Zoe Saldaña

Zoë Yadira Saldaña-Perego (née Saldaña Nazario; born June 19, 1978), known professionally as Zoe Saldaña, is an American actress. Saldaña has starred in four of the top 10 highest-grossing films of all time. Her films have grossed more than $15 billion worldwide, making her the highest-grossing actor of all time. Her accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, two Critics Choice Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a SAG Award, and a Cannes Film Festival Award. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023.

A trained dancer, Saldaña began acting career in 1999 with a guest role in Law & Order. Her first film role was in Center Stage (2000) in which she played a ballet dancer. She received early recognition for her work opposite Britney Spears in the road film Crossroads (2002) and for her role in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). Saldaña's breakthrough came as Nyota Uhura in the Star Trek reboot film series (2009–2016) and Neytiri in James Cameron's Avatar film series (2009–present). She gained further recognition for portraying Gamora in five films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, beginning with Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).

In addition to franchise work, Saldaña has also starred films such as the comedy Death at a Funeral (2010), the action thriller Colombiana (2011), the crime drama Out of the Furnace (2013), the animated comedy Missing Link (2019), and the science fiction film The Adam Project (2022). For her portrayal of a lawyer in the French musical crime film Emilia Pérez, she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. On television, she starred in the Netflix romantic drama miniseries From Scratch (2022) and the Paramount+ spy series Lioness (2023–present). As a singer, she has performed original songs for the Avatar film series.

Early life

Zoë Yadira Saldaña Nazario was born on June 19, 1978, in Passaic, New Jersey, and raised in the New York City borough of Queens. Her parents are Aridio Saldaña, who was Dominican, and Asalia Nazario, who is half Dominican and half Puerto Rican. In an interview with Wired, Saldaña has said that she is three-quarters Dominican and one-quarter Puerto Rican. She and her two sisters, Cisely and Mariel, were raised to be bilingual in English and Spanish; the latter was their first language at home. When she was nine, their father was killed in a car accident. Saldaña and her two sisters were sent to live with their late father's family in the Dominican Republic. Their mother remained in New York to earn enough money to pay for her daughters' Dominican private school.

Her widowed mother, Asalia, married Dagoberto Galán, who became the girls' stepfather. They consider him their father. While the whole family lived in the Dominican Republic for a time, after Saldaña's sophomore year in high school, the family returned to New York City to escape political unrest. She completed her early education at Newtown High School in Queens. The majority of her late childhood was spent in Jackson Heights, Queens.

Saldaña discovered her love of dance while living in the Dominican Republic. She was enrolled in the ECOS Espacio de Danza Academy studying forms of dance, but describes ballet as her passion. She told Vanity Fair that she quit ballet because she did not "have the feet", and had too much pride and ambition to just be in the corps de ballet.

In 1995, Saldaña performed with the Faces theater group in Brooklyn. During these years, she performed with the New York Youth Theater. Her appearance in their production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat led a talent agency to recruit her. Her dance training and her acting experience helped her land her first film role, playing ballet student Eva Rodriguez in Center Stage (2000).

Career

1999–2008: Rise to prominence

Saldaña's first on-screen role was a 1999 guest appearance in an episode of Law & Order. Her first film role was in Center Stage (2000), directed by Nicholas Hytner, about dancers at the fictitious American Ballet Academy in New York City. She appeared in the Britney Spears vehicle Crossroads (2002). The film earned negative reviews from critics, but was a box-office success. Saldaña starred in the comedy-drama Drumline (2002), alongside Nick Cannon, earning mixed reviews.

In Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), she played Anamaria, a pirate joining Will Turner and Mr. Gibbs for a chance to confront Jack Sparrow for stealing her ship. She appeared in The Terminal as Dolores Torres, an immigration officer and Star Trek fan, a role helping Saldaña during her portrayal in the Star Trek reboot (2009). In 2004, she had roles in Haven and Temptation; both earned little-to-no box-office success.

In 2005, Saldaña appeared in Constellation, Guess Who with Ashton Kutcher, and Dirty Deeds. She starred in the romantic comedy-dramas Premium (2006) and After Sex (2007). Saldaña starred in Blackout, a television film set in New York City during the Northeast Blackout of 2003. The film premiered at the 2007 Zurich Film Festival, and debuted on BET in 2008. Saldaña had a supporting role as Angie Jones in the action thriller Vantage Point (2008).

2009–2019: Franchise roles

Saldaña appeared in two roles in 2009 that raised her profile considerably. She played Nyota Uhura in Star Trek. The film's director J. J. Abrams asked Saldaña to play the role because he enjoyed her work. She met with Nichelle Nichols to understand the creation of Uhura's background and name of the character. Saldaña's mother was a Star Trek fan, and left her voice-mails during filming, advising on the role. Steven Spielberg had taught her the Vulcan salute five years earlier while he directed her in The Terminal. Star Trek (2009) was a box-office success earning $385.7 million.

Saldaña's second high-profile film in 2009 was Avatar, where she portrayed the indigenous hunter Neytiri. Avatar was well received by critics, with an approval rating of 81% on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. It grossed $2.7 billion worldwide to become the highest-grossing film of all time, as well as specifically in the United States and Canada. It became the first film to gross more than $2 billion worldwide.

The film was nominated for ten Saturn Awards, and won all ten at the 36th Saturn Awards ceremony. Saldaña's Saturn Award for Best Actress win marked a rare occurrence for an all-CG character.

In 2010, Saldaña performed in The Losers as Aisha al-Fadhil, a native Bolivian woman. She loved the physicality of the ruthless assassin, citing her youth and athletic background for letting her really jump in and get thrown around and do her own kicks. Saldaña playfully recounted having to bulk up in order to carry the weapons while filming over eight hours a day. In 2010, she appeared in Takers, Death at a Funeral, and Burning Palms. Her television ad for Calvin Klein's "Envy" line debuted in 2010. In 2011, Saldaña starred in the romantic comedy The Heart Specialist, and portrayed assassin Cataleya Restrepo in the crime drama Colombiana. Although the latter film earned negative reviews from critics, Saldaña's performance was praised.

In 2012, she appeared in the romantic drama The Words, earning negative reviews from critics and little success at the box-office.

In 2013, Saldaña reprised her role as Uhura in Star Trek Into Darkness, the sequel to the Star Trek re-boot. Like the previous film, it was a box-office success, ending its North American theater run with a box office total of $228,778,661, placing it as the eleventh-highest-grossing film of 2013. It earned $467,365,246 worldwide, ranking it in 14th place for 2013, and making it the highest-grossing film of the franchise. Saldaña voiced her character in the 2013 release of the Star Trek video game.

In 2014, Saldaña played Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy. Saldaña portrayed the character with make-up rather than computer generated imagery (CGI) or performance capture. The film became the third-highest-grossing film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, behind The Avengers and Iron Man 3. It was the third-highest-grossing 2014 film (behind Transformers: Age of Extinction and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies), and the highest-grossing superhero film of 2014.

The film earned positive reviews. Saldaña was nominated for numerous awards for her work in the film, including Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress in an Action Movie, Favorite Action Movie Actress at the People's Choice Awards, and Best On-Screen Transformation at the MTV Movie Awards.

In May 2014, she performed in Rosemary's Baby, a television mini-series adaptation of Ira Levin's horror novel. Saldaña also co-produced the four-hour two-part show. In 2014, Saldaña was recognized by Elle magazine during The Women in Hollywood Awards. Women were honored for achievements in film and the motion-picture industry, including acting, directing, and producing.