Zendaya receives the SeeHer Award at the 2021 Critics Choice Awards
Spider-Man and Euphoria star Zendaya has been honored with the fifth annual SeeHer Award at the 2021 Critics Choice Awards.
The special award was presented to Zendaya by her Malcolm & Marie co-star John David Washington.
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The 2021 Critics Choice Awards has been a big night for Zendaya. She is nominated for Best Actress for her captivating role in Netflix‘s Malcolm & Marie opposite John David Washington.
Zendaya is nominated alongside Frances McDormand, Carey Mulligan, Viola Davis, Vanessa Kirby, Andra Day and Sidney Flanigan in the Best Actress category. Last weekend, Andra Day won the Best Actress award at the Golden Globes for her portrayal of Billie Holiday in The United States vs Billie Holiday.
Last year, Zendaya earned a Best Actress in a Drama Series nomination at the Critics Choice Awards for Euphoria.
However, Zendaya’s Best Actress nomination for Malcolm & Marie isn’t the only way the Critics Choice Awards has honored her this year. Now, the Spider-Man and Euphoria star is the fifth recipient of the SeeHer Award.
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The SeeHer Award recognizes “a woman who embodies the values set forth by the SeeHer movement. [They] push boundaries, defy stereotypes and acknowledge the importance of authentic portrayals of women” in entertainment.
SeeHer is a global movement that fights for accurate portrayals of women and girls in media. Leading marketers, media organizations and industry influences make up the SeeHer movement. The group, led by the ANA, is committed to creating media content that portrays women and girls as they truly are.
“We are delighted to be presenting the award to Zendaya, who is such a strong representation of what it means to be a woman in 2021,” SeeHer President Nadine Karp McHugh said. “She is a role model and leading voice of her generation. From being the youngest actress to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series to using her platform to advocate for Black women in Hollywood, she is showing the next generation that you are never too young to use your voice to make a difference.”
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Kristen Bell (Gossip Girl), Viola Davis (How To Get Away With Murder), Claire Foy (The Crown) and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) are the previous recipients of the SeeHer Award.
Now, Zendaya is the youngest-ever SeeHer Award recipient. On Sunday, John David Washington presented the award to Zendaya amidst a montage of her work with Disney, Marvel and Euphoria among others.
For her speech, Zendaya focused on gratitude and how, more than ever, we should take the time to appreciate the people in our lives.
“This means so much to me,” she says. “The only real thing I can think of [to say] is gratitude. This word kind of keeps coming to my mind especially with the year everyone has had. To continue to be grateful for every single moment big and small and to be grateful for the people in our world and in our life that make the work we do possible. Make sure to hold onto our loved ones a little bit tighter [and] make sure you call them, acknowledge them and tell them you love them. Take in moments like this.
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I absolutely would not be here if it weren’t for the incredible women that paved the way for me to be here. [I am] also extremely grateful for those women so yes, this is very special. Thank you so so much. Not to overuse the word, but I am incredibly grateful for this moment.”
For Malcolm & Marie, Zendaya teamed back up with Euphoria creator Sam Levinson. In a recent interview with Variety, Zendaya opened up about her experience filming the Netflix project. Since Euphoria couldn’t start filming season 2 last year, Zendaya and Levinson hired the HBO show’s crew for Malcolm & Marie.
Additionally, Zendaya and Levinson gave the film’s key crew shares of the project. In other words, the film and production crew is receiving additional profits from the movie.
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“It just felt like the right thing to do,” Zendaya said. “These are the people that are laying all the tracks. [They] were with us through the whole thing and literally putting their blood, sweat and tears into it.”
According to IndieWire, season 2 of Euphoria starts filming this month. However, HBO has already released two special between-season episodes that highlighted Rue and Jules’ (Hunter Schafer) lives after that emotional season 1 finale. As well, Billie Eilish and Rosalia even premiered their new collab during one of the episodes.
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Currently, Zendaya is filming Spider-Man: No Way Home alongside Tom Holland and a lot of rumored familiar faces. Earlier this week, Twitter added fuel to the rumor fire that Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire may be reprising their Peter Parker roles for the new Marvel film.
Additionally, Zendaya might have even confirmed that Alfred Molina is actually returning as Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 3. In short, it looks like MCU fans are in for quite a few surprises in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Zendaya also stars opposite Timothee Chalamet in the new Warner Bros. film Dune. The movie arrives in theaters and on HBO Max this October. Meanwhile, Spider-Man 3 arrives on Dec. 17 and Malcolm & Marie is streaming now on Netflix.
What are your reactions to Zendaya’s SeeHer Award speech? Let us know in the comments below.
