Zendaya’s fashion has been dissected endlessly, and Law Roach’s genius for turning her into a walking style moment gets talked about constantly. What gets far less attention is the man responsible for the hair that completes nearly every one of those iconic looks, and once you learn his story, it becomes clear he deserves just as much credit for the magic.
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Coree Moreno grew up in Prince George’s County, Maryland, and his path into hairstyling started at home, not in a salon. He began styling his younger sister’s hair every morning before school, a task his mom eventually turned into his weekly chore once she realized just how good he actually was at it. That early responsibility turned into something much bigger by the time he reached middle school, when his parents cleared out an entire room in their house to build him an at-home salon so he could keep practicing and refining his skills. While some fan accounts point to age 13 as the moment he truly found his calling, Moreno himself has traced the origin of his craft back even earlier, to around age 11, when doing his sister’s hair stopped being a chore and started becoming a genuine passion.
From there, Moreno pursued his training formally, graduating from Grahmn Webb Academy, a now closed hair school based in Washington, D.C. He described himself as largely self-taught, crediting the environment of working inside D.C.’s top salons early on as a period that let him grow under the supervision of people he trusted, something he has called a genuine blessing for his development as an artist. That local, hands on foundation is part of what makes his rise so notable, since his entry into Hollywood did not come through a flashy shortcut but through years of building real technical skill first.
The turning point that took Moreno from respected local stylist to Hollywood name came when acclaimed hair artist Vernon François took him under his wing. That mentorship opened the door into celebrity hairdressing, and Moreno has since built a client roster that includes Zendaya, Cynthia Erivo, Lil Nas X, Jodie Turner-Smith, Chase Infiniti, and Shaboozey, for whom he has worked as a groomer. But it is his ongoing work with Zendaya that has turned him into one of the most talked about names in the hair world right now.
Moreno’s most viral stretch of work came during Zendaya’s press tour for “The Odyssey” in the summer of 2026, a run that generated a wave of social media buzz strong enough to push his Instagram following past 50,000 and rack up millions of likes across fashion outlets sharing his looks. Working alongside Law Roach on styling and Ernesto Casillas on makeup, Moreno helped build out what Roach described as an intentional exercise in method dressing, where every hair and fashion choice functioned as an extension of Zendaya’s role in the film rather than a separate red carpet moment. Moreno leaned fully into Greek mythology throughout the tour, at one point crafting an ethereal fishtail braid inspired by the Caryatids of the Erechtheion for the New York premiere, and describing the overall creative direction as his “inner fairy boy’s dream mood board brought to life,” built around undone beauty, natural textures, and effortless femininity.
That instinct for concept driven hairstyling did not start with “The Odyssey,” either. For Zendaya’s 2025 Golden Globes appearance, her first time back on that red carpet since 2016, Moreno crafted a chin grazing bob designed as a modern, deconstructed take on 1950s Old Hollywood glamour. He built the look around hair health first, opting for a wet roller set using minimal heat products to protect Zendaya’s hair while still achieving a style that would hold up for the entire night. That same attention to detail carried through her honey blonde era during the “Challengers” press tour the year before, another example of Moreno treating each project as its own fully realized concept rather than repeating a signature look.
Moreno has been candid about what actually drives his work behind the chair. He has described his process as one where Zendaya typically arrives with a reference already in mind, leaving it to him to bring that vision fully to life, something he has called the challenge of unveiling her deepest hair desires. He credits her clarity and openness with intention as part of what makes their collaboration work so well. More broadly, Moreno has said his consistent goal throughout his career has been to spread knowledge and awaken understanding within elite, A-list circles that great hair does not require compromising its health, a philosophy that shows up clearly in his product choices, from Bellami extensions in custom shades to gentle, low heat styling techniques designed to protect hair even under the pressure of a packed press tour schedule.
The next time a Zendaya red carpet moment goes viral, it is worth remembering that the styling credit belongs to more than one person. Law Roach may be the name most associated with turning her into a fashion icon, but Coree Moreno is the one translating that same vision into every braid, curl, and cut that completes the look, and his path from doing his sister’s hair in Prince George’s County to shaping some of the most talked about red carpet moments in recent memory is proof that his contribution deserves just as much of the spotlight.
