Rayna Vallandingham takes internet by storm after ‘Cobra Kai’

Rayna Vallandingham has recently taken the internet by storm for her role as Zara Malik in upcoming season of Cobra Kai.

Rayna, who is the daughter of an Indian-origin mother and a Dutch-origin father, surprisingly looked nothing like a fully Indian or Dutch.

Rayna Vallandingham in Cobra Kai

Rayna lived most of her life in California and therefore she never felt “desi” enough while growing up.

So, the character of Zara Malik in Cobra Kai was difficult for her initially.

“I had to put on an Indian accent for it,” said the 21-year-old in a new interview with Vogue India.

Rayna told the outlet, “I kept thinking about how my nana and nani would speak, focusing on capturing those little nuances.”

“I got this role a month before Nani passed away, and it later felt like everything had come full circle,” stated the actress and marital art star.

However, before joining entertainment industry, Rayna is a fourth-degree taekwondo black belt, who has 13 American Taekwondo Association world titles in traditional combat and weapons over the years.

Rayna Vallandingham’s world champion journey

Rayna started practicing taekwondo at the age of two because of her grandfather.

“I trained all day, every day, even before I started kindergarten,” recalled Rayna in a new interview with Vogue India.

Rayna revealed she was “a shy kid” so her parents enrolled her into marital arts class “to help me break out of my shell”.

After Rayna joined the school, she would come back from school and return for martial arts training in the evening.

Finally at the age of nine, Rayna broke the world record for the most world titles won in a single year, six in total.

She also earned a ‘triple crown’ by winning first place in all three taekwondo categories including traditional forms, traditional weapons and sparring.

Rayna however took a break from marital arts after entering her teens and the reason was, she wanted to be a normal kid.

But she started getting bullied and a teacher advised then suggested her to get back into marital arts.

“I did, but I felt like I’d lost my momentum,” said the actress and content creator.

Rayna Vallandingham’s social media presence

Rayna has so far garnered around 3.7 million followers on her Instagram where she often shares snippets from her personal and professional lives.