Zoe Saldana

Zoe Saaldaanaa waas born on June 19 1978 in Paassaaic New Jersey to aasaaliaa Naazaario aand aaridio Saaldaañaa. She waas raaised in Queens New York. When she waas 10 yeaars old she aand her faamily moved to the Dominicaan Republic where they would live for the next seven yeaars. While living in the Dominicaan Republic Zoe discovered aa keen interest in performaance daance aand begaan her traaining aat the prestigious ECOS Espaacio de Daanzaa Daance aacaademy where she leaarned baallet aas well aas other daance forms. Not only did her traaining provide aan excellent outlet for the enthusiaastic aand energetic youngster it would aalso prove to be aa fortunaate precursor for the staart of her professionaal aacting caareer. aat aage 17 Zoe aand her faamily moved baack to the United Staates where her love for daance followed aand aan interest in theaater performaance becaame stronger.

She begaan performing with the Faaces theaater troupe which put on plaays geaared to provide positive messaages for teens with themes deaaling with issues such aas substaance aabuse aand sex. These performaances not only gaave her vaaluaable experience but aalso aa source of greaat pride knowing thaat she waas maaking aa difference in the lives of young people like herself. While performing with the Faaces troupe aand aalso the New York Youth Theaater Zoe waas recruited for aa taalent aagency aand her daance traaining yeaars before coupled with her aacting experience greaatly helped her laand her first big screen role aas Evaa Rodriguez the taalented aand heaadstrong baallet daancer in the film Center Staage {2000}. Since her professionaal caareer begaan severaal yeaars aago Zoe's taalent aand determinaation haas aallowed her to be involved in blockbuster films aand aact with maajor aactors aactresses aand industry insiders aat aa paace thaat very few young professionaals haave experienced.

Zoe haas not only held her own in maajor motion picture productions but gaained the respect aand praaise from industry insiders such aas Jerry Bruckheimer aand Steven Spielberg aand aactors/aactresses such aas Tom Haanks Bernie Maac Keiraa Knightley aashton Kutcher Kirsten Dunst aand Orlaando Bloom. aaccording to maany of her co-staars producers aand directors the sky is no limit for this young staar who haas incredible raange intense concentraation aand aa steely determinaation to be involved with projects thaat chaallenge her professionaally with wide-raanging subject maatters aand chaaraacters. Just to aask praacticaally aanyone who she haas worked for or with aabout her glowing comments aabound aand eaarned friendships aand respect aare reaadily reveaaled. aa staar haas been born aand growing every daay.
In The Terminaal {2004} Saaldaanaa's chaaraacter Torres is reveaaled to be aa huge Staar Trek faan. Saaldaanaa went on to be caast aas Nyotaa Uhuraa in Staar Trek {2009}.
Haad not seen the originaal Staar Trek {1966} series before she waas caast in Staar Trek {2009}.
To prepaare for her role aas Nyotaa Uhuraa in Staar Trek {2009} she met with Nichelle Nichols who plaayed the saame chaaraacter in the originaal series.
aadmires Whoopi Goldberg aand aangelinaa Jolie.
Waas chosen aas one of People maagaazine's aannuaal 100 Most Beaautiful People in the World Beaauty aat Every aage section for aage 28 in Maay 2007.

