Actress makes history at the 72nd Emmy Awards
By Emelie Weinbeck, Contributing Writer
On Sept. 20, American actress and singer Zendaya made history at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards. The award show was forced to get creative due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The show, hosted by American television host Jimmy Kimmel, included all the nominees zooming into the live television event. The winners were awarded their statuette by people in hazmat suits outside the nominees’ hotel rooms or house.
Zendaya began her career as a child model and backup dancer, before gaining prominence for her role as Rocky Blue on the Disney Channel sitcom “Shake It Up”. In 2017, Zendaya also appeared in the star-studded movie “The Greatest Showman” alongside award-winning actors Zac Efron and Hugh Jackman.
Fast forward to June 2019 where Zendaya was the main character in the popular HBO show, “Euphoria.” The show is about high school students navigating the world of drugs, sex, identity, trauma, social media, love and friendship. The success of “Euphoria” ultimately led Zendaya to be nominated for and win outstanding lead actress in a drama series at this year’s Emmy awards.
Zendaya is now the youngest lead actress Emmy winner at age 24 and just the second Black woman to win in that category. Viola Davis was the first Black actress to win in 2015 for her role in “How To Get Away With Murder.” Zendaya beat out top stars for the award such as Jennifer Aniston and Laura Linney.
“Euphoria” was up for multiple nominations at the Emmys: outstanding contemporary costumes, outstanding contemporary makeup, outstanding music composition for a series, outstanding original music and lyrics and outstanding music supervision.
“Euphoria” went on to win multiple awards including, outstanding contemporary makeup and outstanding original music and lyrics. The show has now given HBO more Emmy wins than the highly touted shows “The Leftovers” and “The Wire” combined. The show is planning on returning for a second season after the production start date was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There have been talks about the “Euphoria” cast and team putting together a bridge episode to hold fans over until the show returns, but nothing is set in stone yet.
After Zendaya’s big win on Sunday, stars such as Drake, Chloe x Halle and Kehlani took to social media to congratulate her on the accomplishment. During Zendaya’s acceptance speech, she thanked her family, the “Euphoria” cast and crew as well as show creator Sam Levinson. At the end of her speech, she praised her generation for the activism on the topics the show talks about.
Zendaya will next star in the Netflix film “Malcolm and Marie,” directed by the “Euphoria” showrunner Sam Levinson. The film is going to be similar to “Marriage Story,” which is a story about a couple in the middle of a divorce, but “Malcolm and Marie” will also resonate with several social themes that the world is experiencing right now. There is no release date set for the film yet.
weinbeec20@bonaventure.edu
