Rayna Vallandingham

Rayna Vallandingham (born January 18, 2003) is an American martial artist, actress, and social media influencer. She is best known for her role as Zara Malik in the sixth season of the Netflix series Cobra Kai. Vallandingham is set to appear in the Street Fighter reboot film as Juli.

Early life Vallandingham was born to a mother of Indian origin and a father of Dutch origin.

Martial arts career Vallandingham began practicing taekwondo at the age of 2, encouraged by her grandfather.

Vallandingham won her first world championship title in taekwondo at the age of 8 at the American Taekwondo Association (ATA) World Championships held in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 2011. She had earned her first black belt two years earlier, at the age of 6, and went on to win multiple world titles in traditional forms, weapons, sparring, and creative weapons categories.

Over her career, Vallandingham has earned 13 American Taekwondo Association titles across traditional combat and weapons forms, including the bo staff and nunchaku.

Acting career

Early career After winning the XMA Forms world championships, Vallandingham moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. At the age of 10, she made her film debut in Underdog Kids as Leticia Hernandez, directed by six-time taekwondo black belt and actor Phillip Rhee. The film was released on July 7, 2015. Vallandingham appeared in the music videos for "Youth" (2018) by Shawn Mendes featuring Khalid, and "Baby Don't Hurt Me" (2023) by David Guetta featuring Anne-Marie and Coi Leray.

Cobra Kai In 2024, Vallandingham made her television debut in Netflix's martial arts series Cobra Kai. She plays a supporting antagonist in the final season, portraying Zara Malik, a social media influencer and skilled martial artist who serves as co-captain of the Iron Dragons dojo, appearing alongside Lewis Tan as Sensei Wolf and Patrick Luwis as Axel Kovačević. The Iron Dragons were introduced during the Sekai Taikai tournament as the defending champions and an undefeated rival team. In Part 3 of Season 6, Vallandingham reprised her role as Zara Malik, with the character suffering her first defeat—against Tory Nichols, portrayed by Peyton List—in the Sekai Taikai girls' finals.

Personal life As an advocate for women in sports, Vallandingham seeks to challenge stereotypes in martial arts, a field traditionally dominated by men. She embraces phrases such as "kick like a girl" and "punch like a girl" as positive expressions of strength and skill. In interviews, Vallandingham has explained that her professional decisions are guided by these values and her vision of what it means to be a female martial artist.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2015 Underdog Kids Leticia Hernandez Film debut 2021 Pawns Jade Short film 2026 Juli Post-production

Television

Music videos Year Artist Title Role 2018 Shawn Mendes "Youth" Herself 2023 David Guetta Anne-Marie, Coi Leray "Baby Don't Hurt Me" Herself Lenny Tavárez "Felicidades" Herself