Zendaya's Quotes About Confidence Will Make You Feel So Seen
Actor, dancer, singer extraordinaire Zendaya is incredibly wise beyond her years. While she's well-known for getting her start on Disney Channel's Shake It Up!, starring in blockbuster hits (*cough* Spider-Man: Far From Home *cough*), and owning New York Fashion Week, she's also known for fearlessly embracing her truth and encouraging others to do the same. Whether she's discussing body positivity, self-acceptance, or dealing with prejudice, the 22-year-old leads with kindness, aiming to make all of us better people. If you're looking for a confidence boost, Zendaya's got you covered for just about any situation — and we've got you covered with a ton of Zendaya's quotes about confidence right here.
You can thank me later.
1. On Self-Hate:
In 2016, Zendaya sat down with New You and made some major points about staying body positive. "If there's any definition to being perfect, you're perfect at being yourself," she said. "There is no such thing as ugly." Well said.
2. On Staying Authentic:
She also discussed how the key to being confident in yourself is by staying true to yourself. "It's important to find out who you are and love who you are," she told New You. "No matter what you're dealing with, it's so much harder and more draining and so much more exhausting to be constantly pretending to be something that you're not."
3. On Loving Yourself:
In an interview with Popsugar in September 2018, Zendaya got real about how hard it can be to love yourself. While she's always been pretty grounded and confident, she's aware that loving oneself doesn't happen in the blink of an eye.
"The evolution of loving yourself and becoming comfortable within yourself takes time and it's a process," she said. "It does not happen overnight. You have to work at it. And nobody has it. Even the people that you think have it, don't necessarily have it."
4. On Photoshop:
Zendaya is truly all about promoting a healthy image to her followers, even if that means publicly calling out a major magazine to do so. In October 2015, Zendaya chastised Modeliste Magazine for editing her waist and hips to make her appear thinner — pointing out that distorted images like the one they published of her are what cause body confidence issues in the first place.
"These are the things that make women self conscious, that create the unrealistic ideals of beauty that we have," she wrote on her Instagram under a side-by-side comparison of the original and edited magazine photos. "Anyone who knows who I am knows I stand for honest and pure self love. So I took it upon myself to release the real pic (right side) and I love it."
Being the gracious woman that she is, the then-18-year-old Zendaya went on to thank Modeliste Magazine for "pulling down the images" and fixing the retouched issue.
5. On Racism & Prejudice:
In February 2015, Zendaya attended the Oscars wearing gorgeous faux locs paired with a pale pink Vivienne Westwood gown. A vision. However, E! News and Fashion Police host Giuliana Rancic tried to drag her, sharing her opinion that her hair looked as if it smelled like "patchouli oil" and "weed." Rude.
Instead of letting the foul commentary get her down, Zendaya called it out on Instagram, highlighting precisely why this sort of hair policing was problematic and downright wrong.
"There is a fine line between what is funny and disrespectful," she wrote. "There is already harsh criticism of African American hair in society without the help of ignorant people who choose to judge others based on the curl of their hair. My wearing my hair in locs on an Oscar red carpet was to showcase them in a positive light, to remind people of color that our hair is good enough."
Rancic apologized for her disrespectful commentary soon after Zendaya published her statement. The then-18-year-old Zendaya also took the high road to educate Rancic while asking the rest of the world to allow a safe space for Rancic to learn her lesson from the whole situation.
Zendaya posted this incredibly powerful message to her Instagram: "Studies have shown that even though we try to act without prejudice, sometimes it's just hidden inside us due to our past or surroundings. That hidden prejudice is often influential in our actions. It's our job to spot these issues within others and ourselves and destroy them before they become hurtful."
Seriously, so mature, wise, and confident in the face of adversity. It's not easy speaking out in the face of prejudice, but Zendaya showed that finding the confidence to do so is important, especially when it is a chance to educate others. Well done, Z.
6. On Switching Up Her Hairstyles:
Zendaya revealed in a 2016 interview with PeopleStyle that she used to feel insecure with her hair texture until she became confident enough to take risks as a means of inspiring others.
"I like who I am, and I hope that I can help a lot of other young women get there," Zendaya said. "I think that a big part of that is showing that you can dress and wear your hair however you want. People will say whatever they have to say, but as long as you feel good and you feel confident and you're taking those steps to feel comfortable with yourself, then you're good!"
7. On Social Media:
It's no secret that social media is super addicting and can be a totally fun pastime, but it can also be a crutch. How many times have you felt down and turned to your cell phone to check how many hearts your latest post has as a tiny, virtual pat on the back? Total crutch! In a 2018 interview with Bustle, Zendaya touched on being confident enough with yourself (sans phone) to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
“I can definitely say I use [social media] on a daily basis, but I definitely think it’s important to enjoy it but also enjoy real life too," she said. "Be able to know when you can take a break or should take a break and be comfortable with yourself when your phone isn’t involved in the equation. So it’s all about a balance.”
8. On Speaking Your Truth:
Zendaya discussed the importance of using your voice and knowing your power in an interview with BuzzFeed in October 2018. How Oprah of her. But really, the girl is so wise.
"Never be afraid to have a voice and to know the power of it," she said. "I say that often, and it’s often easier said than done. It’s easy to say, 'Speak up and everything will be fine!' Because it’s hard sometimes. But I would say you do have a voice, and it is important, and you should use it."
9. On Women Supporting Women:
One important aspect of confidence for Zendaya is being confident enough to support other women around her. In speaking with Elle.com in November 2017, Zendaya stressed the importance of lifting up other women, especially those who are more disadvantaged.
"I think that it’s important that we right now especially not be afraid or feared into silence because we need each other, and we need each other’s voice now more than ever," she continued. "Now is the best time I think to speak up, especially for our fellow women who may not have a voice or whose voice may be a little more silenced. It’s time to also use our platforms for each other."
10. On Career Confidence:
In a recent interview with Paper magazine, Zendaya revealed she does not have any plans to return to the music industry. While the news is quite devastating for fans, she shared a very valuable lesson she learned from the fallout on being confident in herself and her craft so as not to be taken advantage of in the future.
"If anyone asks my number one advice, for [the entertainment] industry in general but mostly the music industry, it's look over those contracts, every single word, and don't sign anything that isn't worth it to you. You are worth more than they will say that you are," she shared.
Zendaya's got inspirational quotes for just about everything y'all. Feel free to bookmark this article for those down days. I know I have.
