"I just want to encourage people to be who they are"
About this Quote
The subtext is about visibility and safety. For young fans watching someone navigate fame, race, body scrutiny, and relentless aesthetic policing, “be who they are” isn’t an abstract self-help slogan. It’s a response to the algorithmic reality that rewards conformity, and to a celebrity economy that turns authenticity into a marketing strategy. Zendaya sits in a rare position where she can model controlled vulnerability: relatable enough to be believable, disciplined enough to survive. That tension makes her encouragement feel earned rather than performative.
Context matters: she’s become a style icon and prestige-TV star while keeping a relatively scandal-free, measured public persona. The quote functions as a soft leadership statement for a generation trained to curate itself. It’s not radical in content; it’s radical in the implied refusal to treat selfhood as a trend cycle.
Quote Details
| Topic | Confidence |
|---|---|
| Source | Interview with The Hollywood Reporter (2017) |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Zendaya. (2026, January 30). I just want to encourage people to be who they are. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-just-want-to-encourage-people-to-be-who-they-are-184664/
Chicago Style
Zendaya. "I just want to encourage people to be who they are." FixQuotes. January 30, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-just-want-to-encourage-people-to-be-who-they-are-184664/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I just want to encourage people to be who they are." FixQuotes, 30 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-just-want-to-encourage-people-to-be-who-they-are-184664/. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.





