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Zoe Saldaña
Zoë Yadira Saldaña-Perego (/sɑːlˈdænjə/ sahl-DAN-yə, Latin American Spanish: [ˈso.e salˈdaɲa]; née Saldaña Nazario; born June 19, 1978) is an American actress. Known primarily for her work in science fiction film franchises, she has starred in four of the seven highest-grossing films of all time, including the top three (Avatar, Avengers: Endgame and Avatar: The Way of Water). Films she has appeared in have grossed more than $15 billion worldwide and, as of 2024, she is the second highest-grossing lead actress and the highest-grossing actress overall. Her accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a SAG Award, a Cannes Film Festival Award, and a Golden Globe Award. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023.
A trained dancer, Saldaña began her on-screen 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). Beginning in 2009, Saldaña achieved a career breakthrough with her roles as Nyota Uhura in the Star Trek reboot film series (2009–2016) and Neytiri in James Cameron's Avatar film series (2009–present). She portrayed Gamora in five films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).
In addition to franchise work, Saldaña has starred in the science fiction film The Adam Project and the romantic drama miniseries From Scratch, both for Netflix in 2022. In 2023, she began playing the lead role of a CIA officer in the Paramount+ spy series Lioness. In 2024, Saldaña starred in the musical crime film Emilia Pérez, for which she received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Zoë Yadira Saldaña Nazario was born on June 19, 1978, in Passaic, New Jersey, and raised in Queens, New York City. 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 3/4 Dominican and 1/4 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.
The widowed mother Asalia married Dagoberto Galán, who became the stepfather of the girls. They consider him fully 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. She appeared in plays that encouraged teenagers to explore issues like substance abuse and adolescent sex[citation needed]. 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).
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.
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Zoe Saldaña
Zoë Yadira Saldaña-Perego (/sɑːlˈdænjə/ sahl-DAN-yə, Latin American Spanish: [ˈso.e salˈdaɲa]; née Saldaña Nazario; born June 19, 1978) is an American actress. Known primarily for her work in science fiction film franchises, she has starred in four of the seven highest-grossing films of all time, including the top three (Avatar, Avengers: Endgame and Avatar: The Way of Water). Films she has appeared in have grossed more than $15 billion worldwide and, as of 2024, she is the second highest-grossing lead actress and the highest-grossing actress overall. Her accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a SAG Award, a Cannes Film Festival Award, and a Golden Globe Award. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023.
A trained dancer, Saldaña began her on-screen 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). Beginning in 2009, Saldaña achieved a career breakthrough with her roles as Nyota Uhura in the Star Trek reboot film series (2009–2016) and Neytiri in James Cameron's Avatar film series (2009–present). She portrayed Gamora in five films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).
In addition to franchise work, Saldaña has starred in the science fiction film The Adam Project and the romantic drama miniseries From Scratch, both for Netflix in 2022. In 2023, she began playing the lead role of a CIA officer in the Paramount+ spy series Lioness. In 2024, Saldaña starred in the musical crime film Emilia Pérez, for which she received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Zoë Yadira Saldaña Nazario was born on June 19, 1978, in Passaic, New Jersey, and raised in Queens, New York City. 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 3/4 Dominican and 1/4 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.
The widowed mother Asalia married Dagoberto Galán, who became the stepfather of the girls. They consider him fully 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. She appeared in plays that encouraged teenagers to explore issues like substance abuse and adolescent sex[citation needed]. 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).
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.
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