They say your thirties can be one of the best years of your life, and many find that decade is the time when they start to excel in their careers, achieve financial independence and stop worrying about the opinions of others.
So it’s hard to imagine what the next few years have in store Zendaya – who celebrated her 30th birthday on Tuesday after achieving a series of major milestones in recent months.
Remarkably, 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.
In August, she was named the highest-grossing actress of 2026, following a stellar year of blockbusters that saw her grace cinema screens around the world.
She started the year with the release of The Drama, an indie comedy-drama that co-starred with her Robert Pattinson.
It grossed $132.4 million worldwide on a budget of $28 million one of the five biggest A24 hits at the box office.
Zendaya is celebrating her best year yet after being named the 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 her longtime lover Tom in two wedding ceremonies.
Next was The Odyssey, in which she played the Greek goddess Athena.
Although there was backlash over the colorblind casting of many roles, the film became a global success, with Christopher Nolan’s epic grossing $1.458 billion worldwide.
So far, it’s the second highest-grossing film of the year, beaten only by Zendaya’s latest project – Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
She reprized her role as MJ in the Marvel hit, which has earned more than $2.235 billion worldwide.
It’s quite a remarkable achievement for the former child star – who made a name for himself on the Disney Channel sitcoms Shake It Up and KC Undercover.
Yet this year also saw her reprise the role that made her a household name, when 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 still praised for her performance, which earned her a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the upcoming Primetime Emmys.
And the year isn’t over yet: Zendaya is set to reprise her role as Chani in the highly anticipated Dune: Part Three, which is expected to be a box office hit upon its release in December.
While it may have been a hectic year for Zendaya as she flew around the world on the promotional tour for her many projects, she still found the time to mark another important event in her life.
She started the year with the release of The Drama, an indie comedy-drama in which she starred opposite Robert Pattinson, which grossed $132.4 million worldwide on a budget of $28 million.
In The Odyssey she played the Greek goddess Athena. Although there was backlash against the colorblind casting, it has earned $1.458 billion worldwide (pictured with Matt Damon)
Earlier this year, while promoting her film The Drama, the actress was spotted wearing a thin gold band on her ring finger.
While Zendaya remained 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, as the film followed an engaged couple in the lead-up to their wedding.
Zendaya’s stylist Law Roach added fuel to the fire in February when he claimed he attended their wedding, while Tom later confirmed the nuptials in June, commenting, “I found my person, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.”
Yet one small ceremony wasn’t enough for the couple, who reportedly had a second affair in secret last month – this time close to the Spider-Man star’s family home in Kingston upon Thames.
The pair – who met in 2016 while filming Spider Man: Homecoming – also kept their £500,000 wedding ceremony at the five-star Beaverbrook Hotel in Surrey a secret, with guests and staff not allowed to use their mobile phones to stop any leaks.
While Zendaya has been riding high on success this 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 risen to third place in the rankings of the highest-grossing actor of all time.
He surpassed Chris Pratt for the award, who now sits behind Scarlett Johansson, while Avatar’s Zoe Saldaña remains in the top spot.
At thirty years old, Tom is the youngest actor in the rounded top 10 by Samuel L Jackson, Robert Downey Jr, Tom Cruise, Chris Hemsworth, Vin Diesel and Chris Evans.
This year she also reprized the role that made her a household name, when 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 jumped to third place in the rankings of the highest-grossing actor of all time following the success of the Spider-Man franchise.
But while Zendaya and Tom may be the ultimate Hollywood power couple, they plan to take a step back from the spotlight once their crazy year comes to an end.
Zendaya told Elle magazine earlier this year: ‘It’s going to be a long year, but the great thing is that I’m really proud of everything. I just really love my job.
“But I think I need to take a little break after this.”
As she looked ahead to her milestone birthday, she mused, “I guess I have wisdom to offer, but I also still feel like a damn child. Like, what the hell, I’m about to turn 30? I still feel like a child inside.’
She added on The Jennifer Hudson Show: “Every woman has told me that their 30s are the best….”
‘And I have that feeling too, because your twenties can be a bit chaotic… And with everyone, it’s as if you just know yourself better in your thirties, as if you know what you want.
‘And I’m looking forward to it. I’m not afraid of it. Like when I was 20, I was like, “Uhh 30 is around the corner, girl, what’s happening.”
“And now I’m thinking, ‘Absolutely, let’s get started. I’m over 20 now. I’m over it.'”
The year isn’t over yet and Zendaya will reprise her role as Chani in the highly anticipated Dune: Part Three, which is expected to be a box office hit upon its release in December.
It’s quite a remarkable achievement for the former child star – who made a name for himself in the Disney Channel sitcoms Shake It Up (pictured with Bella Thorne) and KC Undercover
While Zendaya and Tom may be gearing up for a well-deserved rest early next year, this won’t be the last we see of them.
Zendaya will 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 will also be making a biopic, coupled with 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 that if Zendaya and Tom continue such an incredible career trajectory, they might one day cast two up-and-coming young actors to play them in a biopic about their own lives.
