Zoe Saldana

**Zoë Yadira Saldaña-Perego,** known professionally as **Zoë Saldaña,** is an American actress born June 19, 1978. Saldana is recognized for her prominent roles in science fiction film franchises. Notably, 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*. She has enjoyed an illustrious career in the film industry with films she has appeared in grossing more than $15 billion worldwide. As of 2024, she stands as the second highest-grossing lead actress and the highest-grossing actress overall. In 2023, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Born and raised in Passaic, New Jersey, Saldaña discovered her love for dance while living in the Dominican Republic. She received her first film role in *Center Stage* (2000) where she played a ballet dancer. A career breakthrough came in 2009 when Saldaña achieved significant recognition for her roles as Nyota Uhura in the *Star Trek* film series and Neytiri in James Cameron's *Avatar* film series. She also portrayed Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe from *Guardians of the Galaxy* (2014) to *Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3* (2023). Saldaña has diversified her roles and has starred in a Netflix science fiction film *The Adam Project* and a romantic drama miniseries *From Scratch* in 2022. In 2023, she began playing the lead role of a CIA officer in the Paramount+ spy series *Special Ops: Lioness* and has jointly won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress with her co-stars of the musical crime film *Emilia Pérez* (2024).