Zendaya Admits She Has a 'Complicated Relationship' with 'Child Acting' After Rising to Fame at 14: 'I've Seen It Be Detrimental'

Mar. 15, 2025

Zendaya arrives at the ‘Prelude To The Olympics’ event at Fondation Louis Vuitton on July 25, 2024 in Paris, France.Photo:Arnold Jerocki/Getty

Arnold Jerocki/Getty

After nearly two decades of working in the entertainment industry (before even turning 30),Zendayahas some strong opinions on children becoming stars.The actress, 28, scored her big break onDisney Channel’sShake It Upwhen she was just 14 years old after working as a model and dancer, and her own experiences have given her a “complicated relationship with the idea of child acting.““I’ve seen it be detrimental to people,” she toldThe Hollywood Reporterfor this year’s Actress Roundtable, which featured her in conversation withAngelina Jolie,Mikey Madison,Tilda Swinton,Zoe SaldañaandDemi Moore.“I wouldn’t change it, but there are things that I wish I lived out privately, you know?” she continued, referring to her own tenure in the spotlight after she spent three years onShake It UpwithBella Thorne. “Because you’re figuring out who you are in front of the world. And you’re like, ‘I’m trying to do this right. I want to make everyone happy, but I don’t really know who I am yet. I have no idea what I’m doing.'“Still, she said she’s “so grateful” for how her career “turned out” given how early on she started.Adam Irigoyen as Duece, Roshon Fegan as Ty Blue, Zendaya as Rocky Blue, Bella Thorne as CeCe Jones, Davis Cleveland as Flynn Jones, Caroline Sunshine as Tinka and Kenton Duty as Gunther on ‘Shake It Up’.Craig Sjodin/Disney Channel via GettyAfterShake It Upconcluded in 2013, Zendaya went on to star in several other Disney Channel projects, including a spy series,K.C. Undercover, from 2015 to 2018. She then pivoted to movies, starring inThe Greatest Showmanand beginningher long-running role as MJ inSpider-ManalongsideTom Holland.Now, withtwoDunefilmsandChallengersunder her belt (as well asthe long-awaited third season ofEuphoriain the pipeline), the actress admitted that years of being busy means she’s still “figuring out” who she is outside of the cameras.“What other than work brings me joy? For me, it’s been about trying new things, as stupid as it sounds, like pottery or anything with your hands,” she told the outlet when asked about how she defines herself outside of her work.“It’s just trying to discover what my life is outside of the presentation of who I am.“Zendaya in ‘K.C. Undercover’.Eric McCandless/Disney Channel via GettyLast month, Thorne, 27, who rose to fame alongside Zendaya, spoke to PEOPLE abouthow she’s “made peace” with her own rocky relationship with childhood fame.“There should be real therapy mandated for children growing up and becoming famous overnight,” Thorne said. “I thinkChappell Roanjust spoke about this too — how you’d be crazy not to go crazy because it’s just too much at points in your life. If the correct guardrails aren’t in place — and even when they are in place — things can still go wrong."(L-R) Bella Thorne and Zendaya arrive at the Los Angeles Premiere “Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” at the El Capitan Theatre on October 6, 2014 in Hollywood, California.Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagicNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Looking back, Thorne — whorevealed she’d been sexually abused during her childhoodin 2018 — said the “good outweighs the bad of the fun moments I might have missed” as a result of working from such a young age.“I’m very thankful for [my childhood]. Of course, when I deal with things in therapy and whatnot, therapy has helped me a lot to figure my own s— out. It’s really helped me understand and not be so angry in life. I think I always felt like I didn’t necessarily have a voice, the way I grew up. It was like everyone else’s voice was on me.”

After nearly two decades of working in the entertainment industry (before even turning 30),Zendayahas some strong opinions on children becoming stars.

The actress, 28, scored her big break onDisney Channel’sShake It Upwhen she was just 14 years old after working as a model and dancer, and her own experiences have given her a “complicated relationship with the idea of child acting.”

“I’ve seen it be detrimental to people,” she toldThe Hollywood Reporterfor this year’s Actress Roundtable, which featured her in conversation withAngelina Jolie,Mikey Madison,Tilda Swinton,Zoe SaldañaandDemi Moore.

“I wouldn’t change it, but there are things that I wish I lived out privately, you know?” she continued, referring to her own tenure in the spotlight after she spent three years onShake It UpwithBella Thorne. “Because you’re figuring out who you are in front of the world. And you’re like, ‘I’m trying to do this right. I want to make everyone happy, but I don’t really know who I am yet. I have no idea what I’m doing.'”

Still, she said she’s “so grateful” for how her career “turned out” given how early on she started.

Adam Irigoyen as Duece, Roshon Fegan as Ty Blue, Zendaya as Rocky Blue, Bella Thorne as CeCe Jones, Davis Cleveland as Flynn Jones, Caroline Sunshine as Tinka and Kenton Duty as Gunther on ‘Shake It Up’.Craig Sjodin/Disney Channel via Getty

Craig Sjodin/Disney Channel via Getty

AfterShake It Upconcluded in 2013, Zendaya went on to star in several other Disney Channel projects, including a spy series,K.C. Undercover, from 2015 to 2018. She then pivoted to movies, starring inThe Greatest Showmanand beginningher long-running role as MJ inSpider-ManalongsideTom Holland.

Now, withtwoDunefilmsandChallengersunder her belt (as well asthe long-awaited third season ofEuphoriain the pipeline), the actress admitted that years of being busy means she’s still “figuring out” who she is outside of the cameras.

“What other than work brings me joy? For me, it’s been about trying new things, as stupid as it sounds, like pottery or anything with your hands,” she told the outlet when asked about how she defines herself outside of her work.

“It’s just trying to discover what my life is outside of the presentation of who I am.”

Zendaya in ‘K.C. Undercover’.Eric McCandless/Disney Channel via Getty

Eric McCandless/Disney Channel via Getty

Last month, Thorne, 27, who rose to fame alongside Zendaya, spoke to PEOPLE abouthow she’s “made peace” with her own rocky relationship with childhood fame.

“There should be real therapy mandated for children growing up and becoming famous overnight,” Thorne said. “I thinkChappell Roanjust spoke about this too — how you’d be crazy not to go crazy because it’s just too much at points in your life. If the correct guardrails aren’t in place — and even when they are in place — things can still go wrong.”

(L-R) Bella Thorne and Zendaya arrive at the Los Angeles Premiere “Alexander And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” at the El Capitan Theatre on October 6, 2014 in Hollywood, California.Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Looking back, Thorne — whorevealed she’d been sexually abused during her childhoodin 2018 — said the “good outweighs the bad of the fun moments I might have missed” as a result of working from such a young age.

“I’m very thankful for [my childhood]. Of course, when I deal with things in therapy and whatnot, therapy has helped me a lot to figure my own s— out. It’s really helped me understand and not be so angry in life. I think I always felt like I didn’t necessarily have a voice, the way I grew up. It was like everyone else’s voice was on me.”

source: people.com