Zoe Saldana Biography

Birth Name: Zoe Yadira Zaldaña Nazario

Birth Place: New Jersey

Date of Birth / Zodiac Sign: 06/19/1978, Gemini

Profession: Actor

Zoe Saldana Relationships:

Cisley Saldana - Sister

Mariel Saldana - Sister

Keith Britton - Fiancé

Zoe Saldaña (born Zoe Yadira Zaldaña Nazario June 19, 1978; also known as Zoë Saldana, Zoe Saldana, and Zoë Saldaña) is an American actress, known for playing Anamaria in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Uhura in the 2009 film Star Trek, and Neytiri in the 2009 James Cameron film Avatar.

At age 17, Zoe and her family moved back to the United States where her love for dance followed and an interest in theater performance became stronger. She began performing with the Faces theater troupe which put on plays geared to provide positive messages for teens with themes dealing with issues such as substance abuse and sex. These performances not only gave her valuable experience but also a source of great pride knowing 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 and her dance training years before coupled with her acting experience greatly helped her land her first big screen role as "Eva Rodriguez", the talented and headstrong ballet dancer in the film Center Stage (2000). Since her professional career began just a few years ago, Zoe's talent and determination has allowed her to be involved in blockbuster films and act with major actors, actresses and industry insiders at a pace that very few young professionals have experienced. Zoe has not only held her own in major motion picture productions but gained the respect and praise from industry insiders such as Jerry Bruckheimer and Steven Spielberg and actors/actresses such as Tom Hanks, Bernie Mac, Keira Knightley, Ashton Kutcher, Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom. According to many of her costars, producers, and directors, the sky is no limit for this young star who has incredible range, intense concentration, and a steely determination to be involved with projects that challenge her professionally with wide-ranging subject matters and characters. Just to ask practically anyone who she has worked for or with about her, glowing comments abound and earned friendships and respect are readily revealed. A star has been born, and growing every day.

In 1999, Saldana received what seemed to be the ideal first film role when she was cast as a talented but snippy dancer vying for a spot at the fictional American Ballet Company in the dance drama Center_Stage. Other film roles followed, including Get_Over_It, Snipes, and a featured part in the Britney_Spears teen drama Crossroads, which offered Saldana's first major theatrical release. Widely panned by critics but performing moderately at the box office thanks to legions of Spears fans, Crossroads proved just the fuel needed to get Saldana's struggling feature career running. The following year, she was back on the big screen in Drumline, which found her once again utilizing her dance skills as a college dance major and love interest of the talented but conflicted protagonist. Though her subsequent role as the sole female pirate in Pirates of the Caribbean offered little screen time, her performance as the only woman able to cast a spell over Johnny_Depp's charismatic Jack Sparrow offered one of the film's most memorable comic scenes. Back on the indie circuit, Saldana headlined the 2003 rock musical Temptation as a talented singer facing hard times. A brief turn as a by-the-books customs officer in Steven_Spielberg's The_Terminal found the charming Saldana slowly warming to an immigrant stuck in bureaucratic limbo (played by Tom_Hanks), and with six major roles scheduled through 2005, audiences could rest assured that they would be seeing plenty more of the talented young actress in the very near future. Jason Buchanan, Rovi