Zoe Saldana

Zoe Saldana

Saldana at the 2010 Academy Awards
Born Zoe Yadira Saldaña Nazario
June 19, 1978 (1978-06-19) (age 33)
Passaic, New Jersey, U.S.[1][2]
Nationality American
Other names Zoe Yadira Zaldana Nazario
Ethnicity Dominican and Puerto Rican
Occupation Actress
Years active 1999–present
Partner

Keith Britton (2000–2011)

Bradley Cooper
Parents Aridio Saldaña (d. c:a 1987)[3]
Asalia Nazario
Website
www.zoesaldana.com

Zoe Saldana[1][4][5][6] ( /sælˈdænə/ sal-dan-ə; born June 19, 1978), sometimes stylized Zoë Saldaña, is an American actress. She had her breakthrough role in the 2000 film Center Stage and later gained prominence for her roles as Anamaria in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Uhura in the 2009 film Star Trek, and a starring role as Neytiri in James Cameron's Avatar. She also had a lead role in the action film Colombiana.

Contents

Early life

Zoe Saldana was born Zoe Yadira Saldaña Nazario[5][6] or Zoe Yadira Saldana Nazario[1] in Passaic, New Jersey.[2][7] Her father, Aridio Saldaña, is Black Dominican, and her mother, Asalia Nazario, is Puerto Rican.[8][9][10][11]

Her first languages are English and Spanish. She spent the majority of her early childhood growing up in Queens, New York. After her father died in a car accident (when she was nine years old), her mother moved the family to the Dominican Republic. There Saldana discovered her love of dance and soon enrolled in the ECOS Espacio de Danza Academy; she studied ballet, jazz, and modern Latin dance.[2][3][12] The family returned to Queens after her sophomore year in high school.

At age 17, she began performing with the Faces theater troupe, which put on plays geared towards providing positive messages for teens, via themes dealing with issues such as substance abuse and sex. Concurrently, she performed with the New York Youth Theater; her appearance in their production of Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat led a talent agency to recruit her. Her previous dance training, and her acting experience, helped her land her first big screen role as Eva, the talented and headstrong ballet dancer in the 2000 film Center Stage.[2][3]

Career

Zoe Saldana was still a member of Faces when she gained exposure in an episode of Law & Order (titled "Merger") which first aired in 1999.[13] She left school after Center Stage, subsequently appearing in the Britney Spears vehicle Crossroads (2002) and the comedy-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.[14] In 2009, she played Neytiri, the Na'vi princess, in James Cameron's Avatar, a role that gave her much publicity and recognition, and therefore presenting her more opportunities to work in big commercial films.

She is the only actress to have three movies in the box office top 20 for three consecutive weeks. These movies are Avatar, The Losers, and Death at a Funeral.

In August 2010, Saldana's television ad for Calvin Klein's "Envy" line debuted.[15] In 2011, she starred in the crime drama movie Colombiana.

Personal life

In June 2010, Saldana became engaged to Keith Britton, an actor and CEO of My Fashion Database.[16] In November 2011, it was confirmed that Saldana and Britton had amicably ended their relationship after eleven years together.[17]

In late December 2011, sources close to Zoe confirmed that she and The Words co-star Bradley Cooper had begun dating.[18]

Saldana is a celebrity supporter of FINCA International, a microfinance organization.[19]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
2000 Center Stage Eva Rodriguez
2001 Get Over It Maggie
Snipes Cheryl
2002 Crossroads Kit
Drumline Laila Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (Shared with Nick Cannon)
2003 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Anamaria
2004 The Terminal Dolores Torres
Haven Andrea
Temptation Annie
2005 Constellation Rosa Boxer
Guess Who Theresa Jones Nominated—Black Movie Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated—Black Reel Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Breakout Performance – Female
Dirty Deeds Rachel Buff
La maldición del padre Cardona Flor
2006 Premium Charli
2007 After Sex Kat
Blackout Claudine
2008 Vantage Point Angie Jones
2009 Star Trek Nyota Uhura Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast
Premios Juventud for Best Actress (also for Avatar)
Nominated—ALMA Award for Outstanding Actress – Motion Picture
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
Nominated—Constellation Award for Best Female Performance in a 2009 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie, or Mini-Series
Nominated—Detroid Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
Nominated—IGN Award for Babe of the Summer[20]
Nominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Breakout Movie Actress
Nominated—Scream Award for Best Science Fiction Actress
Nominated—Scream Award for Breakout Performance – Female
Nominated—Scream Award for Best Ensemble
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress – Action Adventure
Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
The Skeptic Cassie
Avatar Neytiri BET Award for Best Actress
Constellation Award for Best Female Performance in a 2009 Science Fiction Film, TV Movie, or Mini-Series
Empire Award for Best Actress
Premios Juventud for Best Actress (also for Star Trek)
Saturn Award for Best Actress
Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress – Sci-Fi
VES Award for Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture (shared with Andrew Jones, Joe Letteri, and Jeff Unay)[21][22]
Nominated—Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Nominated—Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actress
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (Shared with Sam Worthington)
Nominated—Scream Award for Best Science Fiction Actress
2010 The Losers Aisha Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress – Action Adventure
Takers Lily Jansen
Death at a Funeral Elaine Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress – Comedy
Burning Palms Sara Cotton
2011 The Heart Specialist Donna
Colombiana Cataleya Restrepo IGN Award for Babe of the Summer[23]
Pending—Alliance of Women Film Journalists: Kick Ass Award For Best Female Action Star
Nominated—Black Reel Award for Best Actress [24]
2012 Untitled Star Trek sequel Nyota Uhura filming
2013 The Words Dora Post-production
2014 Avatar 2 Neytiri Pre-production
2015 Avatar 3 Neytiri Pre-production
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1999 Law & Order Uncredited 1 episode: "Refuge, Part 2"
2004 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Gabrielle Vega 1 episode: "Criminal"
2006–2007 Six Degrees Regina 5 episodes

