Zoe Saldana

Biography of Zoe Saldana

Zoe Saldana is an American actress of Puerto Rican origin, a star of the movie «Avatar», «Star Trek» and «Guardians of the Galaxy», a graceful dancer and successful model.

The full actress’ name is Zoe Yadira Saldaña Nazario

Childhood

Zoe was born in the family of Asalia Nazario, a Puerto Rican, and Aridio Saldana, a Dominican. However, the actress has Latvian, Irish, Jamaican, and Indian blood in her veins. Zoe was born in Passaic, New Jersey, and the first years of her life she spent in the interethnic New York borough of Queens. The girl, like her sisters Cisely and Mariel, was raised bilingual, speaking English and Spanish.

Saldana Sisters

When Zoe was 10 years old, her father died in a car crash. The mother was not able to raise three children alone in expensive New York City and took the daughters to her husband’s parents in the Dominican Republic.

The actress Zoe Saldana in her childhood and adolescence

Zoe enrolled in the ECOS Espacio Dance School in the Dominican Republic. She studied various forms of dance but described ballet as her first passion.

The Beginning of Acting Career

In 1995, Zoe's family returned to New York, where she tried to break into the movies. She earned her living as a cashier in «Burger King» and performed with the Faces theater group in Brooklyn. The audience of their creative company consisted mainly of teenagers, because the themes of their plays were close to them: the harm of drug abuse and puberty troubles.

At the same time, she became a part of the New York Youth Theater. Being an actress of the musical «Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat», Zoe caught the attention of a talent agent. Her theatrical experience and ballet past helped her to get the first movie role - she played the ballerina Eva in «Center Stage» (2000), a truthful movie about the backstage of classical and contemporary ballet.

The first role of Zoe Saldana in the movie («Center Stage», 2000)

In 2002, Saldana appeared in the movie «Crossroads», where Zoe had to work together with the famous Britney Spears.

Interview with Zoe Saldana (2003)

The public knew about Zoe after a premiere of the blockbuster «Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl» with the inimitable Captain Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp. Saldana was his ex-girlfriend, the female pirate Anamaria, and pleased the multimillion male audience.

The scene from the movie «Pirates of the Caribbean»

During the 2000s, she appeared in «The Terminal» with Tom Hanks, the adventure movie «Haven» with Orlando Bloom, the action thriller «Vantage Point», the comedy «Guess Who» with Ashton Kutcher and played a few bit parts in the detective series «Law & Order».

The photoshoots of Zoe Saldana for the movie «Colombiana»

The thriller «Colombiana» (2011) became a kind of the benefit of Saldana. She played a killer who avenged a criminal authority for the death of her parents.

The Peak

In 2009, one after another, there were released two high-profile projects, where Zoe Saldana played a significant role: «Star Trek» (the first part of the remake of the franchise) and «Avatar».

Zoe Saldana without makeup and «fully armed»

In the first movie she played the lieutenant Nyota Uhura, a member of the crew of the spaceship «Enterprise». Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Anton Yelchin, and Simon Pegg also acted in this movie.

Zoe Saldana in the role of Nyota Uhura

The second project was the science fiction James Cameron’s «Avatar», recognized as the most expensive movie in history. The protagonist, wheelchair-bound marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) got the opportunity to participate in a military experiment: to become an «avatar» to travel to the distant planet Pandora to ingratiate himself with the local Na'vi people and take away their valuable resources. Zoe Saldana played Princess Neytiri who fell in love with a stranger.

Neytiri acted in «Avatar»

Zoe Saldana's character was created using computer graphics and innovative at that time technique «Motion Capture»: the actress was connected with the sensors that broadcasted the slightest movement of her body and facial expressions on a computer. She had to try to be the deft and strong Neytiri. Saldana had been training in the gym, learning to ride a horse and shoot with a bow, studying martial arts for a few months.

The next breakthrough of this pretty mulatto was the role of green-skinned Gamora in «Guardians of the Galaxy» (2014) on the Marvel comics. It is interesting that before it Zoe has never read comics. She grew up in a «girlish» surrounding, and her interests were quite different.

Behind the scenes and on the screen

But the words of the director Jason Gann («Zoe, this is incredible!») and exciting script persuaded her to accept the offer.

«Guardians of the Galaxy»: Zoe Saldana transformation into Gamora

The shooting was not easy again. Every day she had to get up at 5 am and sit in the make-up chair for five hours, until her tanned skin became bright green.

The company of Gamora, Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), a raccoon and anthropomorphic tree impressed the audience, so in 2017 the second part of the adventure movie «Guardians of the Galaxy» was released. In addition, the same actors appeared in «Avengers: Infinity War» (2018).

Between 2 parts of comics adaptations, Zoe played a dramatic role in the movie «Live by Night» (2016) by Ben Affleck and Leonardo DiCaprio. In the movie adaptation of a crime novel Sienna Miller and Ben also starred.

Zoe as a Model

In 2010, Zoe Saldana starred in the advertisement of Calvin Klein Envy Underwear.

Zoe Saldana in Calvin Klein ad

Then she signed a contract with the cosmetics firm Avon, and Zoe also worked with her sisters for the brand Gap.

Saldana sisters in the Gap advertisement

The glamorous actress could be seen on the pages of Elle, Vanity Fair, GQ, Essence, Nylon, and InStyle.

Personal Life of Zoe Saldana

In summer 2010, Us Weekly journalists found out about the engagement of Zoe with her longtime boyfriend, the president of My Fashion Database Company and part-time actor Keith Britton. However, in November 2011, they ended their relationship after 11 years together.

Zoe Saldana and Keith Britton had been dating for 11 years

The next Zoe Saldana’s boyfriend was the Italian artist Marco Perego. In July 2013 they secretly married in London, just two years later, the couple admitted about their marriage to the public. There were a lot of gossips, because Zoe’s husband, in a reversal of tradition, adopted her surname upon marriage.

Zoe Saldana’s husband is the artist Marco Perego

In 2014, twins Cy and Bowie were born. The actress had repeatedly said that she did not like to upload the photos of children to Instagram, because it could hurt their dignity in the future. Despite it, she showed a photo of her family walks on Instagram in spring, 2015.

The children of Zoe Saldana: twins Bowie and Cy

In the summer of 2016, Zoe told about her autoimmune disease, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, or chronic inflammation of the thyroid gland.

Zoe Saldana Now

In the spring of 2019, the premiere of the new part of "Avengers" took place, where Zoe will again appear in the image of Gamor. In the same year, the actress voiced the character in the cartoon "Missing Link". Zoe Saldana has signed a contract with Cameron Studio, according to which she will play the role of Neytiri in three other parts of «Avatar». It is announced that the release of the 2nd and 3rd parts will be in 2021 and 2023.

Photos: Zoe Saldana