Zoe Saldaña
Zoe Saldana | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Saldana at the Guardians of the Galaxy premiere in July 2014 | |
| Born | Zoe Yadira Saldaña Nazario June 19, 1978 Passaic, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Other names | Zoe Saldana-Perego |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, dancer |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Spouse |
Marco Perego (m. 2013) |
| Children | 2 |
Zoe Saldana-Perego (born Zoe Yadira Saldaña Nazario; June 19, 1978),[1] Zoe Saldana (/sælˈdænə/ sal-DAN-ə), is an American actress and dancer. Following her performances with the FACES theater group, Saldana made her screen debut in an episode of Law & Order (1999). Her film career began a year later with Center Stage (2000), followed by a role in Crossroads (2002). She first gained some prominence for her role as Anamaria in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).
Saldana's breakthrough came in 2009 with the roles of Nyota Uhura in Star Trek and Neytiri in James Cameron's Avatar (2009). The latter film received widespread acclaim, and was the highest-grossing film of all time. Saldana continued her successful career with films such as Colombiana (2011), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and Guardians of the Galaxy (2014).
Early life
Saldana was born Zoe Yadira Saldaña Nazario[1] in Passaic, New Jersey.[2][3] Her father, Aridio Saldaña, was from the Dominican Republic, while her mother, Asalia Nazario, is from Puerto Rico.[4] Saldana also has Haitian and Lebanese roots.[5][6] She has often spoken of her pride in her ethnicity, and has said: "It doesn't matter how much backlash I will get for it; I will honor and respect my black community because that's who I am."[7] The majority of her early childhood she spent growing up in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, and her native languages are both English and Spanish. She has two sisters, named Cisely and Mariel, and a half-brother named Nipo, known as "Nipo 809", who is a Dominican artist and producer.[8]
Her father died in a car crash when she was nine years old,[9] and Saldaña and her mother subsequently moved to the Dominican Republic. There, Saldaña discovered her love of dance and soon enrolled in the ECOS Espacio de Danza Academy; she studied various forms of dance [2][8][10][11] but describes ballet as her first passion.[8][12] 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.[12] The family returned to New York after her sophomore year in high school.[12] In 1995, she began performing with the FACES theater group in Brooklyn,[13] which put on plays geared toward providing positive messages for teens via themes dealing with issues such as substance abuse and adolescent sexuality. Concurrently, she performed with the New York Youth Theater; her appearance in their production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat led a talent agency to recruit her. Her previous dance training, and her acting experience, helped her land her first film role, playing Eva Rodriguez, the talented and headstrong ballet student in the film Center Stage (2000).[2][10]
Career
Beginnings
Saldaña was still a member of FACES when she gained exposure in an episode of Law & Order (titled "Merger") which first aired in 1999.[14] Saldaña's first film role was in Center Stage (2000), directed by Nicholas Hytner, about a group of young dancers from various backgrounds who enroll at the fictitious American Ballet Academy in New York City. She left school after Center Stage, subsequently appearing in the Britney Spears vehicle Crossroads (2002). The film was met with negative reviews from critics, but became somewhat of a box office success.[15][16] The same year Saldaña started in the comedy-drama Drumline (2002), alongside Nick Cannon, which was met with generally favorable reviews.
In Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), she played Anamaria, a female pirate who signs up to join Will Turner and Mr. Gibbs for a chance to confront Jack Sparrow for stealing her ship. As to why she never appeared in any further films in the franchise, Saldaña revealed that she almost quit acting following "disrespectful treatment" on set of the film.[17] She then appeared in The Terminal as Dolores Torres, an immigration officer and Star Trek fan, a role that would later help Saldaña when she came to appear in J. J. Abrams' 2009 film Star Trek.[18] In 2004 she also made appearances in Haven and Temptation, both of which had little to no box office success.
In 2005, Saldaña appeared in Constellation, Guess Who with Ashton Kutcher, and Dirty Deeds. She then starred in the romantic comedy-dramas Premium in 2006 and After Sex in 2007.[19] The same year 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[20] and debuted on BET in 2008.[21] Saldaña also had a small role as Angie Jones in the 2008 box office smash Vantage Point.[22]
Breakthrough and success
Saldana appeared in two high-profile roles in 2009, which both went on to raise her profile considerably.[10] She played Nyota Uhura in the film reboot Star Trek,[23] The films director J. J. Abrams asked Saldana to play the role because he had seen her previous work and liked it. Saldana had never seen the original series, though she had played a Trekkie in The Terminal (2004), but agreed to play the role after Abrams complimented her. She met with Nichelle Nichols, who explained to her how she had created Uhura's background and named the character.[24] Saldana's mother was a Star Trek fan and sent her voice mails during filming, giving advice on the role.[25] Coincidentally, it was Steven Spielberg who taught her the Vulcan salute five years earlier when he directed her in The Terminal.[18] The film was a huge box office success grossing $385.7 million.[26]
Saldana's second high profile film on 2009 was James Cameron's Avatar, in which she starred as the alien hunter Neytiri. The film was premiered by 20th Century Fox in London on December 10, and was released in the United States and Canada on December 18, grossing $27 million on its opening day and $77 million during its opening weekend in 3,461 theaters, ranking number one at the box office.[27] Avatar grossed $2.7 billion worldwide, to become the highest-grossing film of all time,[28] as well as in the United States and Canada. It also became the first film to gross more than $2 billion worldwide.[29] Avatar was well-received and accumulated an approval rating of 83% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.[30] The film was nominated for ten Saturn Awards and won all ten at the 36th Saturn Awards ceremony. Saldana's Saturn Award for Best Actress win marked a rare occurrence for an all-CG character.[31]
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In 2010, Saldana starred in The Losers as Aisha al-Fadhil, a native Bolivian woman. For the role, she was required to gain weight, as she was expected to carry weapons around for eight hours a day.[32] In 2010, she also appeared in Takers, Death at a Funeral and Burning Palms. Her television ad for Calvin Klein's "Envy" line also debuted in 2010.[33] In 2011, Saldana starred in the romantic comedy The Heart Specialist and played Cataleya Restrepo, a professional assassin, in the crime drama Colombiana. While the latter film was met with negative reviews from critics, Saldana's performance was praised.[34] In 2012, she starred in the romantic drama film The Words, which also received negative reviews from critics and saw little success at the box office.[35][36]
In 2013, Saldana reprised her role as Uhura in Star Trek Into Darkness, the sequel to the 2009 Star Trek. Like the previous film, it was a box office success ending its North American theatrical run with a box office total of $228,778,661, placing it as the 11th highest-grossing film for 2013.[37] It also earned $467,365,246 worldwide, ranking it in 14th place for 2013 and making it the highest-grossing film of the franchise.[38] Saldana also voiced her character in the 2013 release of the Star Trek video game.
