Inflammatory claims that lay naked schism between Zendaya and the half-sister even her associates did not know existed

She has not put a foot wrong since rising to fame in Spider-Man, where she met her British fiance Tom Holland. Swiftly becoming Hollywood’s favourite – and most glamorous – girl-next-door, Zendaya has always seemed unusually approachable and, well, normal.

But has her picture-perfect mask slipped? For yesterday a 51-year-old half-sister emerged from the shadows complaining of neglect and launching a blistering attack on her famous sibling’s character.

Latonja Coleman shares a father with the former Disney star, 28, but claims they have seen each other only once in the past seven years, adding that, when they did, she was ‘treated like a fan’.

Latonja even accused the actress of not being there for her when she found out she had cancer. ‘I tried to get in touch with Zendaya when I was diagnosed with cancer, but family members slammed the door on me,’ she told a website in America.

‘I went through cancer and chemotherapy all by myself with no help, no support. I just want to know why Zendaya wasn’t there for me.’

Fans of the Dune actress, self-titled ‘Z-Waggers’, will be shocked to hear these claims, which seem so far removed from the sweet reputation she enjoys. Latonja was born decades before Zendaya’s parents met. Their father, Kazembe Ajamu Coleman, had her with his teenage sweetheart Michelle Mackintosh when he was just 14 years old, and then went on to have five more children with another partner before meeting Zendaya’s mother, Claire Stoermer, a fellow schoolteacher.

Zendaya is the only child from that relationship, which ended in divorce in 2016, though she has insisted that her parents are ‘still homies’, meaning they’re as close as ever. Her dad is her manager.

In the past, the actress has also maintained that five of her older half-siblings are her ‘inspiration’, and her many nephews and nieces ‘borrowed children’.

But never, it seems, has she talked publicly about Latonja, who calls herself the ‘black sheep’ of the family. Indeed, behind the scenes, there appears to have been a secret ongoing rift with her, which Zendaya no doubt wishes to keep from her 184 million Instagram followers.

The Mail can reveal that London-based friends of the actress, who have known her since she moved to the capital in 2023, had no knowledge of Latonja.

One said: ‘Zendaya has never spoken about her half-sister. I don’t think many people even knew that she was in the picture. She certainly hasn’t been to the UK.

‘But one thing is for sure, she won’t like this outburst in the slightest – she’s fiercely protective over her private life, especially when it comes to family.’

Zendaya moved from her hometown of Oakland in California to Holland’s home in Kingston-Upon-Thames, west London, seven years after the couple met on the set of Spider-Man in 2016.

Until now, it was not known when the pair started dating, but Latonja has confirmed it was 2018, when she first met Holland at a family Thanksgiving dinner.

She said: ‘They’ve been together for quite some time and I actually met him on Thanksgiving of 2018. He’s really, really cool. He’s down to earth and my family likes him. They just look like an odd couple because he’s so short and she’s so tall. But other than that, I think he’s the one for her.’

This was, perhaps, the kindest thing Zendaya’s older half-sister had to say about her.

The next time Latonja saw her, when Zendaya was again with Holland, was seven years later, at their grandmother’s funeral on January 17 this year.

The meeting felt decidedly frosty, Latonja recalled.

She said: ‘I saw Zendaya at my grandmother’s funeral. I hadn’t seen her since Thanksgiving 2018 when we all went to her house. When I tried to talk to her, she just gave me a one-arm hug. It felt like I was just a fan.’ 

Latonja is believed to be speaking out now because she fears the coldness of her reception means she won’t be invited to her half-sister’s upcoming wedding.

Despite declaring ‘I will love my sister no matter what’, an insider told the Mail that if it’s a stronger relationship Latonja is after, public condemnation is not the way to go about it.

Sources close to the actress said: ‘Latonja has not really been part of the family for years and actually fell out with the father, so there’s no reason for Zendaya to stay in touch with her.

‘There’s a big age gap between Zendaya and Latonja and they don’t really have a lot in common, but speaking out now will certainly not help rebuild bridges.’

Rather bitterly, Latonja continued: ‘Zendaya is very active with my other sister and brother’s kids, but my grandkids don’t even know her. They think she’s just from the Disney Channel.’

Zendaya found fame aged 14 when she starred as Rocky Blue in the children’s show Shake It Up.

Following her success at Disney, her father quit his job as a teacher to become her manager and she was cast as MJ in the Marvel Spider-Man franchise, opposite her now-fiance.

Her mother stayed in Oakland, working as a teacher and helping to look after her five half-siblings, Katianna, Annabella, Kaylee, Austin and Julien.

What makes Latonja’s criticism more pointed is the importance Zendaya has always placed on family. The two-time Emmy winner often credits their support for her success, insisting on the Ellen Degeneres show in 2016: ‘I’ve got to give it to my parents. I’m really lucky to have the parents that I have. They just have always instilled in me those core values that I think I have to carry with me through everything. 

‘Having such a big, grounded family, I realised as you get older how important that is.

‘I give it up to them, I give it up to my family.’

Latonja, however, suggests there is a different side to the Coleman clan, claiming that because she is from Kazembe’s first relationship, she has been ‘pushed out’.

‘I don’t even tell people any more that she’s my sister,’ she said. ‘I’m ashamed of my dad and how he raised us. But Zendaya is different. She’s my sister, and I love her no matter what.’

But in the interview with The US Sun, Latonja then went on to claim Zendaya wasn’t there for her when she was struck down with cancer – though she is also unsure the Hollywood star ever knew she was ill.

‘[I believe] they never told her [I had cancer], but I’m sure she found out later,’ she said.

‘I don’t want her money. I just want to be in her life, to show her that I love her and support her.

‘Whatever I can contribute to her life, I would love to do it.’

Zendaya’s representatives were contacted for comment.

Whatever the truth of the claims, they will not make comfortable reading for the star. And perhaps her halo has lost a little of its lustre.