Zendaya Explains Her ‘Complicated Relationship’ With Child Fame

At just 28 years old, Zendaya has already been in the entertainment industry for nearly two decades.

While fans are more than used to seeing child actors go down a troubled path, Zendaya is one child star that’s never been caught slipping. But, even though it may seem like she has it all together, there are still some hardships that come with being famous from such a young age.

The Challengers star opened up about her gripes with fame to The Hollywood Reporter for this year’s Actress Roundtable, which featured her in conversation with Angelina Jolie, Mikey Madison, Tilda Swinton, Zoe Saldaña and Demi Moore. While Zendaya admits that her public upbringing isn’t something she’d change, there are still factors that made it hard to actually grow as her own person.

“I wouldn’t change it, but there are things that I wish I lived out privately, you know?” she explained while talking about the three years she spent on Shake It Up with Bella Thorne. “Because you’re figuring out who you are in front of the world. And you’re like, ‘I’m trying to do this right. I want to make everyone happy, but I don’t really know who I am yet. I have no idea what I’m doing.’”

She went on to emphasize that she’s still “so grateful” for how her career “turned out” given how early on she began.

Having been working consistently since she was just 14 years old, the actress admitted she’s still “figuring out” who she is outside of being in front of a camera.

“What other than work brings me joy? For me, it’s been about trying new things, as stupid as it sounds, like pottery or anything with your hands,” she told the outlet. “It’s just trying to discover what my life is outside of the presentation of who I am.”

See what else Zendaya had to say–along with her fellow actresses–down below: