BIOGRAPHY:

Zoe Saldana is a Hollywood film actress, one of the most recognized black American performers. Now the owner of a star on the Walk of Fame never ceases to improve both physically and spiritually. In her desire to be a winner, she goes to the end – according to the actress, she likes to fight for the role and get it in an equal fight.

Zoe Yadira Saldana Nazario was born in New Jersey. Her father, Aridio Saldana, was an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, and her mother, Azalea Nazario, came to the United States from Puerto Rico. Zoe’s family included representatives of other nationalities – Indians, Lebanese and Haitians. The family had two more daughters – Cicely and Mariel. Zoe would later have a younger half-brother, Niro, who would become a famous Dominican producer.

For the first few years, the family lived in New York, in the borough of Queens. In 1987, when Zoe was nine years old, her father was in a car accident and died from his injuries. Azalea and her daughters moved to her husband’s relatives in the Dominican Republic, where the family lived until the girls graduated from school. They then returned to New York.

In the Dominican Republic, Saldana discovered the art of dance and began attending the Space Academy of Dance studio, where she studied various areas of choreography. The girl gave preference to classical ballet. Zoe began her professional career as a dancer in America, when at the age of 17 she joined the “Faces” troupe, with which she performed on stage in Brooklyn.

She also acted in theater productions at the New York Youth Theater. It was there that representatives of the acting agency noticed her and invited her to participate in castings for films.

Movies:

Zoe Yadira Saldana Nazario was born in New Jersey. Her father, Aridio Saldana, was an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, and her mother, Azalea Nazario, came to the United States from Puerto Rico. Zoe’s family included representatives of other nationalities – Indians, Lebanese and Haitians. The family had two more daughters – Cicely and Mariel. Zoe would later have a younger half-brother, Niro, who would become a famous Dominican producer.

For the first few years, the family lived in New York, in the borough of Queens. In 1987, when Zoe was nine years old, her father was in a car accident and died from his injuries. Azalea and her daughters moved to her husband’s relatives in the Dominican Republic, where the family lived until the girls graduated from school. They then returned to New York.

In the Dominican Republic, Saldana discovered the art of dance and began attending the Space Academy of Dance studio, where she studied various areas of choreography. The girl gave preference to classical ballet. Zoe began her professional career as a dancer in America, when at the age of 17 she joined the “Faces” troupe, with which she performed on stage in Brooklyn.

She also acted in theater productions at the New York Youth Theater. It was there that representatives of the acting agency noticed her and invited her to participate in castings for films.

Films:

Saldana’s cinematic biography began in 2000. She made her debut on the big screen in the teenage dance drama “Proscenium,” in which Zoe played one of the aspiring ballerinas.

The first famous film in which Saldana starred, albeit in a minor role, was the action adventure Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Here the young actress played the role of Jack Sparrow’s former lover. While developing her repertoire, Zoe managed to collaborate with Steven Spielberg, having been cast in his project “Terminal”.

In the social comedy “Guess Who?” Zoe got one of the central roles. For her performance in this film, the girl was nominated for the Teen Choice and Black Reel awards. But most of the films of the following years, such as “Constellation”, “Remuneration”, “Point of Fire”, were not noticeable enough. They received neutral or even negative reviews from film critics and viewers.

The breakthrough came in 2009, when two blockbusters starring Saldana were released at once. In the space action movie Star Trek, the actress played Lieutenant Uhura. The film continued the Star Trek franchise, which had been evolving for half a century, and rebooted the first series, rejuvenating the team of space explorers.

It’s interesting that the actress managed to get into the project with director JJ Abrams through the patronage of James Cameron, for whom she was working on the set of “Avatar” at that time. To see how Zoe fits into the frame, the first director specially came to the pavilions of the future blockbuster.

In the fantasy action film Avatar, the actress played the alien princess Neytiri. During filming, the artist was connected to sensors that recorded her body movements and facial expressions. In order to match the image, the performer visited the gym, where she worked hard using a special system. In addition, the training program included horse riding and archery classes.

Avatar was nominated for Oscars in nine categories and received three “technical” statuettes – for cinematography, scenery and visual effects. For her roles in blockbusters, Zoe received Teen Choice and Saturn awards, and was also nominated for ALMA, MTV Movie Awards, Scream and People’s Choice.

Soon, the actress’s filmography included a leading role in the thriller “Colombiana,” produced by Luc Besson. In the film, the actress played a killer girl who pursues the killers of her parents.

The film’s script was created as a continuation of the cult film “Leon”, but by the start of filming the concept had changed. The performer herself was touched by the image, the content of the script captured her and inspired her to create a unique character. But, in her own words, she would not want to meet her heroine in real life.

Saldana later returned to the role of communications lieutenant Uhura in the sequel to the sci-fi action film Star Trek Into Darkness. In the new film, Benedict Cumberbatch joined the cast, who played the main antagonist of the superhuman Khan. The appearance of the famous British actor on the screen and a reference to another character from the original films and TV series brought the film additional popularity.

In 2014, the television serial mystical film “Rosemary’s Baby” was released, in which Zoe Saldana played the main role. Previously, Ira Levin’s book was filmed by Roman Polanski. It was rumored that there was a curse hanging over the film, which affected the lives of its creators.

In 2018, the actress celebrated her 40th birthday. In honor of this date, Zoe was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The gala event was attended by all members of the artist’s family, as well as her colleagues Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and director James Cameron.

The film releases of this period in the artist’s repertoire were the next part of the franchise about the superheroes of the Marvel universe – this is the film “Avengers: Infinity War”, released in 2018, which combined the plots of “The Avengers” and “Guardians of the Galaxy”, and “Avengers: Endgame”, appeared on the big screens a year later.

