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Zendaya admits she's worried about having children in the spotlight

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Former co-stars Tom Holland and Zendaya confirmed they were dating in 2021 (Image: Getty Images for SiriusXM)
Former co-stars Tom Holland and Zendaya confirmed they were dating in 2021 (Image: Getty Images for SiriusXM)

Netting her first lead role in a new tennis movie, Zendaya looks to have gained all the advantages in life.

But the former Disney child star said she struggles with her confidence and is worried about having children in the spotlight. Zendaya has been dating Tom Holland, both 27, since 2021 after meeting on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming five years earlier.

In an interview with Vogue, she questions if she wants to stay in the public eye for the rest of her life. She adds: “I don’t necessarily want my kids to have to deal with this [fame]. And what does my future look like? Am I going to be a public-facing person for ever?”

Zendaya, also a pop star, explains she would like to start a family one day and is a doting aunt to her younger nieces and nephews but is in no rush to get there. Discussing how her partner Tom dealt with fame, she says: “I definitely watched his life kind of change in front of him. But he handled it really beautifully.”

On her life as an A-lister, she added: “You just kind of get used to the fact that, ‘Oh, I’m also one of these art pieces you’re going to take a picture of.’ I just gotta be totally cool with it and just live my life.

Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds' classy message to Wrexham ace after baby news qhiqquiqxdiqkprwRob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds' classy message to Wrexham ace after baby news
Zendaya admits she's worried about having children in the spotlightZendaya is starring in new movie Challengers
Zendaya admits she's worried about having children in the spotlightBritish Vogue joined Zendaya at Paris Couture to talk fashion, fame and starting a family

“I think growing up, I always felt like when someone asks for a picture, I have to do it, all the time. You have to say yes, because you just need to be grateful that you’re here.

“And while I still feel that way, I also have learnt that I can say no, and I can say kindly that I’m having a day off, or I’m just trying to be myself today, and I don’t actually have to perform all the time.” She questions if she wants to stay a celebrity forever.

Zendaya is giving the interview to promote her new film Challengers, which is the first movie which sees her as the big solo star with her name in lights in terms of promotion. She admits that can be a little daunting for someone who, far from excelling at school, didn’t always go to classes.

She said: “Now, when I have these moments in my career – like, my first time leading a film that’s actually going to be in a theatre – I feel like I shrink, I can’t enjoy all the things that are happening to me, because I’m like this” [Zendaya balls up her firsts].

Zendaya admits she's worried about having children in the spotlightZendaya is not ready to start a family yet
Zendaya admits she's worried about having children in the spotlightZendaya and Tom Holland have been dating since 2021 (Getty Images)

“I’m very tense, and I think that I carry that from being a kid and never really having an opportunity to try sh**. And I wish I went to school.” Zendaya recently travelled around the world promoting ‘Dune: Part Two’ and will soon be on the promotion trail again which presents its own challenges for someone not naturally super confident.

Asked if she has a Hollywood peer group to rely on she said: “A little bit. I think there could be more. I don’t know. I keep to myself a lot, which is my own fault. But also, I love and I’m grateful for my peers. I would love to see more that look a little bit more like me around me. I think that is something that is crucial and necessary.”

The May issue of British Vogue is available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday, April 23.

Mark Jefferies

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