Zoe Saldaña
Zoe Saldaña is a Dominican American and Puerto Rican actress who began her career as a dancer. Born in Passaic, New Jersey, on June 19, 1978, and raised in Queens, New York, Saldaña spent much of her adolescence training in ballet at the ECOS Espacio de Danza Academy. “I got so much out of being a dancer," She said. "The stillness of it. The discipline. The dedication.”
Saldaña eventually discovered a passion for acting and joined a teen-oriented theater group, the New York Youth Theater, where she was discovered by a talent agent. Her acting career quickly gained momentum, with her breakout role in the dance drama Center Stage (2000) allowing her to fuse her background as a dancer. She went on to expand her portfolio with roles alongside Britney Spears in Crossroads (2002) and in films including Drumline (2002), The Terminal (2004), and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).
Her portrayal of Neytiri in James Cameron’s Avatar (2009) solidified Saldaña as a sci-fi and action icon. She continued taking on adrenaline-fueled roles, including Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Nyota Uhura in the Star Trek reboot series. In 2024, her leading performance as Rita in the musical crime film Emilia Pérez earned her a Golden Globe, SAG Award, and BAFTA Award.
Saldaña has continued to redefine what is possible for women in action and fantasy films. She is the only actor to appear in four films that have each surpassed $2 billion at the global box office and was named one of TIME’s 100 most influential people in 2023.