Zendaya Covers GQ Magazine, Talks 'Malcolm & Marie' And More

Even in quarantine Zendaya is running things!

Source: Tyrell Hampton / GQ

Zendaya covers the February 2021 issue of GQ Magazine and the accompanying story discusses her Emmy win, work on “Euphoria,” and ‘Malcolm & Marie’ and how quarantine made her realize how much work was tied to her identity.

“[COVID lockdown] was my first time just being like, ‘Okay, who am I without this?’” she says. “Which is a very scary thing to confront and work through, because I don’t really know Zendaya outside of the Zendaya who works. I didn’t realize how much my job and my art were a part of my identity as a human.”

Much of the piece focuses on her new film with John David Washington, Malcolm & Marie about a filmmaker whose relationship is tested when he fails to thank his girlfriend on the night he is honored for his work. The film was born from conversations between Zendaya and her “Euphoria” director/producer and friend Sam Levinson during the pandemic, when Zendaya made that realization about her work and her identity.

“I feel most like myself when I’m working,” she says, growing quieter. “I felt like, when I wasn’t working, my powers had gone away, and I was like, ‘Who the fu**—’ I didn’t really know who I was and what makes me happy. What do I like to do? What else do I do? What is my value? What is my purpose now?”

That’s a very real thing for a lot of us who were accustomed to working more or moving more before the pandemic set in. Are you excited to see Malcolm & Marie?

The February issue of GQ is available January 12.