Zendaya wore wigs and played different characters to try and motivate herself to workout

Zendaya has revealed she went to extreme lengths to motivate herself to workout in quarantine, including playing characters and putting on a different wig.

Latest stories

  • Passengers with negative Covid tests turned away from London-bound flight

    Exclusive: ‘That’s not sufficient – you're not getting on his flight,’ Hannah Holland was told

  • Two sausage dogs dance to song in perfect synchronisation

    Story and video from SWNS These two well-trained sausage dogs move in perfect unison as they perform a synchronised dance to 'If you're happy and you know it'. The clever dachshunds' owner Jo Hart, 31, taught Ollie and Hugo

  • Car gets stuck underneath truck's trailer as it turns corner in southern China

    A car became stuck underneath a truck's trailer as it turned a corner in southern China. Dashcam footage, filmed in the city of Foshan in Guangdong Province on January 16, shows the car getting trapped under the bottom of the truck and

  • Dog-walker captures shocking moment huge chunk of cliff face crumbles away

    Story and video from SWNS A dog-walker was left shocked as he was out strolling along the beach with his partner and two dogs - only to see a huge chunk of cliff face crumble away before his eyes. Lee Chamberlain, 33, and his partner Luke

  • The kindest among us are the quietest about it

    When did people start writing Kind Regards at the end of emails? I first noticed it five years ago and found it deeply annoying. Then came Warm Regards, which is possibly OK if you know me I suppose. Lukewarm Regards is probably more fitting if you don’t. This is about more than etiquette – which I confess that I don’t know much about. This is more the infestation of fake affection. Those who constantly say: “Love you babes” are invariably the ones who would happily stab you in the back and quite often wish their partners dead too. We know in our hearts the difference between holding the hands of someone frightened and frail and the emptiness of a mwah mwah air kiss. Just as we know the difference between Kind Regards and actual kindness. Unspeakable kindness has been all around us. Real kindness is not Instagrammable. It is not a display. Individuals have been quietly helping out where they can and whenever they can. In communities volunteers abound. Small acts of benevolence towards neighbours, family or friends, for needs that can range from a thought to a lifeline. Small acts that the NHS, even at its most fraught, still embodies on a daily basis. And yet, there are all sorts of people for whom kindness, rather like, “spirituality”, is a cause for self-congratulation and affirmation. The way they talk about it their “kindness” is rationed rather like a half-hearted food parcel. Take Rupert Grint , who played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter films and who, like his fellow co-star, opposed the views of the woman who has given him his career (JK Rowling). He spoke out for the transgender community, he said at the weekend, because he “just wanted to get some kindness out there”. Well, isn’t that lovely? Are the women who disagree with Rupert and his entourage simply being unkind? Did the immensely philanthropic JK Rowling – who has been threatened with rape and violence for her views – just have an attack of unkindness when she formulated them? We’re currently experiencing an epidemic of #bekind on social media, but what is real kindness? Much of what are considered to be feminine traits are indeed acts of random kindness: clearing up after someone else, listening to them, anticipating their needs. Boris Johnson’s new press secretary Allegra Stratton tells us: “The Prime Minister believes that all of us in our political language and debate need to remember to be civil and kind to each other.” And yet here we are in a situation where we see unkindness at the highest level. We find ourselves in a place where the poor are treated as subhumans who do not know the difference between a couple of cans of beans and a scratch card. They cannot be trusted to feed their own children, hence a voucher system has been replaced by prepared rations and it is left to footballers to tell us they are insultingly inadequate. This view of the poor, not as people with less money than us but as people with fewer morals, is not only unkind but has very real consequences too. Consequences that are at the tip of the iceberg. The government can now choose to do the kind and right thing, or it can choose to further impoverish people by refusing to extend the £20 a week extra in Universal Credit that was given to six million families in the first wave of the pandemic. For many in Westminster this is a taxi fare, for some in this country it is a choice between heating and eating. Kindness is a strange word to be using here; we know the Johnson administration likes to be seen as tough, but not cruel. This government has a need to be liked and yet is being confronted by those who are pointing out the inhumanity of its choices. Kindness is not just for show. Kindness can and should be built and baked into the system. When Cummings left government, the hope was that a different, kinder mood would prevail. It is not a weakness to think of others. Common decency, which we see on display every day among ordinary people, is nothing to be ashamed of. Kindness isn’t a meme or something you can just say and therefore be. Real kindness saves lives and it makes lives worth living. It is a social glue that so many years of austerity and selfishness has destroyed. There is no need to fake it. In the darkest of times many of us have seen the real thing and it is colossal. To mean anything at all, it is not just talking the talk but walking the walk. And that goes for government as much as it does for us individuals.

  • How to *actually* get better at loving yourself

    "Every relationship you have is based off the relationship you have with yourself."

  • This top-rated sports bra garners over 32,000 reviews: 'Best sports bra I’ve ever bought'

    From yoga to HIT classes, this sports bra claims to keep you supported for every workout.

  • Peaky Blinders to end with season 6 as creator confirms spin-off

    Plus everything you need to know about the final season

  • 5 best foods to boost gut health and digestion

    These 5 foods can affect your digestion, weight, mood and even your general wellbeing.

  • There are now more dating app users looking for serious relationships than ever

    Since the start of the pandemic, the number of Hinge users looking for something serious has sky rocketed.

  • "This £9.99 mascara has given me the longest lashes of my entire life"

    I have every reason to be dramatic about Maybelline Sky High...

  • People 'blighted by' long COVID may receive 'better treatment' after scientists get a grasp on phenomenon's cause

    More than 150,000 people in the UK alone are said to endure lingering coronavirus complications.

