has secured her place in television’s hall of fame as the youngest black actress to earn over $1 million per episode, that's about £773k each time. Zendaya’s leading role as Rue Bennet on drama series, , will see her earn millions, in addition to her credit as executive producer.

The 28-year-old's HBO renegotiated contract places her in the ranks of only one other black television actress to earn over $1 million per episode: . Washington previously held the title of highest paid black television actress for her role in long-running series , earning a reported $800,000 (£618,000) per episode.

Washington went on to break her own record a few years later, earning an estimated $1 million per episode for acting and producing the series . Washington and , who co-starred and co-produced the series, earned similar pay for their roles in the series, though the discrepancy between black and white leading actresses has been well-documented.

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Fellow Shonaland actress, , took home a £15 million annual salary in 2018 for her role on . In addition to earning £444,000 per episode, Pompeo also took home a seven-figure signing bonus and equity points in the series estimated to be worth £10 million.

Pompeo reflected on the airing of her annual salary in an interview with on the earlier this week. Pompeo explained: “My manager said at the time something to me that literally hit me like a brick. He said: ‘Are you ready to be unpopular?’”

There was mixed reaction to Pompeo’s public disclosure of her earnings, with many calling out the fact women of colour are typically paid less for leading roles. , who starred in another Shona Rhines production has been vocal about being paid less than her white co-stars.

In a now viral video, Davis shared at the 2018 Women in the World conference that she has had to “hustle for her worth”. Davis herself earned £193,000 per episode for her leading role in HTGAWM, still ranking among the highest paid actresses in the .

Zendaya’s new HBO contract now places her amongst the ranks of other white television actresses in the one-million-per-episode club, including for The Handmaid’s Tale, for The Big Bang Theory, for Sex and the City and and Reese Witherspoon for Big Little Lies.

In 2020, at age 24, Zendaya’s role in Euphoria also saw her become the of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, winning for her role as Rue Bennett in the HBO drama series Euphoria. After winning the award again at the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards, she became the youngest two-time acting winner.

The third season of Euphoria is set to air in 2026, with production only commencing . According to HBO Head of Drama, Francesca Orsi, the upcoming season will likely mark the end of the series.

Orsi told : “We’ve talked about it, I don’t think anything is over until it’s over, but it’s been discussed that this is the end,” she said. “I think you will be very satisfied with this season, and how we bring each of the characters’ whole narrative.”

Fans of the show are that stars like Storm Reid and Barbie Ferreirra and the will be missing from the upcoming season. But , Rosalia and other big names are set to make cameos.