In 2014, Saldana played Gamora in the hit film Guardians of the Galaxy,[39][40] Saldana said that she became Gamora through make-up rather than computer generated imagery (CGI) or performance capture.[41] The film became the third highest-grossing film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, behind The Avengers and Iron Man 3.[42] 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.[42][43] In May 2014, she starred in Rosemary's Baby, a television miniseries adaptation of Ira Levin's best-selling horror novel. Saldana also co-produced the four-hour, two-part show.[44]
In 2014, Saldana was recognized by Elle Magazine during The Women in Hollywood Awards, honoring women for their outstanding achievements in film, spanning all aspects of the motion picture industry, including acting, directing, and producing.[45]
Recent and upcoming projects
Saldana will star in Nina, an upcoming biopic about the jazz musician Nina Simone set to be released in 2015. The film depicts the late singer's rise to fame and relationship with her manager Clifton Henderson.[46] Saldana will also reprise her role of Neytiri in Avatar 2 in 2017. A sequel to her 2011 film Colombiana is in development but her reprisal of the role has not been confirmed. She will also reprise her role as Gamora in the Guardians Of The Galaxy sequel to be released in May 2017.[47]
Personal life
In June 2010, Saldana became engaged to her longtime boyfriend Keith Britton, an actor and CEO of My Fashion Database.[48] Saldana and Britton announced in November 2011 that they had ended their relationship after 11 years together.[49] Saldana subsequently dated actor Bradley Cooper from December 2011 to January 2013.[50][51]
In March 2013, Saldana began dating Italian artist Marco Perego. They secretly married in June 2013 in London.[52][53] In her July 2015 cover interview with InStyle, Saldana revealed that, in a reversal of tradition, Perego adopted her surname upon marriage.[54][55] Thereafter, Zoe became Zoe Saldana-Perego or Zoe Perego and Marco became Marco Perego-Saldana or Marco Saldana. Their children will be Perego-Saldana.[56] Saldana and Perego have twin sons, Bowie Ezio Perego-Saldana and Cy Aridio Perego-Saldana, born in November 2014.[57] During her pregnancy, Saldana stated that her children will be bilingual as she and her husband plan to speak both Spanish and English around them.[58]
In 2009, Saldana said she would avoid plastic surgery, telling Women's Health magazine "God as my witness, I am going to try to do everything I can to keep this ass together for as long as I possibly can—without going against nature."[18] She watches what she eats but does not diet and does Pilates regularly saying "It's the closest thing to dance."[18]
Saldana is a celebrity supporter of FINCA International, a microfinance organization.[59]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Center Stage | Eva Rodriguez | |
| 2001 | Get Over It | Maggie | |
| 2001 | Snipes | Cheryl | |
| 2002 | Crossroads | Kit | |
| 2002 | Drumline | Laila | |
| 2003 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | Anamaria | |
| 2004 | The Terminal | Dolores Torres | |
| 2004 | Haven | Andrea | |
| 2004 | Temptation | Annie | |
| 2005 | Constellation | Rosa Boxer | |
| 2005 | Guess Who | Theresa Jones | |
| 2005 | Dirty Deeds | Rachel Buff | |
| 2005 | The Curse of Father Cardona | Flor | |
| 2006 | Premium | Charli | |
| 2006 | The Heart Specialist | Donna | |
| 2007 | After Sex | Kat | |
| 2007 | Blackout | Claudine | |
| 2008 | Vantage Point | Angie Jones | |
| 2009 | Star Trek | Nyota Uhura | |
| 2009 | The Skeptic | Cassie | |
| 2009 | Avatar | Neytiri | |
| 2010 | The Losers | Aisha | |
| 2010 | Takers | Lily Jansen | |
| 2010 | Death at a Funeral | Elaine | |
| 2010 | Burning Palms | Sara Cotton | |
| 2011 | Kaylien | Short film; director | |
| 2011 | Colombiana | Cataleya Restrepo | |
| 2012 | The Words | Dora Jansen | |
| 2013 | Blood Ties | Vanessa | |
| 2013 | Star Trek Into Darkness | Nyota Uhura | |
| 2013 | Out of the Furnace | Lena Warren | |
| 2014 | Unity | Narrator | Documentary |
| 2014 | Infinitely Polar Bear | Maggie Stuart | |
| 2014 | Guardians of the Galaxy | Gamora | |
| 2014 | The Book of Life | Maria | Voice role |
| 2016 | Nina | Nina Simone | |
| 2016 | Star Trek Beyond | Nyota Uhura | In post-production |
| 2017 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | Gamora | Filming |
| 2017 | Live by Night | Graciella Suarez | Filming |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Law & Order | Belinca | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Gabrielle Vega | Episode: "Criminal" |
| 2006–07 | Six Degrees | Regina | 5 episodes |
| 2013 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Herself | Episode: "Zoe Saldana Wears A Tan Blouse & Glasses" |
| 2014 | Rosemary's Baby | Rosemary Woodhouse | 2 episodes; also producer |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Star Trek | Nyota Uhura |
Awards and nominations
 | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (January 2015) |
References
- ^ a b "Zoe Saldana profile at FilmReference.com". Retrieved October 16, 2008.
