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Zoë Yadira Saldaña-Perego ( sahl-DAN-ə, Spanish: [ˈsoe salˈdaɲa]; née Saldaña Nazario; born June 19, 1978) is an American actress. Known primarily for her work in science fiction film franchises, she has starred in four of the highest-grossing films of all time (Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame), a feat not achieved by any other performer. Films she has appeared in have grossed more than $14 billion worldwide and, as of 2023, she is the second-highest-grossing film actress, and the fourth actor overall. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023.A trained dancer, Saldaña began her acting career in two 1999 episodes of Law & Order. Her first film role was in Center Stage (2000) in which she played a ballet dancer. She received early recognition for her work opposite Britney Spears in the road film Crossroads (2002). Beginning in 2009, Saldaña achieved a career breakthrough with her roles as Nyota Uhura in the Star Trek film series and Neytiri in James Cameron's Avatar film series. She portrayed Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). In addition to franchise work, Saldaña has starred in the science fiction film The Adam Project and the romantic drama miniseries From Scratch, both for Netflix in 2022. In 2023, she began playing the lead role of a CIA officer in the Paramount+ spy series Special Ops: Lioness. Early life Saldaña was born on June 19, 1978, in Passaic, New Jersey Her parents are Aridio Saldaña, who is Dominican, and Asalia Nazario, a Dominican with Puerto Rican ancestry. Nazario was living as a child with her mother in the Dominican Republic, but they migrated to New York to escape political unrest. In an interview with Wired, Saldaña has said that she is 3⁄4 Dominican and 1⁄4 Puerto Rican.She and her two sisters, Cisely and Mariel, were raised bilingual in English and Spanish; the latter was their first language at home. The majority of her early childhood was spent in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City.Their father died in a vehicle crash when Saldaña was nine. Her mother sent the three sisters to the Dominican Republic to be raised by their late father's family. She stayed in New York to work in order to afford private school for the girls. The widowed mother Asalia married Dagoberto Galán, who became the stepfather of the girls. They consider him fully their father.With regard to her racial identity, Saldaña has said, "There's no one way to be Black. I'm Black the way I know how to be."Saldaña discovered her love of dance while living in the Dominican Republic. She was enrolled in the ECOS Espacio de Danza Academy studying forms of dance, but describes ballet as her passion. She told Vanity Fair that she quit ballet because she did not "have the feet", and had too much pride and ambition to just be in the corps de ballet.The family returned to New York City after her sophomore year; she completed her early education at Newtown High School in Queens.In 1995, Saldaña performed with the Faces theater group in Brooklyn. She appeared in plays that encouraged teens by exploring such issues as substance abuse and adolescent sex. During these years, she performed with the New York Youth Theater; her appearance in their production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat led a talent agency to recruit her. Her dance training and her acting experience helped her land her first film role, playing ballet student Eva Rodriguez in Center Stage (2000). Career Beginnings Saldaña was a member of Faces after her exposure in an episode of Law & Order (titled "Refuge, Part 2") in 1999. Saldaña's first film role was in Center Stage (2000), directed by Nicholas Hytner, about dancers at the fictitious American Ballet Academy in New York city. She appeared in the Britney Spears vehicle Crossroads (2002). The film earned negative reviews from critics, but was a box-office success. Saldaña starred in the comedy-drama Drumline (2002), alongside Nick Cannon, earning mixed reviews.In Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), she played Anamaria, a pirate joining Will Turner and Mr. Gibbs for a chance to confront Jack Sparrow for stealing her ship. She appeared in The Terminal as Dolores Torres, an immigration officer and Star Trek fan, a role helping Saldaña during her portrayal in the Star Trek reboot (2009). In 2004, she had roles in Haven and Temptation; both earned little-to-no box-office success. In 2005, Saldaña appeared in Constellation, Guess Who with Ashton Kutcher, and Dirty Deeds. She starred in the romantic comedy-dramas Premium (2006) and After Sex (2007). Saldaña starred in Blackout, a television film set in New York city during the Northeast Blackout of 2003. The film premiered at the 2007 Zurich Film Festival and debuted on BET in 2008. Saldaña had a supporting role as Angie Jones in the action thriller Vantage Point (2008). Breakthrough with franchise roles Saldaña appeared in two roles in 2009, raising her profile considerably. She played Nyota Uhura in Star Trek. The film's director J. J. Abrams asked Saldaña to play the role because he enjoyed her work. She met with Nichelle Nichols to understand the creation of Uhura's background and name of the character. Saldaña's mother was a Star Trek fan, leaving voice-mails during filming, advising on the role. Steven Spielberg taught her the Vulcan salute five years earlier while he directed her in The Terminal. Star Trek (2009) was a box-office success earning $385.7 million.Saldaña's second high-profile film in 2009 was Avatar, where she portrayed the indigenous hunter Neytiri. Avatar was well received by critics, accumulating an approval rating of 83% on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. It grossed $2.7 billion worldwide to become the highest-grossing film of all time, as well as in the United States and Canada. It also became the first film to gross more than $2 billion worldwide. The film was nominated for ten Saturn Awards, and won all ten at the 36th Saturn Awards ceremony. Saldaña's Saturn Award for Best Actress win marked a rare occurrence for an all-CG character.In 2010, Saldaña performed in The Losers as Aisha al-Fadhil, a native Bolivian woman. For the role, she was required to gain weight to carry weapons for eight hours a day. In 2010, she appeared in Takers, Death at a Funeral, and Burning Palms. Her television ad for Calvin Klein's "Envy" line debuted in 2010. In 2011, Saldaña starred in the romantic comedy The Heart Specialist, and portrayed assassin Cataleya Restrepo in the crime drama Colombiana. Although the latter film earned negative reviews from critics, Saldaña's performance was praised.In 2012, she appeared in the romantic drama The Words, earning negative reviews from critics with little success at the box-office.In 2013, Saldaña reprised her role as Uhura in Star Trek Into Darknes.... Discover the Zoe York popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Zoe York books.