Gen Zen

Zendaya, my queen!” Two precocious 20-year-olds are slurping down a shared bowl of dumplings in downtown LA, lost in deep discussion about the show every college student with access to an HBO account is raving about. Despite explicit parental advisory warnings and unflinchingly dark subject matter that swerves head-on into underage sex, drugs and profanity, the teen series Euphoria has hit a nerve with audiences of all ages across the globe including Australia, where it’s the second most-watched new series on Foxtel. The show’s breakout success is undeniably due in large part to its star, who reigns as both Gen Z ‘queen’ and the most bankable young talent on the planet right now: Zendaya.

While I admittedly self-identify as an “old millennial”, I too found myself transfixed by Zendaya’s haunting, career-defining performance as Rue, the pill-popping, high-chasing teen struggling to find herself and her footing in friendship and family while battling mental illness. I have studied Zendaya’s impressive multi-hyphenate career arc since my days as editor-in-chief of , taking note not just of her meteoric rise but also the prescient strategy, laser-focussed precision and courage she’s employed to pull it off, all without