Who is Cobra Kai actress and Taekwondo world record holder Rayna Vallandingham?
COBRA Kai has dropped the final part of its sixth season and, in turn, has welcomed some brand new faces to the show.
One of whom is actress and Taekwondo world record holder Rayna Vallandingham – here’s everything we know about her.
Who is Rayna Vallandingham?
In part two of Cobra Kai’s season six, Rayna Vallandingham stepped into the role of Zara Malik alongside newcomers Lewis Tan, who appeared in Mortal Kombat, and Barbie star Patrick Luwis.
Vallandingham’s character is a member of the Iron Dragons at the Sekai Taikai tournament.
Born on January 18, 2003, the Netflix star is a fourth-degree black belt in Taekwondo who earned her first-degree at only six years old.
And Vallandingham, from California, has been hugely popular in the online world since launching her YouTube channel in April 2014.
With a subscriber count of over 650,000 (as of November 2024), the star shows fans her incredible martial arts moves – including various aerial moves as well as what she gets up to at her gym.
The star has been able to launch her career from her incredible work, with one video showing her floor her own coach with an incredible kick.
Accumulating over 15 million views on the video, Vallandingham made a jokey apology to her coach in the caption.
What does Rayna Vallandingham hold world records for?
Vallandingham boasts numerous world records and titles in Taekwondo.
She is a 13-time world champion with an unbelievable fourth-degree black belt.
At only eight years old, the star got the title of the youngest black belt world champion and won the Triple Crown at the 2011 World Championships.
The actress and athlete is the youngest world champion to clinch an unbelievable six championships and she’s won 11 American Taekwondo Association world titles.
These include the triple crown in tradition forms, weapons and sparring.
What music video has Rayna Vallandingham been in?
In 2018, Vallandingham featured in Shawn Mendes‘ music video for the hit track Youth, alongside fellow singer-songwriter Khalid.
She is seen in the video showing off her incredible martial arts skills alongside other talented individuals.
The music video has accumulated millions of views and likes.
What is Cobra Kai?
Cobra Kai is set 34 years after the original 1984 Karate Kid film, as it explores the character of Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka).
It looks at the events from his perspective after he makes the decision to reopen the infamous karate dojo.
After it debuted in 2018, the show became an instant hit, drawing millions of fans to the streamer.
The sixth series dropped on the platform in July 2024 with five new episodes, and viewers loved the show more than ever.
Less than a week after the release, the new instalment racked up a whopping 14.8 million views.
Season six is being released in three parts, with the episodes six-ten released on November 15, 2024.
But fans will need to wait until 2025 for the final five installments.
They are set to drop on Netflix on February 13.
Season five landed an impressive 100% score on film and TV review website, Rotten Tomatoes after it landed on the streamer in 2022.
And in 2024 audiences still rate the show incredibly highly, with 98% of audiences recommending it.