Zendaya to play Aaliyah in new movie
The life of late singer, Aaliyah, is to be re-told in upcoming TV movie, Aaliyah: Princess Of R&B, and the actress down to play her as been confirmed as teen star Zendaya.
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She told her 4.5 million Twitter followers after the news broke: "She's been an inspiration and influence in my whole career, her talent still shines brighter then ever, all I wanna do is honour her.
"Show how much she accomplished in only 22 years....she's beautiful inside and there will never be another Aaliyah, I just hope to share her beautiful story, and make her proud up in heaven #babygirl #forever #OneInAMillion."
The project is based on the book, Aaliyah: More Than A Woman, and is set to air in the autumn.
In the meantime, find out more about Zendaya with our 10 handy facts below.
• Zendaya's full name is Zendaya Maree Stoermer Coleman, born September 1, 1996. Believe it or not, people born in 1996 are 17 now. No, really.
• She's most famous for her role in the Disney series Shake It Up, in which she plays Rocky Blue alongside Bella Thorne. It launched in November 2010 and ended in 2013, after three seasons.
• Even though she's only 17, she's already been down the reality TV route; having participated in the 16th season of Dancing With The Stars. She placed runner-up.
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• She briefly had a go at a pop career, although her success has been relatively quiet. Her self-titled debut album peaked at No 51, and its lead single Replay No 40.
• The name Zendaya derives from the phrase "to give thanks" in Shona, which is a Bantu language native to the Shona people of Zimbabwe.
• She has featured in a Beats by Dr Dre commercial alongside Lil Wayne and Lebron James, to the tune of will.i.am and Britney Spears' Scream And Shout.
• She's a Radio Disney Music Awards winner; taking home the 'You've Got Swag! - Artist With The Best Style' prize earlier this year.
• Zendaya has also starred alongside Bella Thorne in a Disney Channel one-off teen drama called Frenemies.
• She's a pretty good piano player.
• She reportedly lives in Los Angeles with her family and her dog; a Giant Schnauzer named Midnight.