In 2019, the actress took part in the dubbing process for the animated film “Missing Link.” The actress’s dubbing colleagues were Hugh Jackman, Timothy Olyphant and Emma Thompson.

The release of the new film in the “Avengers” franchise was not without the participation of the actress. The final”. The film performed well compared to previous installments, grossing $2.7 billion at the box office.

“Guardians of the Galaxy” In 2014, Zoe played the role of the green alien Gamora in the blockbuster comic book “Guardians of the Galaxy” based on the Marvel comic book line of the same name. The film tells the story of how a group of unsociable outcasts, meeting in a galactic prison, unite to save the world.

Zoe was initially hesitant about starring in a blockbuster film based on Marvel comics. Previously, she had never been interested in this plot, considering it old-fashioned. But after reading the script, the uncertainty disappeared. The filming itself was not easy for the performer: every day began and ended in the dressing room, where she had to apply and remove paint for several hours.

The role of the leader of the Guardians, adventurer Peter Quill, was played by Chris Pratt, and the thug Drax was played by Dave Bautista. The other two main characters, the genius raccoon Rocket and the anthropomorphic tree Groot, were created using computer graphics. The raccoon is voiced by Bradley Cooper, and Groot, who only speaks one line, is voiced by Vin Diesel. This character’s vocabulary allowed the actor to voice Groot in foreign languages, so in the dubbing the alien tree also speaks in Diesel’s voice.

In May 2017, the sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. Part 2”, in which Zoe again played Gamora. According to the performer, her character’s character has changed significantly in the new series – she has become softer and more feminine. The actress’s personal motherhood also influenced this, thanks to which she herself became calmer. Later, the artist took part in the creation of a special edition of the franchise.

Personal life In her youth, Zoe Saldana dated actor Keith Britton. The artists were even engaged, but in 2011, almost 10 years after they met, they broke up the engagement and broke up. On the set of the film “Words,” the star met Bradley Cooper. Their relationship lasted a little over a year.

In the spring of 2013, Zoe met Italian artist Marco Perego, and in June they got married. It is curious that the artist’s husband switched to his wife’s surname. The marriage produced three children. In November 2014, the couple welcomed twins Sai Aridio and Bowie Ezio. In February 2017, it became known about the birth of a third child named Zen.

The couple teaches their children three languages at once – English, Italian, their father’s native language, and Spanish.

Appearance and style:

The actress admitted that after pregnancy she weighed 83 kg, but soon managed to return to her normal weight – 51 kg. According to the artist, in addition to filming blockbusters, the incentive to return to her previous shape was the desire to fit into her favorite swimsuit.

At the same time, Zoe does not hide the fact that she has not resorted to plastic surgery and will never do so in the future. The main thing for her is natural ways of rejuvenation, such as proper nutrition and exercise. The artist does not eat fried foods, does not consume salt and sugar.

Few people know that the actress is forced to adhere to a strict diet by a rare disease. Zoey suffers from the chronic autoimmune disease Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. The actress’s mother and sisters have a similar diagnosis. The performer manages to maintain her health at the proper level. She has already developed her own nutritional system, from which gluten is completely excluded. This does not prevent her from eating well and maintaining her figure in excellent shape.

Saldana follows an individual program, which includes exercises without weights. The actress admitted that she loves physical activity. She conducts power yoga classes in a dark room without air conditioning.

Zoe Saldana maintains an official account on Instagram (the social network is banned in Russia; it belongs to the Meta corporation, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation). The actress posts photos and videos from filming and social events on her page, and advertises her personal life much less.

Zoe Saldana now:

In the new part of Avatar, Saldana returned to the role of the princess of the Navi people, Neytiri. The picture was called “Avatar. The path of water.” Its premiere was announced for the end of 2022. Previously, it was planned to create three more sequels to the highest-grossing film in cinema history. Most of the scenes for this part were filmed underwater. In addition to Zoe in the leading female role, Sam Worthington, Kate Winslet, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and others appeared in the project.

Saldana successfully combines his love of science fiction with his interest in the comedy genre. Zoe managed to embody both directions in Shawn Levy’s action film “The Adam Project,” which premiered in 2022. The film is known for the fact that Tom Cruise auditioned for the lead role, and was later replaced by Ryan Reynolds.

Filmography:

2003 – “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”
2004 — “Harbor”
2004 — “Terminal”
2005 – “Guess who?”
2009 — “Star Trek”
2009 — “Avatar”
2011 — “Colombiana”
2012 — “Words”
2014 — “Guardians of the Galaxy”
2014 — “Rosemary’s Baby”
2015 — “Infinitely polar bear”
2016 — “Law of the Night”
2017 — “Guardians of the Galaxy. Part 2″
2018 — “Avengers: Infinity War”
2019 — “Avengers: Endgame”
2020 — “Vampires in the Bronx”
2022 — “Project Adam”
2022 — “Avatar 2”

Interesting facts:

Zoe is also in demand in advertising. Since 2010, she has been the face of the Calvin Klein Envy women’s underwear line. Saldana also appears in photo shoots on the covers of Playboy and other men’s glossy magazines, and participated in advertising campaigns for Avon and Gap. In one of them, in addition to Zoya, her sisters also starred.
From time to time, the celebrity is confused with her colleague Thandie Newton. The actresses did not comment on the similarities, but they are distinguished by at least a half-head difference in height. Tandy is 160 cm tall and Zoe is 170 cm tall.

The artist is naturally left-handed. And one finger on her hand is completely insensitive due to an injury caused by falling off a bicycle as a child. The Hollywood star received a driver’s license only at the age of 30.
The actress’s favorite film as a child was “The Terminator” with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the American calls Sophia Loren her idol from the world of European cinema.