Zoe Saldana
Biography
Zoe Saldaña is an American actress who trained as a dancer and began on screen with a guest spot on Law & Order in 1999. Born in Passaic, New Jersey, and raised in Queens, she took her first film part as a ballet dancer in Center Stage (2000), then drew attention for Crossroads (2002) and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). Parts in the Star Trek reboot films, where she played Nyota Uhura, and in the Avatar series, as Neytiri, raised her profile, and she portrayed Gamora across five Marvel Cinematic Universe entries beginning with Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). Further credits include Death at a Funeral (2010), Colombiana (2011), Out of the Furnace (2013), Missing Link (2019) and The Adam Project (2022). She won an Academy Award for her supporting role in Emilia Pérez (2024), along with BAFTA, Golden Globe and SAG honors, and has sung original songs for the Avatar films.
48years old
Turns 49 on June 19in 250 days
- Born Passaic
- Star sign: GeminiThe sign runs May 21 to June 20
- Zoë Yadira Saldaña Nazario (birth name)Also credited as Zoë Yadira Saldaña-Perego and Zoe Yadira Saldaña Nazario
Movie Career
- Films
- 45
- Career span
- 25 years2000 to 2025
Genres
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First role
Saldaña landed her first film role as ballet student Eva Rodriguez in Center Stage after a talent agency recruited her from a New York Youth Theater production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Big break
J. J. Abrams, who directed the film, cast Saldana in the role after enjoying her work. To learn how the character's name and background came about, she met with Nichelle Nichols.
Behind the award
Saldaña's win for Best Actress at the Saturn Awards was an unusual event, since the character was created entirely with computer graphics.
Behind the award
In the 2024 musical crime film Emilia Pérez, Saldaña took the role of Rita Mora Castro, a junior criminal defense attorney. Her performance earned critical acclaim, and she shared the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress with Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz.
Beyond film
Saldana returned as Neytiri in Avatar: The Way of Water in 2022. For that role, she sang vocals on the original song "The Songcord" for the film's soundtrack, which Simon Franglen wrote.
Behind the camera
Saldana acted in Rosemary's Baby, a two-part television mini-series based on Ira Levin's horror novel, in May 2014. She also served as a co-producer on the four-hour show.
Zoe Saldana movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
James Gunn directed three of these films, James Cameron three and Anthony Russo two. Two actors appear in five of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Sigourney Weaver's page
Karen Gillan's page
Stephen Lang's page
Idris Elba's page
Simon Pegg's page
Mark Ruffalo's page
All films by James Gunn
All films by James Cameron
All films by Anthony Russo
Also four films together6 more actors
- Bradley CooperGuardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 (2023), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and The Words (2012)
- Giovanni RibisiAvatar: Fire and Ash (2025), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), Capturing Avatar (2010) and Avatar (2009)
- Sam WorthingtonAvatar: Fire and Ash (2025), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), Capturing Avatar (2010) and Avatar (2009)
- Chris PineFor the Love of Spock (2016), Star Trek Beyond (2016), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek (2009)
- Karl UrbanFor the Love of Spock (2016), Star Trek Beyond (2016), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek (2009)
- Zachary QuintoFor the Love of Spock (2016), Star Trek Beyond (2016), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek (2009)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What Zoe Saldana's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$17.2 billion
33 of the 45 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 45 films: 33 worldwide figure; 5 us gross only; 2 never in cinemas; 2 streaming, short cinema run; 3 figure not found.
- 33Worldwide figure
- 5US gross only
- 2Never in cinemas
- 2Streaming, short cinema run
- 3Figure not found
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 82% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$2.9B17.0% of the total
- 2$2.8B16.3% of the total
- 3$2.3B13.6% of the total
- 4$2.1B12.0% of the total
- 5$1.5B8.7% of the total
- 6$864M5.0% of the total
- 7$846M4.9% of the total
- 8$773M4.5% of the total
$3.1 billionfrom the other 25 films with a worldwide figure, 18% of the total
Awards
Eight awards and honors from 2010 to 2026, three of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | |||
| 2025 | Best Supporting Actress | Emilia Pérez | Won |
| Golden Globes | |||
| 2024 | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | Won | |
| BAFTA | |||
| 2025 | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Emilia Pérez | Won |
| Other honors | |||
| 2026 | Black Reel Award for Best Voice Performance | Avatar: Fire and Ash | Won |
| 2024 | Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres | Won | |
| 2023 | Time 100 | Honored | |
| 2010 | Max Mara Face of the Future Award | Won | |
| Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame | Honored | ||
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.