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1[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Zoe-Saldana_8685.jpg]]
2->''"I just want to be a part of great stories, whether I'm part of an amazing [[EnsembleCast ensemble cast]] or I'm [[TheProtagonist leading it]] or [[TheAntagonist the antagonist]] or whatever."''
3
4Zoë Yadira Saldaña Perego (née Saldaña Nazario, born June 19, 1978) is an American actress of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent.
5
6She is best known for playing [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Green-Skinned Space Babes]]. Most famous for appearing in blockbuster sci-fi films such as ''Film/StarTrek2009'' and its sequels (''not'' as a GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe here), ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', and the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse's ''Franchise/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' trilogy. She has starred in a staggering four of the only six films to cross over $2 Billion at the box-office to date (''Film/{{Avatar}}'', ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' and ''Film/AvatarTheWayOfWater'').
7
8She has been married to Italian artist Marco Perego since 2013, and they have three sons together. The couple adopted each others' surnames as a part of their own upon marrying.
9----
10!!Partial Filmography:
11
12* ''Series/LawAndOrder'' (1999) as Belinca
13* ''Film/{{Center Stage|2000}}'' (2000) as Eva Rodriguez
14* ''Film/{{Drumline}}'' (2002) as Laila
15* ''Film/{{Crossroads|2002}}'' (2002) as Kit
16* ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'' (2003) as Anamaria
17* ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' (2004) as Gabrielle Vega
18* ''Film/TheTerminal'' (2004) as Dolores Torres
19* ''Film/GuessWho'' (2005) as Theresa Jones
20* ''Film/VantagePoint'' (2008) as Angie Jones
21* ''[[Film/StarTrek2009 Star Trek]]'' (2009) as Nyota Uhura
22** ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'' (2013)
23** ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'' (2016)
24* ''Franchise/{{Avatar}}'' as Neytiri
25** ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' (2009)
26** ''Film/AvatarTheWayOfWater'' (2022)
27* ''Film/TheSkeptic'' (2009) s Cassie
28* ''Film/TheLosers'' (2010) as Aisha
29* ''Film/DeathAtAFuneral'' (2010 remake) as Elaine
30* ''Film/{{Colombiana}}'' (2011) as Cataleya Restrepo
31* ''Film/TheWords'' (2012) as Dora Jansen
32* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse as [[Characters/MCUGamora Gamora]]
33** ''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy|2014}}'' (2014)
34** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'' (2017)
35** ''Ride/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyMissionBreakout''[[note]]Non-canon theme park ride inspired by the MCU[[/note]] (2017)
36** ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' (2018)
37** ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' (2019)
38** ''Ride/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyCosmicRewind''[[note]]Non-canon theme park ride inspired by the MCU[[/note]] (2022)
39** ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3'' (2023)
40* ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'' (2014) as Maria Posada
41* ''Film/LiveByNight'' (2016) as Graciela
42* ''ComicBook/IKillGiants'' (2017) as Mrs. Molle
43* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'' as Captain Celaeno
44* ''WesternAnimation/AskTheStorybots'' as Professor
45* ''Series/HomeMovieThePrincessBride'' as Princess Buttercup
46* ''Film/TheAdamProject'' (2022) as Laura
47----
48!!Tropes associated with her include:
49
50* ActionGirl: She's played these in ''Film/TheLosers'', ''Film/{{Colombiana}}'', ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', the ''Franchise/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' films, and even ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017 My Little Pony]]''... she's also easy to spot in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'', as she's the lone female member of Jack Sparrow's crew.
51* {{BFG}}: Wields one in ''Film/TheLosers'' and an even bigger one in ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2''.
52* {{Blackface}}: She came under controversy for her role in ''Nina'', where she wore make-up and facial prosthetics to resemble Nina Simone - who had much darker skin than her. She was notably very annoyed at the criticisms saying she wasn't black enough. However, later on she apologized for taking the role, admitting she wasn't the best choice in hindsight.
53--> "I made a choice. Do I continue passing on the script and hope that the 'right' black person will do it, or do I say, ‘You know what? Whatever consequences this may bring about, my casting is nothing in comparison to the fact that this story must be told.’"
54* CastTheExpert:[[invoked]] In her very first role, ''Centre Stage'', she plays a ballet student.
55* TheCastShowOff:[[invoked]] She's shown off her singing in ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'', ''Nina'' and ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyTheMovie2017'', and shows off her dancing background in other films like ''Center Stage'' (her film debut) and ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2''
56* CastingGag:
57** Playing Uhura when she had played a Trekkie in ''Film/TheTerminal''.
58** She has played Diego Luna's love interest in ''Film/TheTerminal'', ''WesternAnimation/TheBookOfLife'' and ''WesternAnimation/MayaAndTheThree'' .
59* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Her character Anamaria is never seen or heard from again after ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl''. Interestingly, the cast was told in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest'' that Anamaria ''would'' appear at the ending of the film, so the shock and surprise of [[spoiler: Captain Barbossa]] greeting them was [[EnforcedMethodActing genuine]].
60%%* ClusterFBomb: Any interview with her will automatically contain this.
61* CreatorBacklash:
62** She apparently she didn't like starring in ''Film/Crossroads2002''.
63** She didn't enjoy appearing in ''Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl'', not for the quality of the movie itself, but for personal issues she faced behind-the-scenes, and did not return for any of the sequels. Given that it was also one her first experiences with a big-budget Hollywood film, she was nearly tempted to quit acting altogether because of how disheartening it was.
64-->"Those weren't the right people for me. I'm not talking about the cast. The cast was great. I'm talking about the political stuff that went on behind closed doors. It was a lot of above-the-line versus below-the-line, extras versus actors, producers versus [=PAs=]. It was very elitist. I almost quit the business. I was 23 years old, and I was like, "Fuck this!" I am never putting myself in this situation again. People disrespecting me because they look at my number on a call sheet and they think I'm not important. Fuck you."
65** She also expressed regret for playing Nina Simone in 2020 following the George Floyd protests, which triggered a media reckoning to try to reassess any potential racism in existing media and prevent any racially insensitive practices in the production of future media, which would include casting actors that fully match the ethnicity of the character they are playing.
66* DawsonCasting: Played high schoolers while in her early twenties in ''Film/Crossroads2002'' and ''Film/GetOverIt''. [[invoked]]
67* DyeingForYourArt: [[invoked]]
68** She had to gain weight for ''Film/TheLosers''.
69** For the ''Franchise/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' films, she had to spend three hours in the make-up chair every morning. The alcohol based make-up also resulted in strange green discharges for months. What's more is that Zoe volunteered to go through the make-up process, rather than rely on CGI or motion capture.
70* EnforcedMethodActing: To prepare for ''{{Film/Avatar}}'' the cast playing the Na'vi were put on a trip to Hawaii where they camped in the jungle and lived like a tribe would. Zoe even dressed up as a warrior and wore a fake tail like the one Neytiri would have. [[invoked]]
71* FakeNationality:[[invoked]] She plays a Bolivian in ''Film/TheLosers'' and a Colombian in ''Film/{{Colombiana}}''.
72* GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe: The most famous modern-day example. She has played one with blue skin in ''Avatar'' and green in ''Franchise/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', leading to fans joking that she needs to play a red-skinned one to get all the primary colours in.
73* IronyAsSheIsCast: Gamora claims she doesn't dance, and has to be taught how in the sequel. Zoe is a professionally trained ballerina.[[invoked]]
74%%* MemeticBadass: Did we mention she has a starring role in ''both'' the top two box office earners ever? Once people figured that out, there were plenty of jokes about how only another movie with her stood a chance of beating either.
75* MsFanservice: Her roles in ''Film/StarTrek2009'', ''Film/TheLosers'', the ''Franchise/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'' films [[note]]She originally had a scene that was ToplessnessFromTheBack, which was cut[[/note]] and especially ''Film/{{Colombiana}}''.
76* PirateGirl: She played Anamaria in ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' and years later got bumped up to pirate captain in ''My Little Pony''.
77* PrefersGoingBarefoot: She goes barefoot in several of her movies, and seems to do so often in real life as well.
78* RomanceOnTheSet: While filming ''Film/TheWords'', she dated Creator/BradleyCooper for a bit. [[invoked]]
79* SoMyKidsCanWatch: Inverted. She starred in ''Film/StarTrek2009'' partly because her mother was a huge fan of the original series. [[invoked]]
80* StageName: Her name is truly spelled Zoë Saldaña, but she went by Zoe Saldana for years. She reclaimed her surname as Saldaña in 2021, but with her first name is tolerant of those who forego the umlaut. It's pronounced the same either way, but she appreciates those who remember the umlaut.
81* StarMakingRole:[[invoked]] Her roles as Neytiri in ''{{Film/Avatar}}'' and Uhura in the ''Star Trek'' reboot (both released in 2009) raised her profile quite a bit.
82* TypeCasting:[[invoked]]
83** She has starred in three franchises as a [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Green and Blue Skinned Space Babe]], leading to fans joking about how she needs to play a red-skinned character to get all the primary colours in.
84** In both ''Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy|2014}}'' and ''{{Film/Colombiana}}'' she becomes an ActionGirl after her family is murdered.
85* WhatCouldHaveBeen: She was the runner-up for the role of Comicbook/LoisLane in ''Film/ManOfSteel'' before Creator/AmyAdams was cast.

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