References

  1. ^ a b c "Zoe Saldana profile at FilmReference.com". http://www.filmreference.com/film/20/Zoe-Saldana.html. Retrieved October 16, 2008. 
  2. ^ a b c d "The Official Website of Zoe Saldana – Biography". http://www.zoesaldana.com/biography.html. Retrieved October 10, 2010. 
  3. ^ a b c "Zoe Saldana Biography - Yahoo! Movies". Yahoo! Movies. http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800362233/bio. Retrieved 2011-10-09. 
  4. ^ For this spelling and her own pronunciation of it, please see: "YouTube: Conversation with Avatar's James Cameron and stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwefL53MhCU&feature=youtube_gdata. Retrieved January 7, 2010.  It is linked from the official website of Avatar.
  5. ^ a b "Zoe Saldana, con la crítica a sus pies" (in Spanish). El Informador (Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico). January 4, 2010. http://www.informador.com.mx/entretenimiento/2010/167526/6/zoe-saldana-con-la-critica-a-sus-pies.htm. Retrieved January 16, 2010. 
  6. ^ a b Bass, Debra (January 1, 2010). "Celebrities revealed: Gaga, Riri, Zoe and Drew". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. http://interact.stltoday.com/blogzone/debs-style-file//debs-style-file/2010/01/celebrities-revealed-gaga-riri-zoe-and-drew. Retrieved January 16, 2010. 
  7. ^ Buchanan, Jason (2008). "Zoe Saldana – Overview". MSN. http://movies.msn.com/celebrities/celebrity/zoe-saldana. Retrieved July 29, 2008. 
  8. ^ "PopEntertainment.com: Zoe Saldana interview about 'Haven'". September 12, 2006. http://www.popentertainment.com/saldana.htm. Retrieved January 4, 2010. "My mom is Puerto Rican and my father is Dominican." 
  9. ^ Balfour, Brad (September 2006). "HAVEN: An Interview with Zoe Saldana". BlackFilm.com. http://www.blackfilm.com/20060908/features/zoesaldana.shtml. Retrieved January 4, 2010. "ZS: My mom is Puerto Rican and my father is Dominican." 
  10. ^ Boucher, Geoff (November 23, 2009). "'Avatar' star Zoe Saldana says the movie will match the hype: 'This is big'". http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2009/11/avatar-star-zoe-salda%C3%B1a-says-the-movie-lives-up-to-hype-this-is-big.html. Retrieved January 4, 2010. "My family background is from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico." 
  11. ^ "ZOE SALDANA TRABAJO DE ESTRELLA". El Nuevo Herald (McClatchy Company). October 2, 2003. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=EN&s_site=miami&p_multi=EN&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0FDFF7B2EDEF083D&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved April 19, 2010. 
  12. ^ Buchanan, Jason. "Zoe Saldana - Biography - Movies & TV - NYTimes.com". nytimes.com. http://movies.nytimes.com/person/277350/Zoe-Saldana/biography. Retrieved 2011-10-09. 
  13. ^ "Merger". Law & Order. NBC. 1999-10-13. No. 4, season 10.
  14. ^ "Zoë Saldana Cast in J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek" movie". March 2, 2008. http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/2307054.html. Retrieved July 4, 2008. 
  15. ^ "Zoe Saldana Calvin Klein TV Ad Revealed! Bares Secrets for Nothing to Hide". UrbLife.com. August 29, 2010. http://www.urblife.com/the-look/zoe-saldana-calvin-klein-tv-ad-revealed. 
  16. ^ "Avatar's Zoe Saldana Is Engaged!". USMagazine.com. June 30, 2010. http://www.usmagazine.com/healthylifestyle/news/avatars-zoe-saldana-is-engaged-2010306. 
  17. ^ "Zoe Saldana, Fiance Split After 11 Years Together". Us Weekly. November 12, 2011. http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/zoe-saldana-fiance-split-after-11-years-together-20111211. 
  18. ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/zoe-saldana-bradley-cooper-totally-dating-month-avatar-actress-splits-fiance-article-1.998348
  19. ^ Zoe Saldana Supports FINCA's Hand Up for Haiti Campaign "FINCA International website," March 20, 2011.
  20. ^ "2009 IGN Award for Babe of the Summer". IGN. http://uk.movies.ign.com/summer-awards/2009/babe-of-the-summer.html. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
  21. ^ King, Susan (March 1, 2010). "Visual effects, sound and cinematography awards". Los Angeles Times. http://theenvelope.latimes.com/news/la-et-cinematographers1-2010mar01,0,1257944.story. Retrieved March 8, 2010. 
  22. ^ "VES Awards-Nominees-2010" (PDF). Visual Effects Society. January 19, 2010. http://www.visualeffectssociety.com/system/files/15/files/ves-awards-nominees-2010-final.pdf. Retrieved March 10, 2010. 
  23. ^ "2011 IGN Award for Babe of the Summer". IGN. http://uk.ign.com/lists/summer-movie-awards-2011/babe-of-the-summer. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
  24. ^ "Pariah’s Nine Noms Lead the Black Reel Awards Field". The Black Reel Awards. 14 December 2011. http://blackreelawards.wordpress.com/2011/12/14/pariahs-nine-noms-lead-the-black-reel-awards-field/. Retrieved 2012-01-02. 

Further reading

External links