- ^ a b c "The Official Website of Zoe Saldana – Biography". Archived from the original on March 23, 2010. Retrieved October 10, 2010.
- ^ Buchanan, Jason (2008). "Zoe Saldana – Overview". MSN. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Velasquez, Shirley (3 November 2015). "Zoe Saldana is Latina Magazine's December 2015/January 2016 Cover Star!". Latina. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
- ^ Zoe Saldana (2014). Zoe Saldana Finds a True Match for her Skin Tone. USA: L'Oréal Paris. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
{{cite AV media}}:|archive-date=requires|archive-url=(help) - ^ Zannoni, Valentina, ed. (1 August 2014). "Zoe Saldana: Everything you ever Wanted to know". Swide. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
- ^ Eggenberger, Nicole (May 14, 2013). "Zoe Saldana Poses Topless for Allure, Says She Might "End Up" Raising Kids With a Woman". Allure Magazine. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
It doesn't matter how much backlash I will get for it," "I will honor and respect my black community because that's who I am."
- ^ a b c "Zoe Saldana Biography Actress, Model (1978–)". The Biography Channel. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- ^ "Zoe Saldana misses saying 'daddy'". Hub 24x7. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ a b c "Zoe Saldana Biography - Yahoo! Movies". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
- ^ Buchanan, Jason. "Zoe Saldana". AllMovie/Rovi via The New York Times. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b c "Zoë Saldana Biography : People.com". People. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
- ^ Zoe Saldana Heats Up the Sundance Film Festival With 'The Words'
- ^ "Merger". Law & Order. Season 10. Episode 4. 1999-10-13. NBC.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Britney Spears – Crossroads – Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
- ^ "Crossroads Daily Chart View". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. February 15, 2002. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
- ^ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2703398/How-golden-girl-Zoe-Saldana-quit-Hollywood-disrespectful-treatment-Pirates-Caribbean-set.html
- ^ a b c d "Actress Zoe Saldana's Star Turn". Women's Health. April 13, 2009.
- ^ Powell, Ahna. Mila Kunis: A Woman of Talent, Beauty and Passion: the Multifaceted Actress.
- ^ http://zff.com/en/programme/movies/2928/blackout/
- ^ Gilbert, Matthew (2008-02-08). "'Blackout' has some bright moments". The Boston Globe. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
- ^ Travis, Pete (Director). (2008). Vantage Point [Motion picture]. United States: Columbia Pictures.
- ^ "Zoë Saldana Cast in J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" movie". March 2, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2008.
- ^ Wilson Morales (2008-01-29). "Zoe Saldaña sheds a little light on playing 'Uhura'". Blackfilm.com. Retrieved 2008-01-30.
- ^ Larry Carroll (2009-04-21). "New 'Star Trek' Cast Took Cues From The Classic Series". MTV (Viacom). Retrieved 2009-04-23.
- ^ "Star Trek (2009)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2010-12-12.
- ^ "Avatar (2009) – Weekend Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
- ^ "All Time Worldwide Box Office Grosses". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
- ^ "'Avatar' Wins Box Office, Nears Domestic Record". ABC News. Retrieved 2010-02-02.
- ^ "Avatar". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
- ^ Cohen, David S. (June 24, 2010). "Saturn Awards open Pandora's box". Variety. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
- ^ Weintraub, Steve (March 25, 2010). "Zoe Saldana On Set Interview THE LOSERS – Read or Listen Here". Collider. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
- ^ "Zoe Saldana Calvin Klein TV Ad Revealed! Bares Secrets for Nothing to Hide". UrbLife.com. August 29, 2010.
