Zoe Saldana is began her path to stardom with the dance movie Center Stage and Britney Spears’ Crossroads, but recently she’s been blowing up on the big screen, most recently starring in new Star Trek movie. Find out more about her in her Kidzworld Bio!
Dancing Queen
Zoe Saldana was born in New Jersey, her mother is from the Dominican Republic and her father was from Puerto Rico, she has said that she is very proud of her mixed Spanish and Black heritage, and grew up speaking Spanish and English at home. She spent most of her childhood growing up in Queens, New York, but tragedy struck when she was 9-years-old, her father died in a car accident. Zoe and her mother moved back to the Dominican Republic, where she discovered her love for dancing, studying ballet, jazz and modern dance (this training would later play a major part in her first movie role!) Mid way through high school Zoe and her mother moved back to New York.
Center Stage to Drumline
After returning to New York Zoe also discovered acting, and eventually joined FACES, a theater group in Brooklyn that tried to discuss important issues for teens, she was also part of the New York Youth Theater, and was discovered by an agency during a performance of Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat. It was her love of dancing though that helped her win a major role in the dance flick Center Stage, as Eva, a headstrong dance student from a rough background. She also landed a role in Crossroads alongside Britney Spears, movie about friends who discover themselves (and their true talents) on a road trip. Zoe was on a role, and also went on to star in Drumline and Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl shortly after.
Sci-Fi Sweetheart
Zoe Saldana is a self-professed sci-fi geek! In the last few years she’s taken on two major roles in sci-fi films, including the lead in James Cameron’s Avatar and Uhura in Star Trek and most recently the sequel reprised the role for Star Trek Into Darkness!
Zoe has dished to the press about loving sci-fi and taking on the iconic Star Trek Role: “I'm very proud to say I am a geek. But I'm kind of a cool geek. I grew up in a very sci-fi home so I've seen a lot of sci-fi movies, from Dune to Alien, 2001, ET, Batteries Not Included - All these films I go crazy for. But never Star Trek.”
Zoe was romantically involved with actor Bradley Cooper after co-starring in the film The Words, but they have since split up, she has revealed that all she needs in a man can also be found in Star Trek!
“I tend to be very picky, so I look for the perfect man! So if Spock and Kirk can mix, they'd become my perfect man. That's the kind of guy I'd go for. I don't only go for muscles, I don't only go for brains. You just need to have a little bit of a bad boy and a geek and then you've got the perfect guy."
Zoe Saldana in action in Star Trek Into Darkness
Check out Zoe dishing to Jimmy Kimmel about filming Star Trek Into Darkness below!
Have Your Say
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