Zendaya made history and became the youngest lead actress to win an Emmy in the drama category at the 72nd Emmy Awards on September 20. The 24-year-old actress also became the second African-American woman to win an Emmy in this category, following Viola Davis in 2015. Even though it was set up a little differently this year, Zendaya was still up against some major icons such as Jennifer Anniston and Sandra Oh.

Many may remember growing up watching her on the Disney Channel as she played “Rocky Blue” on Shake it up, and “K.C.” on K.C Undercover. She was and is a major role model to many young individuals, especially girls.

Since Disney, Zendaya has moved on to more serious acting roles such as “M.J.” in Spider-man and currently portrays “Rue Bennett” in Euphoria, which streams on HBO. Zendaya’s performance in Euphoria is what led to her big win at the Emmy’s. This show follows the story of “Rue Bennett,” a high school drug addict who deals with mental health issues.

Zendaya tells the LA times that she is able to portray and connect to Rue on such a deep level because she is “a full, whole human being and she’s layered and she’s complicated.”

She emphasizes the importance that mental health doesn’t define a person. Rue is a “human first and an addict second,” Zendaya explained to the New York Times.

Outside of acting, Zendaya is also very vocal about voting and BLM, using her instagram as a platform to share these viewpoints. In a recent interview with Michelle Obama she encourages young individuals by saying not to “wait until the last minute and make sure that your registered to vote.”

Abigail Saintelmy, a junior at Wiregrass Ranch, looks up to Zendaya for being “so outspoken on issues that most people don’t like to talk about.”

There are some big projects coming soon from Zendaya as she is filming Dune which is expected to come out on December 18th, Spider-man 3, and also another season of Euphoria if COVID-19 permits.