Zendaya in 2013, photo by Prphotos
Birth Name: Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman
Place of Birth: Oakland, California, U.S.
Date of Birth: September 1, 1996
Ethnicity:
*father – African-American
*mother – German, Irish, English, Scottish
Zendaya, also credited as Zendaya Coleman, is an American actress, singer, dancer, and model. She has starred in the films The Greatest Showman, Smallfoot, Malcolm & Marie, Dune, and, as MJ, the Spider-Man franchise; and on television’s Shake It Up, Frenemies, Zapped, K.C. Undercover, and Euphoria.
Her father, Kazembe Ajamu (born Samuel David Coleman), is African-American, from a family from Arkansas. Her mother, Claire Marie (Stoermer), who is white, has German, Irish, English, and Scottish ancestry. Her parents are teachers. Her name, Zendaya, comes from the word Tendai/Tendayi, which means “to give thanks” in Shona, a Southwestern African language common in Zimbabwe and southern Zambia.
Zendaya’s maternal grandfather was Phillip Hilary Stoermer (the son of Fritz Hillary Stoermer and Marian Elizabeth Peir). Phillip was born in California. Fritz was the son of Henry Stoermer and Etta Tyler Fritz. Marian was the daughter of Alois Henry Peir and Kathyrn Gertrude Leahy/Leady.
Zendaya’s maternal grandmother was Daphne Carol Whitelaw (the daughter of Douglas William Walker Whitelaw and Thelma Ray Kelly). Daphne was from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Douglas was the son of Harry Tulloch Whitelaw and Agnes Drummond. Thelma was the daughter of Joseph William Kelly, from Waterloo, Ontario, and of Ella Sparling, from Huron, Ontario.
Zendaya with her parents, 2013, photo by Prphotos
Sources: Video of Zendaya and her parents talking about their ancestry –
Genealogy of Zendaya (focusing on her mother’s side) –
Obituary of Zendaya’s maternal grandfather, Phillip Hilary Stoermer –
Zendaya’s maternal great-grandfather, Fritz Hillary Stoermer, on the 1920 U.S. Census –
Zendaya’s maternal great-great-grandfather, Henry Stoermer, on the 1880 U.S. Census –
Zendaya’s maternal great-great-great-grandmother, Ellen Grandona, on the 1860 U.S. Census –
Zendaya’s maternal great-great-grandmother, Etta Tyler Fritz, on the 1910 U.S. Census –
