Eleven-Year Old Rising Star Makes her Mark in the Entertainment Industry
Meet Zion Broadnax—the eleven-year-old star who’s on the road to becoming a whirlwind sensation in the entertainment industry.
With leading roles in a BET Christmas film “Holly Day”, a national commercial with Frito-Lay, and now acting along Academy Award Winning Jamie Foxx and Meagan Good as their daughter in the new Netflix movie, “Day Shift”, Broadnax might be a familiar face on your television screens lately. In an interview with the Los Angeles Sentinel, she told us all about her start in acting and entertainment, as well as her starring new role on Netflix.
Zion smiled as she told us her love for acting started while attending The Heart Art Academy. “Ms. Vernee Watson (her teacher) saw that there was more to my talents and told my parents I was meant for this. My parents waited until I was a little bit older to start, but here I am, today.”
As a native of Los Angeles, who was born to perform, her talents don’t just stop at acting. Broadnax initially started performing in the arts, dancing under the direction of the Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA), where she performed in the Hot Chocolate Nutcracker, documented on Netflix. She eventually stepped into acting, studying with the Multi-Emmy Winning actress Vernee Watson, who co-founded the Heart Art Academy with Eartha Robinson.
Broadnax reflected on her time studying under Allen at DADA, saying, “The love of music and different cultures of dance I studied (African, Hip Hop, Ballet, and Tap Dancing) allowed me to overcome my shyness, giving me the ability to adapt my current talent for acting.”
Recently, Broadnax has been in two hit movies, “Holly Day”, where she plays Little Holly, and Netflix’s “Day Shift”, where she plays Paige, the daughter of Bud Jablonski [Jamie Foxx]. “Day Shift” shows the life of Bud, who plays a hardworking dad out to provide for his daughter, meanwhile using a pool-cleaning job as a front from his real job—hunting and killing vampires. The film is a directional debut of J.J. Perry.
“Netflix’s ‘Day Shift’ was such an exciting action-comedy to be a part of! I love becoming different characters, living in different worlds, experiencing things that I haven’t in my own life,” said the actress.
Zion also touched base on how it was working with Jamie Foxx and Megan Good. Meagan plays the character, Jocelyn, Bud’s wife and Paige’s mom in the movie.
“[Jamie Foxx and Meagan Good] were a dream to work with. Jamie was always singing, making new songs, and dancing on set…From Mr. Foxx and Ms. Good to the rest of the cast and production team – they were all amazing to work with, and it was an honor to be amongst some of the greats in this industry.”
Being a full-time actress on top of a kid isn’t easy. However, Zion stated that she finds her balance by fully encapsulating herself into her downtime.
“I LOVE acting,” she stated, “but, in my downtime, I go hard on having fun. I love spending time with my cousins and friends.”
She also shared some advice to those looking to follow in her footsteps, stating to “make sure you have a true passion for [acting] because if you don’t have that passion, it’ll just feel like a job versus something you actually love.”
It also helps to have other young influences and friends in this industry. Broadnax shared that Marsai Martin is a young actress in the entertainment industry who greatly influences her.
“Not only did she become the youngest Executive Producer in Hollywood, she also encourages me [and those like her] to stay confident in believing in myself and following my dreams. That’s something I try to live by.”
While Zion Broadnax is a new star making her mark in entertainment, she shared that she still just sees herself “as a kid that gets the opportunity to showcase my talents. I’m blessed to get the platform to show them to the world.”
In November, Zion will be playing the character, Malto, in the “Transformer EarthSpark” series on Paramount+ and Nickelodeon. Both, “Holly Day” and “Day Shift” are available on BET and Netflix.
For more information on Zion, and her upcoming projects, check out her Instagram (@zionbroadnax).
