Acting star Zendaya is lensed by Thomas Whiteside, styled in Max Mara on the cover and Versace, Miu Miu, Givenchy, Bottega Veneta and more in Marie Claire US September 2018.

Janet Mock does the interview, and for openers they talk hair.Zendaya became a household name to regular people after being attacked for wearing waist-length faux locks at the 2015 Oscars. E! host Giuliana Rancic said Zendaya looked as if she "smells like patchouli oil . . . or weed', an opionion that required the Disney star to set her straight on social media: “There is already harsh criticism of African-American hair in society without the help of ignorant people who choose to judge others based on the curl of their hair.”

The response was harsh for a young black woman who prides herself on being a positive role model for girls and young women seeking their own self-identity, while avoiding controversy.

“As a black woman, as a light-skinned black woman, it’s important that I’m using my privilege, my platform, to show you how much beauty there is in the African-American community,” she said at this year’s Beautycon in New York. “I am Hollywood’s, I guess you could say, acceptable version of a black girl, and that needs to change. We’re vastly too beautiful and too interesting for me to be the only representation of that. What I’m saying—it’s about creating those opportunities. Sometimes you have to create those paths. And that’s with anything: Hollywood, art, whatever.”

"I always tell my theatrical manager, 'Anytime it says they’re looking for white girls, send me out. Let me get in the room. Maybe they’ll change their minds.'"

On the topic of white girls, Zendaya is excited by a new project created with her in mind. The movie 'A White Lie' is the story of Anita Hemmings, the first black woman to graduate from Vassar College by passing as white. The actor is starring and producing the film with Reese Witherspoon. and her 'Hello Sunshine' partner Lauren Neustadter.