# What are the best Zendaya movie and TV performances?

> From her Emmy-winning portrayal of Rue in Euphoria to her career-defining work in Challengers and Dune, Zendaya has become one of the most acclaimed performers of her generation. Which is her best?

*By YPB Team · Published April 11, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-are-the-best-zendaya-movie-and-tv-performances*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Euphoria**
   Zendaya made history as the youngest woman to win an Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama, playing Rue Bennett — a teenager battling addiction — with heartbreaking honesty and undeniable command.
2. **Challengers**
   Zendaya's steely, magnetic performance as tennis coach Tashi Duncan across two timelines proved she is a top-tier dramatic actress, with critics calling it her finest film work to date.
3. **Dune: Part Two**
   As the fierce, skeptical Fremen warrior Chani, Zendaya provides the moral and emotional anchor of Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi epic with an intensity and physicality that commands every scene.
4. **Dune**
   Though her role was small in the first film, her haunting presence as the mysterious Chani left audiences desperate to see more of her in the sequel.
5. **Malcolm & Marie**
   Shot in black-and-white during the pandemic, Zendaya held her own in an intense two-hander opposite John David Washington, demonstrating serious dramatic range in a dialogue-driven deep dive.
6. **Spider-Man: No Way Home**
   As MJ, Zendaya is the emotional heart of the multiversal finale, delivering a genuinely tearful goodbye that elevated the character far beyond a typical superhero love interest.
7. **Spider-Man: Homecoming**
   Zendaya's deadpan, bookish MJ immediately stood apart from every previous Spider-Man love interest, bringing wit and authenticity to a MCU debut that sparked enormous fan excitement.
8. **The Greatest Showman**
   Zendaya is luminous as trapeze artist Anne Wheeler, her scenes with Zac Efron generating the film's most memorable romantic electricity, and her acrobatic sequences are genuinely breathtaking.
9. **Shake It Up**
   The Disney Channel series that launched Zendaya as a star, where her natural charisma and dance ability were evident from episode one — a beloved piece of her origin story.
10. **K.C. Undercover**
   Zendaya executive-produced and headlined this action-comedy series as a teen spy, showcasing leadership and comedic timing that signaled she was ready for bigger things.
11. **Spider-Man: Far From Home**
   The film where MJ's relationship with Peter truly blossomed, Zendaya brought vulnerability and humor to a character who finally got to be funny, brave, and romantically central.
12. **Zapped**
   An early Disney Channel movie that gave Zendaya her first film lead role — a cult favorite among fans who followed her career from the beginning and appreciate where it all started.

Tags: movies, celebrities, women, actors, tv shows, performances