Zendaya stated that she might not be "cut out" for the life of a superstar during a panel discussion on September 22 in New York City on the occasion of a screening of “Dune: Part Two."
"I love doing the work, I love being on set...but I am terrified of that [fame] part of it," she said. "I was a shy kid, always have been, and so this part isn't natural.... Some people...they enjoy the power that comes from it, and I don't know if that's for me."
The two-time Emmy winner, now 28 years old, has been in the public eye since she was a little child playing on the Disney Channel show "Shake It Up."
This is true regardless of whether or not she wants to be in the spotlight. "In a lot of ways, Zendaya says she's not who people think she is," an insider told Life & Style Magazine.
Even though she exudes an air of self-assurance on the big screen and red carpets, Zendaya has had a difficult time dealing with the bad aspects of being in the spotlight, particularly the loss of her privacy. Her acceptance of that is something that she has had to go through.
She does this by dressing the role, which is one of the ways she copes. An actress who has appeared on numerous "best dressed" lists, "The Greatest Showman," describes clothes as her "armor to pretend to go out and do the job."
There is also a lot of support from her partner, Tom Holland, who is 28 years old. "Zendaya doesn't want to complain too much, it's just that she does have regrets about how some things have played out," the source said.
"As a child actor himself, Tom has experienced a lot of the same things, though, so he can totally relate She really credits him with helping her find peace amid the show-business chaos."
The duo met on the set of 2017's "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Zendaya has said both Tom and Zendaya felt "violated. "Some moments or things, you wish were your own." Still, she has learned to find strength where she can.
"I do have control over what I choose to share," Zendaya explained to Elle. "It's about protecting the peace and letting things be your own, but also not being afraid to exist."
In the past, Zendaya felt she missed out on experiences like attending a traditional high school because of others' expectations.
"I'm very tense, and I think that I carry that from being a kid and never really having an opportunity to just try s-" she told Vogue.
"I'm almost going through my angsty teenager phase now, because I didn't really have the time to do it before.... I was thrust into a very adult position: I was becoming the breadwinner of my family very early, and there was a lot of role-reversal."
Considering that Zendaya is now an adult, she has been going through her childhood and determining what she wants to do next in her life, Vulture reported. This encompasses more mature roles, such as her most recent film, “Challengers”, as well as her personal development. She told the NYC panel: "I would like to be a person and for people to see meas that first."