Zoe Saldaña
Zoe Saldana | |
|---|---|
 Saldana at the "Entertainment Weekly: Wonder Women: Female Power Icons in Pop Culture" panel, 2009 | |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Website | http://www.zoesaldana.com/ |
Zoe Saldana[3] (born June 19, 1978; also known as Zoë Saldana, Zoe Saldaña, and Zoë Saldaña) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough role in the 2002 film Drumline, and later gained prominence for her roles as Anamaria in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Uhura in the 2009 film Star Trek, and Neytiri in James Cameron's Avatar, the highest-grossing film of all time.
Early life
Zoe Saldana was born Zoe Yadira Zaldaña Nazario[4][5] or Zoe Yadira Zaldana Nazario[1] in New Jersey,[2][6] United States, to a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother.[7][8][9] Her first languages are English and Spanish. When she was ten years old, she and her family moved to the Dominican Republic, where they lived for the next seven years. Saldana enlisted in a ballet class at one of the most prestigious dancing schools in the Dominican Republic.[2] After returning to New York at age seventeen, she began performing with the Faces theater troupe, which put on plays geared to providing positive messages for teens, via themes dealing with issues such as substance abuse and sex. These performances not only gave her valuable experience but also a source of great pride, as she knew that she was making a difference in the lives of young people like herself. While performing with the Faces troupe and also the New York Youth Theater Zoe was recruited for a talent agency. Her dance training years before, coupled with her acting experience, greatly helped her land her first big screen role as Eva, the talented and headstrong ballet dancer in the 2000 film Center Stage.[2]
Career
Saldana was still a member of the program when she gained exposure in an episode of Law & Order (titled "Merger") which first aired in 1999.[10] She left school after Center Stage, which film led to appearances in the Britney Spears vehicle Crossroads (2002) and the drama Drumline (2002). She played the pirate Anamaria in the 2003 film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and has appeared in a number of television shows and movies, including The Terminal (2004) and Guess Who (2005). Saldana was also the lead in the video for Juan Luis Guerra's song "La llave de mi corazón", and played Uhura in the 2009 film Star Trek.[11] Recently, she played Neytiri, the Na'vi princess, in James Cameron's Avatar (2009), a film which has become her biggest hit to date, and was a leading box office hit.
Saldana has a keen interest in fashion and has her own fashion line, called Arasmaci, most of her designs for which are influenced by her Dominican heritage.[12]
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2000 | Center Stage | Eva Rodriguez | As Zoë Saldana |
| 2001 | Get Over It | Maggie | As Zoë Saldana |
| Snipes | Cheryl | aka Prolifik | |
| 2002 | Crossroads | Kit | As Zoë Saldana |
| Drumline | Laila | As Zoë Saldana | |
| 2003 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl | Anamaria | |
| 2004 | The Terminal | Dolores Torres | As Zoë Saldana |
| Haven | Andrea | ||
| Temptation | Annie | ||
| 2005 | Constellation | Rosa Boxer | |
| Guess Who | Theresa Jones | As Zoë Saldana | |
| Dirty Deeds | Rachel Buff | As Zoe Saldaña | |
| La maldición del padre Cardona | Flor | As Zoe Saldaña | |
| 2006 | Premium | Charli | |
| Ways of the Flesh | Donna | aka The Heart Specialist | |
| 2007 | After Sex | Kat | |
| Blackout | Claudine | ||
| 2008 | Vantage Point | Angie Jones | As Zoë Saldana |
| 2009 | Star Trek | Nyota Uhura | As Zoë Saldana |
| The Skeptic | Cassie | ||
| Avatar | Neytiri | ||
| 2010 | The Losers | Aisha | |
| Takers | |||
| Death at a Funeral | Elaine | ||
| Burning Palms | Sara Cotton | Post-Production | |
| Untitled Star Trek Sequel | Nyota Uhura | Announced | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | Law & Order | Uncredited | Episode: "Merger" |
| 2004 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Gabrielle Vega | Episode: "Criminal" |
| 2006-2007 | Six Degrees | Regina | 5 Episodes |
Awards and nominations
- ALMA Awards
- 2009, Best Actress (Film): Star Trek (nominated)
- Black Movie Awards
- 2006, Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Guess Who (nominated)
- NAACP Image Award
- 2010, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Avatar (nominated)
- 2006, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture: Guess Who (nominated)
- MTV Movie Awards
- 2003, Best Kiss: Drumline Shared with Nick Cannon (nominated)
- Saturn Awards
- 2010, Best Actress in Movie: Avatar (nominated)
- Scream Awards
- 2009, Breakout Performance-Female: Star Trek (nominated)
- 2009, Best Science Fiction Actress: Star Trek (nominated)
- Teen Choice Awards
- 2009, Choice Movie Actress (Action/Adventure): Star Trek (nominated)
- 2006, Choice Movie Actress (Breakout): Guess Who (nominated)
- People's Choice Awards
- 2009, Favorite Breakout Movie Actress: Star Trek (nominated)
References
- ^ a b "Zoe Saldana Biography (1978-)". Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ a b c d "The Official Website of Zoe Saldana — Biography". Retrieved 2010-10-10.
- ^ For the spelling and her own pronunciation of her professional name, please see: "YouTube — Conversation with Avatar's James Cameron and stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana". Retrieved 2010-01-07. It is linked from the official website of Avatar.
- ^ "Zoe Saldana, con la crítica a sus pies". El Informador (in Spanish). Guadalajara, Jalisco. 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ Debra Bass (2010-01-01). "Celebrities revealed: Gaga, Riri, Zoe and Drew". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ Jason Buchanan (2008). "Zoe Saldana:Biography on MSN". MSN. Retrieved 2008-07-29.
- ^ "PopEntertainment.com: Zoe Saldana interview about 'Haven.'". 2006-09-12. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
My mom is Puerto Rican and my father is Dominican.
- ^ Balfour, Brad (September, 2006). "HAVEN : An Interview with Zoe Saldana". Blackfilm. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
ZS: My mom is Puerto Rican and my father is Dominican.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Boucher, Geoff (2009-11-23). "'Avatar' star Zoe Saldana says the movie will match the hype: 'This is big'". Retrieved 2010-01-04.
My family background is from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico
{{cite web}}: Text "Hero Complex" ignored (help); Text "Los Angeles Times" ignored (help) - ^ "Merger". Law & Order. Season 10. Episode 4. 1999-10-13. NBC.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Zoë Saldana Cast in J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" movie". 2008-03-02. Retrieved 2008-07-04.
- ^ http://www.arasmaci.com (redirects to her official website)
External links
