18 August,2026 05:51 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Zendaya and her doppelganger. Pics via AFP and X
A woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Zendaya has caught the internet's attention after a video of her went viral online. But before the internet starts spinning another celebrity conspiracy theory, there's a fairly simple explanation - she is a Zendaya lookalike, not the Hollywood actor herself. The actor was last seen in Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The footage comes from a French YouTube series that brings together celebrity doubles and ranks them based on their resemblance. The clip was later shared on X, with the user saying, "How do I convince you that this is not Zendaya? Could it be her doppelganger?"
However, the original context of the footage makes it clear that the woman is appearing as a lookalike.
In the viral clip, the woman is seen with curly hair, wearing a black top and standing in front of red curtains while speaking into a vintage-style microphone. Her facial features, hair and overall appearance bear a striking resemblance to Zendaya, making it easy to see why the footage caught attention.
The video is linked to French YouTuber Amixem's "On juge 50 sosies" series, a format centred around people who look like famous celebrities. The series debuted in March 2024, with another edition following in July that year, and has since featured more celebrity lookalikes.
So, rather than being a mysterious case of mistaken identity, the woman is simply taking part in a show dedicated to celebrity doubles.
One French-speaking user even pointed out the obvious context, identifying the woman as the "sosie de Zendaya" essentially Zendaya's lookalike. Recently, Zendaya slammed over 3,000-year-old Iranian earrings at The Odyssey event.
Interestingly, the woman in the viral French clip is not the only person known online for resembling Zendaya. Whitney Brown, who goes by Ciggybae on TikTok, gained attention after social media users began comparing her appearance to Zendaya, particularly the actor's look as Rue in Euphoria. Brown began posting on TikTok in 2022 and later appeared on Kai Cenat's stream in 2023, where he jokingly introduced her as Zendaya.
However, Brown is not the woman featured in the viral Amixem footage. For now, the viral video appears to be less about a celebrity mystery and more about just how convincing a good celebrity resemblance can be. Zendaya, meanwhile, has no connection to the replacement theory being circulated alongside the clip. Also, Tom Holland and Zendaya recently got married in a lavish three-day wedding.
