Zoe Saldana
Birthdate: Jun 19, 1978
Birthplace: Passaic, New Jersey, USA
Zoe Saldana (birthname: Zoe Yadira Saldaña-Perego) is a versatile performer best known as the star of James Cameron’s Avatar (2012) and a co-star of Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), and Avengers: Endgame (2019), making her (as of 2019) the second highest-grossing female film actor in history.
This ranking was solidified in 2022 with the theatrical re-release of a remastered Avatar and the holiday release of Cameron’s sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water. Saldana’s feature debut, spurred by her ballet training, was Center Stage (2000), with Amanda Schull, Peter Gallagher, and Donna Murphy. Saldana joined Kirsten Dunst and Ben Foster for Get Over It (2001), a teen comedy remake of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, followed by her first co-starring role in Tamra Davis’ Crossroads (2002), written by Shonda Rhimes and co-starring Britney Spears, Taryn Manning, and Dan Aykroyd.
Zoe Saldana co-starred with Nick Cannon in Fox’s successful high school comedy-drama, Drumline (2002), with Orlando Jones, and then landed her first role in a huge franchise with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), with Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, and Orlando Bloom.
In the early 2000s, Zoe Saldana became a familiar presence in wide-audience entertainments, such as Steven Spielberg’s comedy-drama, The Terminal (2004), with Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stanley Tucci. Saldana’s next notable film was the Sony comedy remake of Stanley Kramer’s Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) titled Guess Who (2005), starring Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher.
After several minor indie films, Saldana was part of the ensemble of the Sony Pictures’ thriller, Vantage Point (2008), with Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, and William Hurt. The next major franchise in which Saldana was cast as Uhura was J.J. Abrams’ reboot, Star Trek (2009), with Chris Pine, John Cho, Ben Cross, Bruce Greenwood, and Winona Ryder; this was followed by Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016).
This led to Zoe Saldana’s acclaimed performance as the main heroine, Neytiri, in Cameron’s Avatar, with Sam Worthington, establishing tremendous global audience awareness of Saldana, and earning an extraordinary global gross exceeding $3 billion—or, in other terms, massively multiplying the total combined grosses of all of Saldana’s previous movies.
Saldana followed this with the action movie, The Losers (2010), with Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Idris Elba, and Chris Evans, and then another crime-flavored thriller, Takers (2010), with Matt Dillon, Paul Walker, Elba, and Hayden Christensen. Saldana was part of the ensemble of the black comedy, Death at a Funeral (2010), with Loretta Devine, Peter Dinklage, Danny Glover, and Regina Hall.
Zoe Saldana’s name was above the title for the first time in director Olivier Megaton’s thriller, Colombiana (2011), with Cliff Curtis. Saldana’s name was also above the title, with cast mates Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, and Olivia Wilde in co-writers/co-directors Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal’s drama, The Words (2012).
Blood Ties (2013), the interesting French-American crime film by French writer-director Guillaume Canet and co-writer James Gray, co-starred Saldana with Clive Owen, Billy Crudup, Marion Cotillard, Mila Kunis, Matthias Schoenaerts, and James Caan. Saldana was part of another interesting crime film, writer-director Ben Affleck’s adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s novel, Live by Night (2016), with Elle Fanning, Brendan Gleeson, and Chris Cooper.
Coming aboard yet another blockbuster franchise, Zoe Saldana took on the role of Gamora in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), with Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper, grossing $773 million globally, leading to sequels, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023).
Saldana carried over her Gamora character into other Marvel mega-hits, Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019)--the latter topping the all-time box-office record at $2.8 billion, which was then surpassed again by Avatar topping $3 billion in re-release in Mainland China. This made Zoe Saldana the only actor starring or co-starring in the top two-grossing movies of all time.
Along with fellow voice actors Diego Luna and Channing Tatum, Saldana co-starred in Jorge R. Gutierrez’s animated feature, The Book of Life (2014), which grossed over $100 million for distributor 20th Century Fox. This was followed by Scott Cooper’s crime drama, Out of the Furnace (2013), with Saldana co-starring with Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck, Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, and Sam Shepard.
Saldana led the cast of the Anders Walter/Joe Kelly fantasy film, I Kill Giants (2018), with Madison Wolfe and Imogen Poots, followed by the successful Hasbro animated film, My Little Pony: The Movie (2017), with Saldana joining a voice cast including Uzo Aduba, Liev Schreiber, Emily Blunt, and Taye Diggs. Saldana’s active career as a voice actor in animation continued in 2019 in Chris Butler’s non-CGI animated comedy, Missing Link (2019), with Hugh Jackman, Zach Galifianakis, and Emma Thompson, and nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar.
