Personal life

Zoe Saldana was born Zoe Yadira Zaldaña Nazario^[4][5] or Zoe Yadira Zaldana Nazario^[1] in Passaic, New Jersey,^[2][6] United States, to Aridio Zaldaña, a Dominican, and Asalia Nazario, a Puerto Rican.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Her first languages are English and Spanish. She spent the majority of her early childhood growing up in Queens, New York. At 10, she moved with her family to the Dominican Republic, where they lived for the next seven years. Saldana enlisted in a ballet class at one of the most prestigious dancing schools in the Dominican Republic.^[2] After returning to Queens at age 17, she began performing with the Faces theater troupe, which put on plays geared to providing positive messages for teens, via themes dealing with issues such as substance abuse and sex. These performances not only gave her valuable experience but were a source of great pride, as she knew that she was making a difference in the lives of young people like herself. While performing with the Faces troupe and also the New York Youth Theater Zoe was recruited for a talent agency. Her dance training years before, coupled with her acting experience, greatly helped her land her first big screen role as Eva, the talented and headstrong ballet dancer in the 2000 film Center Stage.^[2]

On June 30, 2010, it was announced in Us Weekly that Saldana was engaged to her boyfriend of 10 years, actor and CEO of My Fashion Database Keith Britton.^[11]

Career

Zoe Saldana in 2009

Saldana was still a member of Faces when she gained exposure in an episode of Law & Order (titled "Merger") which first aired in 1999.^[12] She left school after Center Stage, which film led to appearances 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.^[13] In 2009, she played Neytiri, the Na'vi princess, in James Cameron's Avatar.

She is the only actress to have three movies in the box office top twenty 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 "Nothing to Hide" line debuted.^[14]

Filmography

Awards and nominations

• ALMA Awards
  • 2009, Best Actress (Film): Star Trek (nominated)

• Casandra Award (Dominican Republic)
  • 2010, "Artista Destacado en el Extranjero" (in Spanish); Outstanding Artist Abroad (Winner)

• Black Movie Awards
  • 2006, Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Guess Who (nominated)

• Black Reel Awards
  • 2010, Best Supporting Actress: Avatar (nominated)
  • 2006, Best Actress: Guess Who (nominated)

• NAACP Image Award
  • 2010, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Avatar (nominated)
  • 2006, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture: Guess Who (nominated)

• MTV Movie Awards
  • 2010, Best Female Performance: Avatar (nominated)
  • 2010, Best Kiss: Avatar shared with Sam Worthington (nominated)
  • 2003, Best Kiss: Drumline Shared with Nick Cannon (nominated)

• Saturn Awards
  • 2010, Best Actress in Movie: Avatar (Won)

• Scream Awards
  • 2009, Breakout Performance-Female: Star Trek (nominated)
  • 2009, Best Science Fiction Actress: Star Trek (nominated)

• Teen Choice Awards
  • 2010, Choice Movie Actress (Sci-Fi): Avatar (Won)
  • 2010, Choice Movie Actress (Comedy): Death and a Funeral (Nominated)
  • 2009, Choice Movie Actress (Action/Adventure): Star Trek (nominated)
  • 2006, Choice Movie Actress (Breakout): Guess Who (nominated)

• People's Choice Awards
  • 2009, Favorite Breakout Movie Actress: Star Trek (nominated)

• Maxim's Hot 100
  • 2010, #3
  • 2009, #29
  • 2008, #43

References