  • ‘She is crying her eyes out’: British woman stranded at Madrid airport by Covid travel rules

    Exclusive: Lisbet Stone, a mother-of-four from Sussex, is unable to leave the airport by air or land

  • Don't knock Liz Hurley's lockdown hobby – we're all finding odd new ways to entertain ourselves

    If you’ve been following Liz Hurley’s social media feeds for the past few years – and you really should – you’ll know that, in the best possible way, she’s mad as a chair. If she’s not posing in a bikini with Damian, her eerily identical son, she’s posing in a bikini with a Photoshopped family of polar bears for a Christmas message; if she’s not bantering with old flame (and Damian’s godfather) Hugh Grant, she’s holding her spaniel puppy, Ava, like a hostage in front of a bonfire. So it wasn’t entirely surprising last weekend, when Hurley uploaded a photograph of herself holding two jars of homemade “Jan ‘21” marmalade, at her home, Donnington Hall in Herefordshire. “Lockdown has turned me into a demented housewife,” she wrote, “47 jars of marmalade nestling in my larder with more Seville oranges awaiting me.” In normal times, this would be Hurley being Hurley: just another delightful turn from one of Britain’s most eccentric, professionally bored actresses. This being the third national lockdown in nine months, though, means we looked on with renewed admiration and understanding. Who can sniff at 47 jars of marmalade? At least she’s found a hobby. Up and down the country and all across the world, under-occupied people are finding creative ways to pass the time. The sourdough’s proven. All the banana bread’s baked. The hot tubs have frozen over. So, what else is there to do now? Follow Queen Liz, and get in a jam

  • Kim Kardashian looks incredible with her new sun-kissed hair extensions

    Those divorce rumours look good on her

  • 24 hours with... a woman living alone and looking for love

    We follow 35-year-old Amy for one day in lockdown...

  • Paraplegic man scales skyscraper

  • Nobody's Child launches new Pre-Spring collection - and it's available to buy on M&S

    From floral printed dresses, shirts and much more.

  • How alcohol impacts you differently in your 20s compared to your 30s

    From hangovers to mental health...

  • This New App Is The Deliveroo Of Clothes Repairs

    From spring cleans and selling sprees to charity shop drop-offs and TikTok-inspired customisation, time and space away from wearing real clothes everyday (2020 had our loungewear on heavy rotation) allowed us to look at our existing wardrobe with fresh eyes. One thing we’ve been unable to do thanks to nationwide lockdowns, though, is get the clothes in need of a little love repaired and mended. Sure, we’ve invested in moth balls and dust bags, leather wax (those Dr Martens aren’t going to clean themselves!) and ocean-friendly delicate washing liquid, but when it comes to mending, altering and tailoring, sometimes you need a second pair of hands – and a more skilled set at that. Enter: Sojo. The new app, launching today, is here to make your journey to a more sustainable wardrobe a little easier. The premise is simple: Enter your postcode, decide which local seamster looks right for your request, select what you need done, from hems being taken up (a boom for petite folk) to zips being added to dresses, and a bike courier will cycle to collect your piece. Et voila: your piece will be returned within 5 days, ready to wear. The app came about when founder Josephine Philips faced a sartorial problem: “I’d made a move away from fast-fashion and was shopping nearly exclusively second-hand, but I constantly found myself finding amazing clothes that I loved that weren’t my size,” she tells Refinery29 ahead of the launch. “I wanted to alter them to fit me but didn’t know how to sew and thought getting someone else to do it was too much time and effort. In very Gen Z-fashion, I decided it would be fabulous if I could get it done with my phone, in a few simple clicks. I realised this could bring clothing alterations and repairs to so many people which would mean incredible things for the circular fashion movement – and so I was determined to actually build out the idea, to create something that aligned with my values and that could make an impact in making fashion more sustainable.” Though Josephine can’t pinpoint the exact start of her sustainability journey, it was kickstarted by her feminist one. Last year’s news coverage of unpaid highstreet orders and garment workers being left destitute woke up many to the realities of a broken fashion system. “I became aware of how garment workers (who are majority women of colour) were being exploited by the big highstreet fast fashion brands in really shocking ways,” she says. “When I read into it more, I realised I couldn’t support brands that relied on an oppressive business structure and strategy in order to succeed. Because of this, I started to look at different ways to shop, from places like Depop or from sustainable brands, and in doing so I learnt so much more about about all the environmental aspects of fast-fashion – from there, there was no going back really.” By connecting customers to local tailors in an accessible way, not only is Sojo a fantastic resource for those who don’t live near a tailor or are unable to leave the house, but it was important to Josephine to spotlight small businesses that may be struggling in the pandemic, too. “Many of these local seamsters have decades of experience and the services they provide are to the highest standard, but there is a disconnect with them tapping into the younger demographic,” she says. “I didn’t want them and their trade to be a part of the ‘dying high-street’ and thought that their businesses and expertise deserved to be platformed and supported instead of us creating a model that brought our own seamsters ‘in-house.’ Especially in the current climate, I think it’s more important than ever to be supporting them and their businesses as much as possible and I’m glad that Sojo really gets to facilitate that and help their shops stay afloat at the moment and then, hopefully, thrive.” So, what’s first on Josephine’s list of things to get tailored? “It’s no exaggeration to say that I have over ten items in a special ‘alteration’ section of my drawer that I need to use Sojo for,” she says. “I’d say the one I’m most excited about is a Hugo Boss two-piece suit I bought about 6 months ago in a charity shop for £20 that was too big for me – but I knew would be perfect once tailored to my size!” Download Sojo here from today. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?