Zoe Saldana has become one of the go-to stars for Hollywood animators, starring with Lin-Manuel Miranda in Sony Pictures Animation/Netflix’s Vivo (2021), followed by another Netflix production, The Adam Project (2022), directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, and Jennifer Garner. Saldana’s busy 2022 included the theatrical re-release of the technically upgraded Avatar, followed by the fall release of David O.
Russell’s star-heavy comedy, Amsterdam, co-starring Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, Taylor Swift, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Robert De Niro. Saldana’s 2022 was capped with the release of James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water, with Sam Worthington, and anticipated as few features have been in recent history. Saldana’s Neytiri will again be seen in 2024 with Avatar 3, in 2026 with Avatar 4, and in 2028 with Avatar 5.
Personal Details
Though born in Passaic, New Jersey, Zoe Saldana was raised in the New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights, by mother Asalia Nazario and Aridio Saldaña, who died when Zoe was nine years old. Later, her mother married Dagoberto Galán. Saldana’s siblings are Cisely, Mariel, and half-sibling Nipo Saldaña.
Her family relocated to the Dominican Republic, where Saldana studied ballet and was schooled until her high school sophomore year when the family moved back to Queens in New York City. There, Saldana attended Newtown High School, and later performed in the New York Youth Theater. Saldana has been married to Marco Perego-Saldana since 2013; the couple has three children, twins Cy and Bowie, and son Zen. Her height is 5’ 7”. Saldana’s net worth is estimated at $35 million.
Filmography
actor
Upcoming (1)
Previous (15)
- 2024 | The Absence of EdenasEsmee
The Absence of Eden
An ICE Agent struggling with the moral dilemmas of border security and an undocumented woman fighting to escape a ruthless cartel cross paths and work together to save the life of an innocent girl.
- 2022 | Avatar: The Way of WaterasNeytiri
Avatar: The Way of Water
Jake Sully lives with his newfound family formed on the extrasolar moon Pandora. Once a familiar threat returns to finish what was previously started, Jake must work with Neytiri and the army of the Na'vi race to protect their home.
- 2022 |
- 2019 | Avengers: EndgameasGamora
Avengers: Endgame
After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018), the universe is in ruins. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers assemble once more in order to reverse Thanos' actions and restore balance to the universe.
- 2019 | Missing LinkasAdelina Fortnight
Missing Link
Mr. Link recruits explorer Sir Lionel Frost to help find his long-lost relatives in the fabled valley of Shangri-La. Along with adventurer Adelina Fortnight, this trio of explorers travel the world to help their new friend.
- 2018 | Avengers: Infinity WarasGamora
Avengers: Infinity War
The Avengers and their allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the powerful Thanos before his blitz of devastation and ruin puts an end to the universe.
- 2017 | My Little Pony: The MovieasCaptain Celaeno
My Little Pony: The Movie
After a dark force conquers Canterlot, the Mane 6 embark on an unforgettable journey beyond Equestria where they meet new friends and exciting challenges on a quest to use the magic of friendship to save their homeland.
- 2017 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2asGamora
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
The Guardians struggle to keep together as a team while dealing with their personal family issues, notably Star-Lord's encounter with his father, the ambitious celestial being Ego.
- 2017 | Live by NightasGraciela
Live by Night
A group of Boston-bred gangsters set up shop in balmy Florida during the Prohibition era, facing off against the competition and the Ku Klux Klan.
- 2016 | Star Trek BeyondasLieutenant Uhura
Star Trek Beyond
The crew of the USS Enterprise explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a new ruthless enemy, who puts them, and everything the Federation stands for, to the test.
- 2015 | Infinitely Polar BearasMaggie Stuart
Infinitely Polar Bear
A father struggling with bipolar disorder tries to win back his wife by attempting to take full responsibility of their two young, spirited daughters, who don't make the overwhelming task any easier.
- 2014 | The Book of LifeasMaria
The Book of Life
Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart, embarks on an adventure that spans three fantastic worlds where he must face his greatest fears.
- 2013 | Out of the FurnaceasLena Taylor
Out of the Furnace
When Rodney Baze mysteriously disappears and law enforcement doesn't follow through fast enough, his older brother, Russell, takes matters into his own hands to find justice.
- 2013 | Star Trek Into DarknessasUhura
Star Trek Into Darkness
After the crew of the Enterprise find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction.
- 2012 |
director
Previous (1)
- 2017 | Fist FightasDirector
Fist Fight
When one school teacher unwittingly causes another teacher's dismissal, he is challenged to an after-school fight.
Some Facts About Zoe Saldana
Money Woman: Zoe Saldana is a supporter of the microfinance group, FINCA International.
Pro-Diversity: Saldana is the founder of BESE, a digital media platform designed to promote diversity representation in mainstream media.
Children: Zoe Saldana and her husband Marco have given interesting names to their children, including Zen, Cy (named for the American artist Cy Twombly), and Bowie (named for David Bowie).
