Flying Down To Rio

South America looks good on Zendaya. After more than a year of heading her own Tv series, wowing on red carpets and ruling her social media queendom, the actress–singer takes some well-deserved R&Rin Brazil before doing it all again.

- Cori Murray

As well planned as group trips can be, there’s always that one incident that makes every one say, “Really?!” Zendaya Coleman’s closest family and friends are asking her just that as their minivan zigzags through the crowded streets of Rio de Janeiro. “We’re in Brazil and you want pizza?” asks Kamil McFadden, her K.C. Undercover costar and real-life friend. Zendaya replies, “Yes, and I want Pizza Hut.” But in Rio, a quest for Pizza Hut feels like a search for the Holy Grail. McFadden, who spots a local pizzeria, deadpans, “I’m going in there, getting a pizza and writing Pizza Hut on the box.” Everyone erupts in laughter except for Zendaya, who in a Little Bill voice says jokingly, “That will not do.”

Twenty minutes later, the driver makes a pit stop in the middle of Rua Francisco Otaviano in Copacabana, and within seconds Zendaya, her dad, Kazembe Ajamu, and McFadden walk up to the Pizza Hut take-out window. With a hot cheese pizza box now securely cradled in her arms, Zendaya—5 feet 10 inches tall, with a chic, messy top bun and wearing ripped jeans and a tee—walks the street unnoticed.

That was not the case hours earlier when she stood on line at the Museu do Amanhã (Museum of Tomorrow), South America’s newest culture center dedicated to science. Forgoing VIP service, Zendaya and her group arrived at the museum ready for their first Rio adventure. The modest ten-minute wait turned into a superfan moment, complete with selfies with the celebrity, for two young men whose only understandable squeals were “Zendaya” and “Disney Channel.” A group of students, now loudly whispering in Portuguese, has spotted her as well but it’s too late for a photo op, as the star slips into a dark room and finds her seat for the tour’s introductory film.