Zendaya is staying as busy as ever, with several movies coming out in 2026 and the upcoming third season of Euphoria. She’s arguably one of the biggest stars in Hollywood today, but she still knows where she came from. And I just love hearing her discuss what she’s learned from fellow Disney Channel vet Raven-Symoné.
Before winning two Emmys for her role as Rue in Euphoria, Zendaya got her start on Disney Channel, in not one but two shows. She starred alongside Bella Thorne in Shake It Up from 2010 to 2013 before leading and producing K.C. Undercover from 2015 to 2017. There is a lot she learned during her time on the network, and it helped she had such a good mentor. While promoting her new film The Drama in an interview with Letterboxd, Zendaya was asked by co-star Robert Pattinson if there was anyone she considered a mentor who took her under their wing. And her answer is pretty sweet, saying:
I remember one of like the first people that got to have a moment with was Raven-Symoné. I grew up watching That’s So Raven, watching that show taught me so much about comedy. I think she's so, so funny and so brilliant in that show. I still find myself doing things that are — even now as an adult — that are inspired by things she did in that show….. So yeah, it was just cool to talk to another young Black woman, who had been kind of had a Disney Channel show before, and she gave me a lot of great advice.
Raven is often considered the face of Disney Channel thanks to That’s So Raven, The Cheetah Girls, and her incredible comedic timing. Her TV series was the first to break 100 episodes on Disney Channel and was the first show with a Black female lead. It only makes sense for Zendaya to really look at Raven and That’s So Raven for inspiration. And being able to get advice directly from her sounds like it was truly like a dream for Zendaya. There are still some things that the Spider-Man star has taken from Raven, and still uses to this day:
Article continues belowI think one of the biggest things I learned from her, which I mean is something you should do anyway, about, you know, respecting your crews, but making sure you have a relationship and appreciation for [music] your crews, because you will end up seeing these people throughout your whole life.
Not only was Zendaya able to get some advice from Raven, but she was able to work with her, as well. Raven guest starred in two episodes of Season 1 of K.C. Undercover, and in true That’s So Raven fashion, she even had a couple of disguises. As a major fan of both of them and their shows, I could not be more delighted to hear Zendaya talking about Raven and seeing how much of an impact she had... and still has.
Hearing Zendaya talk about Raven-Symoné is especially heartening after she admitted to having a complicated relationship with her child star career. It’s understandable, of course, since she started out in the industry so young and missed out on a lot of stuff as a teenager. She credits her parents for being protective and helping her navigate the industry at a young age, which certainly made things better.
This just makes me want to rewatch Zendaya’s early projects, and luckily, both Shake It Up and K.C. Undercover are streaming with a Disney+ subscription. All seasons of That’s So Raven are also available on the streamer. Meanwhile, the long-awaited upcoming third season of Euphoria is set to premiere on April 12 on HBO and with an HBO Max subscription.
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