If you’re new to this site, please know that we know that whenever Zendaya shows up anywhere, she will be best dressed. Which is why she’s no longer eligible – it’s just not fair to anybody else.

She showed up at the Emmys last night in custom Prada and Mikimoto pearls and a pixie and… well… at this point hyperbole wouldn’t be enough.

And it’s not just the dress and the jewels, it’s every detail of the look, including the makeup. Look. At. Her. Face.

@rollingstone

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But it’s not just the styling that makes Zendaya so culturally significant. It’s her work, returning to the Emmys as a nominee for her performance in the third and final season (hopefully) of Euphoria after dominating the summer box office, and ahead of more box office success at the end of the year with Dune 3. And the fact that she’s half of a generational couple, even though we shouldn’t put that pressure on them. On that note, before she arrived last night, Law Roach was trouble-making on the red carpet:

On the one hand, Law started all of this, also on the red carpet, at the beginning of the year, when he casually shrugged and confirmed that Zendaya and Tom Holland were already married and we missed it. On the other hand… like… we just witnessed two whole press tours for two mega movies and two wedding bands and Tom on every street corner referring to his “wife” so Law might just be clowning here.

Because even when they were very much together, as in engaged, Tom wasn’t coming to award shows with Zendaya and sitting with her at the table, and appearing in every cutaway that the control room could rationalise to station a dedicated cameraperson a few feet away from them.

It was giving married couple energy all night – during the commercial breaks when they were talking to Mark Ruffalo and Chase Infiniti and Gary Oldman and after the Emmys when they were making their way out. It’s cute the way she looks back and later reaches back for his hand.

I’m looking here at a husband as the plus one on this night, not a fiancé, not a boyfriend.

And in the case of a wife being a plus one, there’s Taylor Swift. Who was not at the Emmys but was, sort of, at the Emmys even though she was actually in Kansas City to watch Travis Kelce play in his first game of the season.

Taylor and Mariska Hargitay are close. And since Mariska was hosting they made a whole edit about whether or not Taylor would be there. I like the idea of sending up the Swifties with an evidence board and increasingly unhinged connections… Naturally Swifties have already spent hours studying the joke board, looking to see whether or not Taylor embedded any clues –  but this went on for far too long. Then again, where Taylor is concerned, that also tracks. She’s never been good at taking notes, and she’s so powerful now that nobody can give her any.

But who was really thinking she’d be at the Emmys and miss the home opener, her first time in the suite after marriage? Here she is reacting to a big gain, apparently his longest reception in five years.

I’m more interested in this conversation between Taylor and Tom Cruise. He was at their wedding in July. He also went to The Eras Tour at least once. And they might be seeing much more of each other through award season if Tom’s performance in Digger lives up to the hype, although at this point, I’d say that Taylor has a better shot at a nomination than he does. The best actor category is f-cking stacked this year with John Malkovich, Matt Damon, Ryan Gosling, and Andrew Scott starting the fall with all kinds of momentum, and John Turturro picking up some buzz too. Tom posted a video yesterday with no caption, presumably a scene from Digger. And I’m not sure it’s doing anything to address the confusion over this film. But hanging out with Taylor Swift as he moves into heavy promotion for Digger isn’t bad strategy at all – if there’s anyone who would understand business first, it’s her.

Speaking of confusion and the business of selling Digger, he’s actually doing a cover interview… on camera? GQ has the exclusive. The non-answer to this question is actually crazy. We’ll get more into this tomorrow.

Zendaya at the at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, September 14, 2026

Photo credits: JILL CONNELLY/EPA/Matt Baron/BEI/Chelsea Lauren/Rob Latour/Shutterstock

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