Zendaya has five siblings — Katianna, Annabella, Kaylee, Austin and Julien — and several nieces and nephews
Zendaya thinks the world of her three older sisters, Katianna, Annabella and Kaylee, and two older brothers, Austin and Julien.
The Euphoria star grew up in Oakland, Calif., with her parents, Claire Stoermer and Kazembe Ajamu Coleman. While Zendaya is Claire and Kazembe’s only child together, Kazembe welcomed Zendaya’s five older siblings during a previous relationship. The Challengers star is also an aunt to her siblings’ several children.
Despite their age gap, the Coleman kids have fostered a tight bond — but much like their little sister, Katianna, Annabella, Kaylee, Austin and Julien prefer to keep their private lives out of the limelight. That said, Zendaya loves her siblings’ children unconditionally and never shies away from gushing about her nieces and nephews publicly.
While attending the premiere of Challengers at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London, Zendaya, who plays a former tennis star and mom in the film, revealed that she looked to her own family dynamic for inspiration.
“I have many, many little nieces and nephews. So they’re like my borrowed children,” Zendaya told PEOPLE.
Plus, being an aunt comes with some major perks, she added. “I get to have fun and then give them back to their parents,” the actress quipped.
Here’s everything to know about Zendaya’s five siblings: Katianna, Annabella, Kaylee, Austin and Julien.
Zendaya is the youngest of her five siblings
Zendaya is the youngest of the Coleman brood. The Dune actress has three older sisters, Katianna, Annabella and Kaylee, and two older brothers, Austin and Julien.
Zendaya looks to her older sister for inspiration
In a 2015 interview with TIME, Zendaya praised her father for his strength and her mom for being a “sheroe,” but noted it’s her older sister who’s had the biggest impact on her youth. “I look up to my big sister and realize the influence she’s had on me and making me a better person,” Zendaya told the outlet. “Having such a big, grounded family, I realized as you get older how important that is.”
Zendaya has a close relationship with her nieces and nephews
Although her siblings keep a very low profile, Zendaya has spoken openly about her tight bond with her nieces and nephews. She and her niece, Ezenia “Zink,” whose father is Julien, are two peas in a pod. The pair played a game of “Besties Word Association” while getting matching manicures in a video for Teen Vogue back in 2014.
Talking about her “squad” in a Complex interview, Zendaya shared, “I think the closest person to me is my niece, who’s 20. She lives in L.A. with my sister who’s out here with her two daughters and husband. So I escape to their house all the time. I’ll call her at any time about anything, we’ll go out to dinner for random stuff. We just chill.”
The star also tapped her two younger nephews as her dates to the Los Angeles premiere of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2017. One of her nieces also accompanied her to the 2017 Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.
Katianna, who affectionately goes by “Kizzi,” is also a mom of three. She and her husband share three daughters, whom Zendaya often babysat during her Disney days. In March 2017, Zendaya treated Kizzi and her nieces to a special birthday trip to Universal Studios.
“Thank you @UniStudios for giving my little niece the best Harry Potter birthday ever! Wish I wasn’t sick so I could go, but I got major auntie points for this one,” she wrote on Instagram.
Zendaya is very protective of her siblings’ children
When it comes to handling bullies and social media, Zendaya wants to be a role model for her nieces and nephews. “Honestly, I think about my little nieces and my little nephews first,” she told Complex in 2015. “Because one day they’re going to have Twitter and they’re going to have Instagram, and I’m going to be like, ‘This is how you handle it, kids.’ “
Zendaya says she worries about film industry becoming bored of her
Prince Harry’s request to the late Queen ‘turned down flat with just two words’
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had their final meeting with the late Queen Elizabeth II when they visited the UK for her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022. However, the meeting didn’t quite go to plan, with the monarch reportedly declining to be photographed with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
The visit marked the first time Lilibet had met her great-grandmother the Queen, and her grandfather then Prince Charles. It is one of the few times that Meghan, Harry, and their children have visited the UK together, following the family’s move to California. The Platinum Jubilee coincided with Lilibet’s first birthday, and it’s thought that the Sussexes were hopeful for a photo with the tot and her great-grandmother.
However, a source told The Sun that the Queen responded “no chance” when asked for a photo. The source told the publication: “Harry and Meghan wanted their photographer to capture the moment Lilibet met the Queen. But they were told no chance. It was a private family meeting.”
It’s since been claimed that their request was rejected amid concerns that the images would be leaked to US television networks. The claims that the Queen rejected the photo opportunity has been echoed by Royal expert Camilla Tominey, who has written in The Telegraph: “When the couple made another beeline for Windsor Castle, travelling straight there after landing at Farnborough Airport, she refused their request to have professional photographs taken with Archie, three, and her namesake Lilibet, one.
“Claiming she had a bloodshot eye, she adroitly denied the Sussexes the photo opportunity they craved. Harry was ‘persistent’, according to those party to the meeting, expressing a desire to get an official snap of the two Lilibets together at some point in the future. But of course, it was never to be. She died three months later.”
Now two years later, Princess Lilibet has celebrated her 3rd birthday on 4 June. Speaking about how the Sussexes likely celebrated the occasion former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK!: “I expect her birthday will be full of sunshine, squabbles with her brother, fun games with her toddler friends and some delicious home cooking from her mum.
“It will no doubt be in all American affair at their Montecito mansion and I would expect to see a sprinkling of celebrities and a laid-back party, which hopefully will include some other toddlers. It would be nice to think the day might include a video call to Lilibet’s grandfather, King Charles and hopefully some sort of gift has been arranged and will be delivered to Montecito for her birthday.”