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I've only seen Zendaya in the Spiderman movies and Dune, so I can't speak to her acting chops, but I can't disagree more on the idea that people are pretending that she's attractive. IMHO she's easily the most attractive prominent Hollywood actress right now. Maybe Rebecca Ferguson and Gal Gadot might come close? In any case, purely based on looks and ignoring any acting skills, her apparent popularity seems entirely justified to me.
I can't even think of there being any particular hubbub about her race in casting decisions. Even in the super hero movies she was in - a genre notorious for filmmakers accusing fans of bigotry in recent years - her casting as the character-equivalent to the traditionally red-headed white woman Mary-Jane was basically a non-issue, similar to Sam Jackson being Nick Fury.
If you think Zendaya is hotter than Gal Gadot you need to get your eyes checked. She's not unattractive, but she has a very underdeveloped body for an adult woman. She's mid-pubescent for a healthy, on track to be very attractive, woman.
Gal Gadot has a very similar body, i.e. very flat, no?. She also has a very similarly 'needs proper angle to be attractive' face. Gadot's side profile is awful, for instance. I was under the impression she was only considered so attractive because she expresses a lot of jewish phenotypic traits very attractively. Unlike someone like Natalie Portman who is very attractive but in a very gentile way.
Both Gadot and Portman look extremely Jewish. Actually Portman looks more Jewish, because Gadot could theoretically be like half-Greek, half-Levantine or perhaps even half-Balkan.
Hard disagree. Portman looks more jewish now in her older years, but young Portman doesn't look jewish at all.
This is Portman in 1999 when she was 18, she looks very Jewish to me.
The front of the nose a bit but on the sides I don't see it.
Many Ashkenazim have straight noses with no hump, it’s not actually a particularly Jewish trait. What European ethnicity do you think she looks like? If I met her (in the ‘99 picture) I’d assume immediately she was Jewish unless there was strong evidence to the contrary (like us being in a rural village in Austria, or her having a crucifix necklace).
Many Ashkenazim have the opposite of a straight nose with no hump. The collection of jewish facial features that make up what could be considered a jewish face are very much not on display on Portman. Especially in that sideshot. I'd assume she were Eastern-European. Slovenian or something.
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