In the infamous words of Lady Gaga, Zendaya is “talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular” et al. Although this accolade is certifiably deserving, it’s only proving what stans knew all along.

Taking to Instagram to share news of the recognition and her accompanying TIME Magazine cover, (yes you read that right, our girl is a cover star wearing Valentino no less), Zendaya humbly captioned the post “A great honour. Thank you TIME for this acknowledgment, and to Denis for his kind words. This means the world to me”.

Zendaya is one of five cover stars for this issue, joining the likes of Marvel Star Simu Liu, hip-hop icon Mary J. Blige and the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley.

Accompanying the “innovator” accolade was a short essay penned by Dune director Denis Villeneuve.

“To me, Zendaya is a thousand years old. She has already lived many lives before this one. And yet, she is as young as springtime”, the director wrote.

“By some inextricable paradox, she also gives the impression of having been born sometime far into the future. She is timeless, and she can do it all,” he added.

Villeneuve continues to explain that Zendaya is the “muse of extremes”, which couldn’t be a more fitting explainer for the star.

It’s safe to say that 2021 was Zendaya’s year.

Ridding of the high of winning her first ever Emmy Award and the success of Euphoria’s first season, Zendaya proved her…