her performance (alongside Eddie Redmayne) even saw one critic proclaim claim: “The duo hand-in-hand elevates The Aeronauts from a flimsy action-adventure to something worth watching on the biggest possible screen.”

“Even now, it’s hard to put out a film like that into the world, something that focuses on female triumphs, female success…”

For her next outing, however, the actress seems to be taking a break from action-packed drama for more light-hearted fare in the form of The Last Letter from Your Lover, a romantic drama slated for release on 12 March this year. After that, the future seems less clear. While rumours abound that she may be reprising her role as Jyn Erso in yet another Star Wars outing, there is yet to be official confirmation of any such move. However, given the breadth of her talent and her steadily rising star, one thing is clear – we’ve not seen the last of Felicity Jones.

Five Must-Watch Felicity Jones Movies

Like Crazy (2011)

This immigrant love story starring Jones alongside then-fellow-up-and-comers Anton Yelchin and Jennifer Lawrence marked the actress’ first entree in the world of high profile cinema. The movie follows Anna (Jones), a British university student navigating the challenges of a long-distance relationship with her American beau.

The Theory of Everything (2014)

Her role as Jane Hawking, the wife of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, saw her bring to life the woman’s struggles when it came to dealing with her husband’s simultaneous rise to scientific superstardom and his crippling battle with motor neurone disease. The Theory of Everything garnered a string of accolades, including a BAFTA nod and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for Jones.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

In this prequel to Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, the first instalment of the massively popular Star Wars franchise, Jones leads an all-star cast as Jyn Erso, a young rebel instrumental in stealing the plans of the Death Star, the evil Empire’s secret weapon. Taking more than US$1 billion worldwide, it stands as the 20th-highest-grossing movie of all time.

On the Basis of Sex (2018)

Continuing to bring empowering female roles to the big screen, this time she stars as trailblazing US Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This true-to-life biopic tracks Bader’s brilliant legal mind as she combats sexism and institutionalism early on in her groundbreaking career, before eventually becoming only the second woman ever to serve on the Supreme Court.

The Aeronauts (2019)

This film adaptation of the 2013 novel, Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air by famed British author Richard Holmes sees Jones take on the role of a wealthy 19th-century young woman who, together with scientist James Glaisher (played by Eddie Redmayne, her The Theory of Everything co-star), mount an ambitious hot air balloon expedition. Laden with stunning visual effects and riveting, heart-stopping action, this is one movie that sure to have you on the edge of your seat.

Euphoric Rise: Zendaya, the youngest Emmy award winner

At just 24, Zendaya already has a Marvel role, an Emmy and a certified platinum song under her belt

At an age where most people are only just starting to navigate their career paths, 24-year-old American actress and singer Zendaya just took home the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role in the smash hit HBO show, Euphoria. She’s the youngest actress in history to win the award, beating out stiff competition from Tinseltown veterans like Laura Linney, Sandra Oh and Jennifer Aniston. She has also been lauded for playing the straight-talking MJ in Marvel’s wildly successful Spider-Man franchise, released two hit albums and recorded a platinum-selling song – Rewrite the Stars, from the soundtrack of the 2017 musical drama The Greatest Showman. The world, it seems, just can’t get enough of Zendaya.

Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman – to give her full name – was born on September 1, 1996, as the only child of teachers Claire Marie Stoermer and Kazembe Ajamu, a.k.a. Samuel David Coleman. Painfully shy from the get-go, she was forced to repeat kindergarten in order to socially acclimatise with her schoolmates. At six, she was introduced to acting when she and two of her friends, the only black children at their private school, convinced the principal to allow them to perform a play for Black History Month. “I was Bessie Coleman,” she remembers, “My friends were Harriet Tubman and Madam C.J. Walker. We just felt we needed to raise awareness about the importance of these women.”

From that day on, Zendaya was smitten. Every summer, she would accompany her mom to her second job at the California Shakespeare Theater, acting in several of their productions. She also signed up for dance lessons and joined a dance troupe for three years. Her first taste of stardom, though, came when she landed one of the lead roles of Disney Channel’s Shake It Up in 2010. By the time she graduated high school, the multi-talented teen had starred in two more Disney TV shows, penned an inspirational book for tweens titled Between U and Me, and released a solo album featuring a song, Replay, that went platinum. She also starred in season 16 of Dancing with the Stars at 16 years old – then the youngest-ever contestant on the show – and wound up finishing strong in second place.

The 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes On Fashion - Arrivals — Zendaya and Law Roach at the 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp in New York City. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for THR)

Never one to rest on her laurels, Zendaya also found time in her busy schedule to indulge her love of all things sartorial. In 2016, she found her own clothing line, Daya by Zendaya, and also starred as a guest judge on the 15th season of Project Runway. Two years later, she was signed by fashion label Tommy Hilfiger as its global women’s ambassador and collaboratively released several Tommy Hilfiger x Zendaya capsule collections.

71st Emmy Awards - Arrivals — Zendaya at the 71st Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)

The crowning achievement of her young life, though, possibly came earlier this year, when she nabbed the coveted Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her leading role as Rue in the HBO hit series Euphoria. Loosely based on the Israeli TV show of the same name, Euphoria delivers a vibrant, almost brutal depiction of contemporary US high school life, burnished with the very real issues of social media, drugs and more. Zendaya was lauded in all corners for her gritty portrayal of the reckless recovering teen drug addict, with The Guardian calling her performance “mesmerising” and “astonishing”, and The New Yorker even dubbing her “the best part” of the series.

“Although Euphoria was amazing and exciting, it was also extremely stressful. It gave me anxiety every week”

Eager to give back, the actress has found a unique way to raise funds and awareness for different causes – by using her birthday as a means to raise funds for worthy initiatives. When she turned 18, she partnered with Convoy of Hope – a philanthropic relief organization with whom she has been connected since 2012 – to raise money to feed over 100 malnourished children in Haiti, the Philippines, and Tanzania. The following year, following a trip to South Africa with UN AIDS, she hosted another fundraising project, this time to help the country’s AIDS orphans. To celebrate turning 20, Zendaya once again teamed up with Convoy of Hope, this time managing to raise US$50,000 for the organization’s Women’s Empowerment Initiative.

Spider-Man: Far From Home Premiere — Zendaya attends the Premiere of “Spider-Man Far From Home” at TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Glenn Francis/Pacific Pro Digital Photography)

Speaking about her passion for charitable and social endeavors, she says, “I don’t just sing, dance, and act because I love it,” she says. “You have to have a purpose, and mine is to connect with the world, to get across messages that are important. I’d much rather be known for leaving a little stamp of positivity on one person’s life than for the last project that I did.”

“I’d much rather be known for leaving a little stamp of positivity on one person’s life than for the last project that I did”

She still does, however, have multiple projects looming on the horizon, with her next high-profile appearance set to be in the upcoming remake of Frank Herbert’s cult science-fiction novel Dune (2021) alongside co-star Timothée Chalamet. She has also reunited with Euphoria director Sam Levinson in the upcoming drama Malcolm & Marie, a production that was shot in secret during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Perhaps her most anticipated silver screen return, though, is the reprisal of her beloved role as MJ in the as-yet untitled third sequel of the Spider-Man franchise, set for release in 2021. After that, the path seems less clear, though given Zendaya’s smart choices – both onscreen and in the charity sphere – chances are her star can only continue to rise.

Text: Tenzing Thondup

Photos: Dominic Miller, Bulgari