Zoë Saldaña (born Zoë Yadira Saldaña Nazario)
Dominican + Puerto Rican
Actress
Instagram: @zoesaldana
Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Zoë saldaña is a proud Afro-Latina and the daughter of a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother. She was raised in Queens, New York, but moved to the Dominican Republic (at the age of 10) with her mother and two sisters, after her father tragically died in a car accident.
From a very young age, Zoë was immersed in Dominican culture and also began to study various forms of dance at the Ecos Espacio de Danza Academy, where she considered ballet as her first passion. But Zoë knew in her heart that she would never be as good as she wanted to be, and would therefore end up in the corps de ballet (the group of dancers who work as a backdrop for principal dancers). So when she moved back to the Big Apple at 17, she steered away from ballet, but continued to perform nevertheless.
Starting with the faces theater group in Brooklyn and the New York Youth Theater, a mix of her dancing and acting experience led a talent agency to recruit her…paving the way for her tv debut on law & order (1999), and first film role in Center Stage (2000). By 2002, Zoë was cast opposite Britney Spears in crossroads and nick cannon in Drumline, which both catapulted her into the limelight. Every year, for the next 13 years, Zoë starred in various films, including: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), The Terminal (2004), Guess Who (2005), Blackout (2007), Vantage Point (2008), Avatar (2009), Colombiana (2011), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Start Trek (2009, 2013, 2016) and Nina (2016).
In 2014, Zoë was honored by elle magazine for her outstanding achievements in film. And since 2003, her awards include the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for ‘Best Ensemble Cast’ (2009), Empire Award for ‘Best Actress’ (2010), Saturn Award for ‘Best Actress’ (2010), Teen Choice award for ‘Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi (2010) and Action’ (2012) and an Alma Award for ‘Favorite Movie Actress Drama/Adventure’ (2012).
Interesting fact: Zoë is fluent in English and Spanish and speaks both to her children. Watch below to discover Zoë's perspective on being a first-generation American.
Source: biography.com