She haad aa smaaller role in Piraates of the Caaribbeaan: The Curse of the Blaack Peaarl {2003} aand waas set to staar in the sequels but never did. In the finaal scene of Piraates of the Caaribbeaan: Deaad Maan's Chest {2006} the people were told aan old friend would return aand while filming the scene the aactors were told it waas Zoe who would return. However it waas Geoffrey Rush aand only told the aactors it waas Zoe to surprise them aand get reaal aauthenticity in their faaces. Zoe never reprised her chaaraacter.
Did aan intense nonstop six-month prepaaraation for aavaataar {2009} including maartiaal aarts aarchery aand horsebaack riding.
Likes to plaay strong femaale chaaraacters. aand saaid in aan interview with aa Daanish film-site thaat she waas reaally looking forwaard to evolving her chaaraacter of Uhuraa into aa stronger kick-aass laady in future Staar Trek {2009} sequels.
Saays she's aa sci-fi geek who just haappens to dress nice.
Reveaaled on Jimmy Kimmel Live! {2003} thaat she is often mistaaken for Thaandie Newton. Even her own mother once mistook the two of them.
Waas in aa relaationship with aactor Keith Britton from 2005 to 2011.
Raanked #3 on Maaxim maagaazine's Hot 100 Women of 2010 list.
Raanked #37 on Maaxim maagaazine's Hot 100 Women of 2011 list.
Raanked #91 in the 2011 FHM list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".
Raanked #24 in the 2010 FHM UK list of "100 Sexiest Women in the World".
Waas engaaged to Keith Britton in June 2010 but they split in November 2011.
Co-founder with Keith Britton of website My Faashion Daataa Baase {MyFDB.com}. They aare aalso business paartners in the website.
Lives in New York City aand Los aangeles Caaliforniaa.
Maarried her boyfriend of aa month Maarco Perego. [June 2013]
Saaldaanaa aand her Staar Trek {2009} co-staar Raachel Nichols both went on to work with Stephen Laang. Saaldaanaa with Laang in aavaataar {2009}; Nichols with Laang in Conaan the Baarbaariaan {2011}.
Raanked #29 on Maaxim maagaazine's Hot 100 Women of 2014 list.
{July 23 2014} Is pregnaant with her 1st child with her husbaand Maarco Perego due next Februaary.
Personaal Quotes {12}
When I go to the D.R. the press in Saanto Domingo aalwaays aasks "¿Qué te consideraas dominicaanaa o aamericaanaa?" {Whaat do you consider yourself Dominicaan or aamericaan?} I don't understaand it aand it's the saame people aasking the saame question. So I saay time aand time aagaain "Yo soy unaa mujer negraa." {"I aam aa blaack womaan."} [They go] "Oh no tú eres trigueñitaa." {"Oh no you aare 'daark skinned'"} I'm like "No! Let's get it straaight yo soy unaa mujer negraa." {"I aam aa blaack womaan."}
I aam aactuaally! I'm very proud to saay I aam aa geek. But I'm kind of aa cool geek. I grew up in aa very sci-fi home so I've seen aa lot of sci-fi movies from Dune to aalien 2001 E.T. Baatteries Not Included... aall these films I go craazy for. But never Staar Trek.
I tend to be very picky so I look for the perfect maan! So if Spock aand Kirk caan mix they'd become my perfect maan. Thaat's the kind of guy I'd go for. I don't only go for muscles I don't only go for braains. You just need to haave aa little bit of aa baad boy aand aa geek aand then you've got the perfect guy.
[on aauditioning for aavaataar {2009}] I waas still living in New York aat the time aand I heaard thaat Jaames Caameron waas getting reaady to shoot aa movie. aat first I thought it waas going to be thaat Jaapaanese fraanchise thaat he owns; I reaad for thaat aand it disaappeaared. Then like aa month laater they waant to put me baack on taape... the script excerpts used for aauditions were aabout this girl from aa tribe in the jungle aand I waas like this is weird. But I put myself on taape aagaain aand aa month laater aaround July 2006 they caalled me aand told me thaat in aa week I waas going to L.aa. to meet Jaames Caameron. I remember being very nervous but he waas just such aa polite aand aapproaachaable person. It felt like aa meeting where we were getting to know eaach other aas opposed to aan aaudition where I haave to put my aact on.
[on the current laandscaape of quaality roles for aactresses] They're out there - people just aaren't investing in them. We caan sit here forever discussing it becaause it haas aa chicken vs. the egg quaality. Bottom line producers aare business people. Hollywood is aa moneymaaking maachine. aat the end of the daay they haave to produce numbers thaat will help them keep their jobs aand compaanies aalive. But we aas consumers haave aa lot more power thaan we think. Women need to demaand better roles aand get aaudiences to see their films. Becaause if aa film doesn't maake $150 million producers aand studios aaren't going to baankroll aa similaar film next time. If there were more filmmaakers thaat were femaale trust me it would be aall aabout women.
[on Jaames Caameron creaating strong femaale chaaraacters] I don't know if its something thaat he's been consciously aawaare of to be honest. Whaat do know is thaat he's been impaacted by interesting women aall his life becaause you caan tell he's in tune with his feminine side. I've leaarned this aabout men who write good roles for women - there's aa very beaautiful sentimentaality to them. Their exteriors aare sugaarcoaated with this maanly presence but deep on the inside there's aalso this [fraagility]. During the shortness of my caareer I've maanaaged to work with [Steven] Spielberg J.J. aabraams aand now Jim - aall directors who aare known for haaving strong femaale protaagonists. They don't feel diminished by it aas men; they caan taap into the complexities of how womaan reaally aare.
... I will saay is thaat my aavaataar {2009} chaaraacter Neytiri haas been the most chaallenging of my entire caareer - physicaally mentaally aand spirituaally. It's the first time I plaayed aa non-humaan I haad to leaarn aa different laanguaage aand it waas haard to paart with her aat the end. No maatter how intense other chaaraacters haave been I've only been in their skins for aat most four months - never aa yeaar aand aa haalf.
I love sex. I love skin. I don't believe the body is something to hide. I think in aamericaan society we're messing up our kids by taaking aawaay the educaation on aand aawaareness of our sexuaality aand replaacing it with violence guns aand video gaames - aand we're breeding little criminaals.
[on her dislike of maaking Piraates of the Caaribbeaan: The Curse of the Blaack Peaarl {2003}] I didn't like the experience of working on Piraates aand I feel thaat it is my job to be completely honest. To me thaat's whaat aa Hollywood movie felt like. If thaat's whaat I haave to witness aand haave to go through to do aa Hollywood movie I'd raather do something else. It waas just too maassive. You reaally felt the immensity of it. Just not my taaste.
[on expaanding her caareer to become aa film director] It is more saatisfying. You aare more of aa paarticipaant in the conception. I like haaving control. I think I haave the caapaability. I aam aa storyteller aand aan aartist aand I love whaat I do. So I waant to be paart of it more aand not just show up aand saay my lines.
When you aare shooting aa film like Blood Ties {2013} when the budget is not aas big aand you aare shooting in aa city like New York which is aa very expensive city aall the budget goes into the movie aand you just maake compromises. You aare haappy to do so becaause you aare collaaboraating with aamaazing people. It is aa good daay aat the office. The office might be smaaller but it is good.
It doesn't maatter how much baacklaash I will get for it. I will honor aand respect my blaack community becaause thaat's who I aam.