Now an acclaimed Hollywood star, the actress, 27, began her career when she was just 13 as a star of the Disney Channel series Shake It Up, and admitted she has ‘complicated feelings’ about being a child star.

Speaking to British Vogue, Zendaya admitted that after beginning her career at such a young age, she’s now ‘going through her angsty teenage’ phase as an adult, and she’s still ‘figuring out’ her feelings around beginning her career so young.

Zendaya compared her situation to former tennis star Serena Williams, leading to the question of whether she ever considered her future if her acting career didn’t flourish in adulthood.

She said: ‘ Hmm. It’s funny, because it’s something that I’m figuring out now. I don’t know how much of a choice I had. I have complicated feelings about kids and fame and being in the public eye, or being a child actor.

Zendaya has weighed in on the ‘detrimental’ impact of childhood fame, after several Nickelodeon stars detailed their negative ordeals at the channel

The actress began her career when she was just 13 as a star of the Disney Channel series Shake It Up and admitted she has ‘complicated feelings’ about being a child star

‘We’ve seen a lot of cases of it being detrimental… And I think only now, as an adult, am I starting to go, ”Oh, OK, wait a minute: I’ve only ever done what I’ve known, and this is all I’ve known.”

‘I’m almost going through my angsty teenager phase now, because I didn’t really have the time to do it before. I felt like I was thrust into a very adult position: I was becoming the breadwinner of my family very early, and there was a lot of role-reversal happening, and just kind of becoming grown, really.’

After starring in Shake it Up, Zendaya starred in another Disney Channel show, KC Undercover, and by the time the series ended in 2018, she’d already began her movie career with roles in The Greatest Showman and Spiderman: Homecoming.

Many Disney and Nickelodeon stars have struggled to cement a similar acting career to one they had at a young age, with some ending up in a cycle of alcohol and drug abuse that caused many of their lives to go off the rails.

Notable figures who faced such struggles include Drew Barrymore, Amanda Bynes, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears.

Following the release of the Quiet On Set: The Dark Side of Kids docuseries, the inclusion of child stars in the acting industry has come under even greater scrutiny.

Speaking to British Vogue, Zendaya admitted that after beginning her career at such a young age, she’s now ‘going through her angsty teenage’ phase as an adult

The impact of child stardom has come under greater scrutiny after Drake Bell identified himself as the minor who was sexually assaulted by Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck

In the programme, Drake & Josh star Drake Bell, 37, identified himself as the minor who was sexually assaulted by Nickelodeon dialogue coach Brian Peck.

Registered sex offender Peck, 63, served 16 months in prison in 2004-2005 after being arrested on 11 charges – including sodomy, lewd act upon a child 14 or 15 by a person 10 years older, and oral copulation by anesthesia or controlled substance.

Mary Robertson and Emma Schwartz’s four-part docuseries described Brian as ‘very much one of the cogs in the Dan Schneider machine’ as the Nickelodeon executive producer oversaw the crew accused of abuse, sexism, racism and inappropriate behaviour on set.

‘That was probably the darkest part of my career,’ the 58-year-old Emmy nominee – who left Nickelodeon in 2018 – admitted in a 19-minute DanWarp YouTube video on Tuesday.

See the full feature in the May issue of British Vogue, available via digital download and on newsstands from Tuesday 23 April

‘Watching over the past two nights was very difficult. Me facing my past behaviours – some of which are embarrassing and that I regret. I definitely owe some people a pretty strong apology.’

Zendaya is set to star in the steamy upcoming sports film Challengers, alongside Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist.

The sizzling feature from Suspiria and Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, an aspiring tennis star who gives up her career after suffering a major injury.

Instead, she focuses on coaching her colleague Art (Faist), whom she falls in love with and marries, but she finds her feelings dangerously divided after Art is enrolled on the Challenger Tour, where he faces off against Tashi’s ex-boyfriend Patrick (O’Connor).

In a recent interview, Zendaya also revealed that having an intimacy coordinator on set while she filmed Challengers was ‘very helpful,’ and praised them for keeping a ‘safe’ environment on set.