- ^ "Colombiana (2011)". Retrieved 6 September 2013.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "The Words Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
- ^ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=words2012.htm
- ^ "2013 DOMESTIC GROSSES". Box Office Mojo. January 5, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- ^ "Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
- ^ Kit, Borys (April 3, 2013). "Zoe Saldana in Talks to Star in Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 3, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ White, Brett (May 3, 2013). "'Guardians Of The Galaxy': Zoe Saldana Confirms She's Going Green". mtv.com. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
- ^ http://www.gamesradar.com/zoe-saldana-updates-on-guardians-of-the-galaxy/
- ^ a b http://deadline.com/2014/10/international-box-office-fury-annabelle-hercules-happy-new-year-china-guardians-861602/
- ^ http://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2015/01/27/disney-reveals-guardians-of-the-galaxy-was-over-budget-at-232-million/
- ^ Inzaurralde, Bastien (April 28, 2014). "'Rosemary's Baby' Remake Shifts Horror to Paris". Daily Herald. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ http://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/g8789/women-in-hollywood-2014/
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0493076/
- ^ "Sam Worthington & Zoë Saldana To Return For 'Avatar' Sequels; Fox Eyeing End Of Year Start". Deadline. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
- ^ "Avatar's Zoe Saldana Is Engaged!". USMagazine.com. June 30, 2010.
- ^ "Zoe Saldana, Fiance Split After 11 Years Together". Us Weekly. November 12, 2011.
- ^ "Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana Dating Again!". USMagazine.com. September 25, 2012.
- ^ "Buzz:Bradley Cooper & Zoe Saldana Split Again". People.com. January 3, 2013.
- ^ Webber, Stephanie (September 10, 2013). "Zoe Saldana Marries Marco Perego in Secret Wedding Ceremony!". US Weekly. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
- ^ "Zoë Saldana Marries Marco Perego". People Magazine. September 11, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ^ Moreno, Carolina. "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/08/zoe-saldana-husband-last-name-_n_7536974.html". Huffington Post. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
{{cite web}}: External link in|title= - ^ Willett, Megan. "Zoe Saldana's husband took his wife's last name — and he's not the only one to have made that move". Business Insider. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- ^ Boardman, Madeline (June 12, 2015). "Zoe Saldana "Was a Gentleman" and Put Marco Perego First in Their Kids' Names". Retrieved June 13, 2015.
- ^ Leon, Anya; Garcia, Jennifer (January 2, 2015). "Zoë Saldana Welcomes Twin Sons Cy Aridio and Bowie Ezio". People Magazine. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ Johnson, Zach. "Zoe Saldana Says Her Twins Will Be Bilingual".
- ^ Zoe Saldana Supports FINCA's Hand Up for Haiti Campaign "FINCA International website," March 20, 2011.
- ^ "Pariah's Nine Noms Lead the Black Reel Awards Field". The Black Reel Awards. 14 December 2011. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
External links
- "Zoe Saldana". (Official site). Archived from the original on July 5, 2011.
- Zoe Saldana at IMDb
- Zoe Saldana at the TCM Movie Database
- Zoe Saldana at AllMovie
- Zoe Saldana, at Future Movies
- "Zoe Saldana Shines on ESSENCE's April Cover". Essence. March 9, 2010. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
- Sandell, Laurie (March 1, 2010). "Zoë Saldana: The Most Elegant Member of the Glam New Guard". Glamour. Condé Nast. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
- 1978 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American actresses
- 21st-century American actresses
- Actresses from New Jersey
- Actresses from New York City
- American actresses of Puerto Rican descent
- American film actresses
- American female dancers
- American people of Dominican Republic descent
- American people of Haitian descent
- American people of Lebanese descent
- American people of Puerto Rican descent
- American television actresses
- Best Actress Empire Award winners
- Hispanic and Latino American actresses
- Hispanic and Latino American dancers
- People from Passaic, New Jersey
- People from Queens, New York