They say your 30s can be some of the best years of your lives, with many finding that decade is when they begin to excel in their careers, achieve financial independence and stop caring about the opinions of others.
So it’s hard to imagine what the next few years have in store for Zendaya – who on Tuesday marked her 30th birthday after hitting a series of major milestones in the past few months.
Notably, the actress, who was previously named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people in the world, has entered her fourth decade of life with quite the title.
August saw her named the highest grossing actress of 2026 after a bumper year of blockbusters that has seen her on cinema screens across the globe.
She began the year with the release of The Drama, an indie comedy-drama that saw her star alongside Robert Pattinson.
Grossing $132.4million worldwide on a $28million budget, it became one of the top five biggest A24 hits at the box office.
Zendaya is celebrating her best year yet after being named highest grossing actress, marrying Tom Holland and gearing up for another blockbuster release – all before turning 30
While it may have been a hectic year for Zendaya, she still found the time to mark another major life event – marrying longtime lover Tom in two wedding ceremonies
Up next was The Odyssey, in which she played the Greek goddess Athena.
While there was backlash over the colour blind casting of many roles, the film went on to be a global success, with Christopher Nolan’s epic making $1.458billion worldwide.
To date, it’s the second highest grossing film of the year, beaten only by Zendaya’s latest project – Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
She reprised her role as MJ in the Marvel hit, which has gone on to make more than $2.235billion worldwide.
It’s quite the remarkable feat for the former child star – who made her name on the Disney Channel sitcoms Shake It Up and K.C. Undercover.
Yet this year also saw her reprise the role that made her a household name, as she returned to the small screen to play drug addict Rue Bennett in HBO’s Euphoria.
While season three of Sam Levinson’s show was panned for its plot, Zendaya was praised for her performance nonetheless, earning her an Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series nomination at the upcoming Primetime Emmys.
And the year’s not over yet, with Zendaya set to reprise her role as Chani in the hotly-anticipated Dune: Part Three, which is predicted to be a box office hit upon its release in December.
While it may have been a hectic year for Zendaya as she jetted around the world on the promotional tour for her many projects, she still found the time to mark another major life event.
She began the year with the release of The Drama, an indie comedy-drama that saw her star alongside Robert Pattinson, that grossed $132.4million worldwide on a $28million budget
In The Odyssey she played the Greek goddess Athena. While there was backlash over the colour blind casting it has made $1.458billion worldwide (pictured with Matt Damon)
Earlier this year, while promoting her movie The Drama, the actress was spotted wearing a thin gold band on her ring finger.
With Zendaya keeping tight-lipped, speculation arose as to whether she had secretly tied the knot with Tom Holland, or if it was all part of her method dressing wardrobe, given the film followed an engaged couple in the leadup to their wedding.
Zendaya’s stylist Law Roach added fuel to the fire in February when he claimed he had attended their wedding, with Tom later confirming the marriage in June, noting ‘I found my person, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.’
Yet one small ceremony wasn’t enough for the couple, who are said to have secretly held a second affair last month – this time close to the Spider-Man star’s family home in Kingston upon Thames.
The pair – who met in 2016 filming Spider Man: Homecoming – also kept their £500,000 wedding ceremony at the five-star Beaverbrook Hotel in Surrey under wraps, with guests and staff banned from using their mobile phones to stop any leaks.
While Zendaya has been riding high with the success of the past year, it’s also been a good year for her new husband.
With the success of the new Spider Man and the franchise as a whole, Tom has leapt to third place in the ranks of the highest-grossing actor of all time.
He surpassed Chris Pratt to the accolade, now sitting behind Scarlett Johansson, while Avatar’s Zoe Saldaña remains in the top spot.
Aged 30, Tom is the youngest actor in the top 10, which is rounded out by Samuel L Jackson, Robert Downey Jr, Tom Cruise, Chris Hemsworth, Vin Diesel and Chris Evans.
This year also saw her reprise the role that made her a household name, as she returned to the small screen to play drug addict Rue Bennett in HBO’s Euphoria
It’s also been a good year for Tom, who has leapt to third place in the ranks of the highest-grossing actor of all time, after the success of the Spider-Man franchise
Yet while Zendaya and Tom may be the ultimate Hollywood power couple, they plan on taking a step back from the limelight for a bit once their crazy year comes to an end.
Zendaya told Elle magazine at the start of the year: ‘It’s going to be a long year, but what’s great is that I’m really proud of everything. I just really love my job.
‘But I think that after this, I’m going to have to take a little bit of a break.’
On looking ahead to her milestone birthday, she mused: ‘I think I do have wisdom to offer, but I also do still feel like a fucking kid. Like what the f**k, I’m about to be 30? I still feel like a child inside.’
She added on The Jennifer Hudson Show: ‘Every woman has told me their thirties are the best…
‘And I feel that way too because your twenties can be a little chaotic … And everyone’s like in your thirties you just know yourself better like you know what you want.
‘And I’m looking forward to it. I’m not afraid of it. Like in my mind-twenties I was like: “Uhh 30 is around the corner, girl what is happening.”
‘And now I’m like: “Absolutely, let’s get to it. I’m over the twenties now. I’m over it.”‘
The year’s not over yet, with Zendaya set to reprise her role as Chani in the hotly-anticipated Dune: Part Three, which is predicted to be a box office hit upon its release in December.
It’s quite the remarkable feat for the former child star – who made her name on the Disney Channel sitcoms Shake It Up (pictured with Bella Thorne) and K.C. Undercover
While Zendaya and Tom might be gearing up to enjoy a well-earned rest at the start of next year, this won’t be the last we see of them.
Zendaya is set to voice Shrek and Fiona’s daughter Felicia in Shrek 5, scheduled for release in 2027, and has also signed on to play Ronnie Spector, the frontwoman of American girl group the Ronettes, in Be My Baby, a biopic based on Ronnie’s memoir.
Tom is also set to take on a biopic, being linked to a film about the legendary Fred Astaire and the working relationship he had with his sister and dance partner Adele.
One thing to note though, is if Zendaya and Tom continue on such an incredible career trajectory they may one day find themselves casting two budding young actors to play them in a biopic about their own lives.
