Zoë Saldaña
Saldaña in 2011, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Zoë Yadira Saldaña Nazario
Place of Birth: Passaic, New Jersey, U.S.
Date of Birth: June 19, 1978
Ethnicity: Dominican Republic, Puerto Rican, evidently small amount of Lebanese and Haitian
Zoë Saldaña is an American actress and dancer. She has starred as Uhura in the rebooted Star Trek films, Neytiri in the Avatar franchise, and Gamora in the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy/the MCU. She is also known for her roles in the films Center Stage, Get Over It, Crossroads, Drumline (2002), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Terminal, Haven, Guess Who, Constellation, Premium, The Heart Specialist, After Sex, Blackout (2007), Vantage Point, The Skeptic, Death at a Funeral (2010), The Losers, Takers, Burning Palms, Colombiana, The Words, Blood Ties, Out of the Furnace, Infinitely Polar Bear, The Book of Life, Nina (2016), Live by Night, I Kill Giants, Missing Link, Vampires vs. the Bronx, Vivo, The Adam Project, Amsterdam, The Absence of Eden, and Emilia Pérez; and on television’s Rosemary’s Baby (2014), Maya and the Three, From Scratch, and Special Ops: Lioness.
Zoë is the daughter of Asalia Nazario and Aridio A. Saldaña. She is a black Latina. Her father was born in Cotui Pro Sa, Dominican Republic. Her mother is Puerto Rican. Zoë has described herself as “three quarters Dominican and a quarter Puerto Rican.” She was initially raised in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, then spending a few years in the Dominican Republic after her father’s death; before moving back to Queens.
She is also said to have some degree of Lebanese and Haitian ancestry. She speaks English and Spanish fluently. Pictures of Zoë’s family members can be seen here.
Zoë is married to Italian artist Marco Perego, with whom she has three children.
Zoë has said:
There’s no one way to be black… I’m black the way I know how to be. You have no idea who I am. I am black. I’m raising black men.
Saldaña and her husband Marco Perego at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in 2015, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com
I just think thatsome so called “Latinos” , especially dominicans ( because I mainly come in contact with them the most) know that they have black ancestors and the don’t want to associate with that(Willie Lynched affect trinkled down). for example i was trying to educate this dominican girl on her heritage, because i was trying to show how similarily we are as human beings and how we share the same culture. She just totally went crazy on me and starting screaming shes not “AFRICAN”. I was so shock at her reaction and I still continually observe how the dominicans I see she despise towards blacks and its mainly the ones who “looks black”
I found this to be true as well!
Ok however, this statement doesn’t apply to Zoe she has stated many times before that she is a black woman and she is proud of it. She doesn’t even have to do that becuase the culture she grew up in and was born into isn’t the African one it’s the Latino culture so she doesn’t have to say she’s is African to make black people comfortable. Have you met any black people with her name… probably not becuase she’s not african american she’s spanish. the willie lynch syndrome affected blacks also…. black people still think the one drop rule applies just as rascist as white peole were in the slavery times. SMH!
I guess african-americans are english then.
nubianqueen, Latinas don’t have to except they’re african. Stop trying to push your garbage onto others. They don’t want it, obviously. Can you blame them????? :O)
DOES THIS REALLY MATTER THAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE HUMAN RACE ALL CONCERNED ABOUT OTHERS AND ESPECIALLY RACIAL WISE! IT DOES NOT MATTER WHAT A PERSON IS ETHNICALLY WE ARE ALL HUMANS SO TREAT EACH OTHER WITH RESPECT!!!!!!!!!!!
well amanda this is a post and we are educating ourselves…this is why this exists and they are celebrities we dont just have to discuss plastic surgery divorce etc…we can post our thoughts in the comment box just like you
And Good point with the respect thing:)
Amanda, what a boringly, typical feel-good liberal statement. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……..
cmon really? she afro-latino, hispanic is not a race ethnic wise shes hispanic but when it comes down to race she is MOSTLY black, there
are a lot of black people around the world thats not from america
and africa.
Wtf are you saying Anna just because her skin is dark doesn’t mean she has to be black it says she Hispanic. READ! F-ing hater
where do you suppose hispanics get dark skin from? lol! Anyways google zoe and you will see when she does interviews she says she is a black woman!!!!! She knows she is black and doesnt deny it! She is still puerto rican, dominican, and american, but she is a black one!!!!
Zoe Saldana has said that she is a black woman, and she is one. How on earth can anyone think “Latino” is a race? It’s obviously not one, yet every day in the United States, I hear someone claim it is. It boggles my mind. Where has this ignorance come from?
Amber, dark does not automatically mean african you fool. How ignorant!! lol
Then what else could she be? She doesn’t have any Native American features. She probably doesn’t have any Indian blood (if so, it’s only a little). She is cleary a mullato! Not all Africans are ugly, if they were, the Europeans wouldn’t have had sex with them! Btw the average European and the Average Native American isn’t that attractive either…
Dude Hispanic/ latino is NOT a race. It is a culture. A long long time before the spanish and french went to latin america. It was not named “Latin America” until they marked it as thier territory. Before they took it is was “Native american territory”
Now, The french and the spaniards had it as thier territory. Later on Random african slaves where droped off on MANY islands (All latin american countries, jamaica, haiti ETC,)
Gues what happen…They all mixed together and had children :D
Now we all no that thier are no french people or spanirds that dark. Where do you think she gets her tan from? The african side of course.
Now your wondering “Ok im reading this stupid info. Who ever wrote this is soooo ignorant.” Well keep reading cause im educating you :)
What im trying to say is HOW the HELL can you put all those ethnics together and try and make a race?? It is not pure.
Get over it it is not a race.
Their are only 4 races in the world (african, european, asian, native american)
Good day :)
Pacific islanders might be another race first we got find out who would fit into that melanesians? Polyneisians? They might even be related to South American natives who knows? North American Natives are related to Asians- however I like your post very true@ kim
Correction Latino is not a race. Hispanics are people who come from that country called Espana/Spain.
who said spanish was a race? Spanish is a nationality- from Spain- In USA people call their self spanish just for speaking spanish- which I try to tell them a real spainard comes from spain!
oh now I see Nina said that! she’s a retard
Ur a bitch everyone stfu
okay- from black- we’ll definetly stfu!
I meant to say ur stupid bitch to everybody and for u to stfu ok hoe
Delnegro<3
lol,thank u .
Oh wow, i have to make my correction. This was for Amber. Yes that nina is a retard. For delnegro,u seem to let everyone know that u lack some type of intelligence as a human being. My 3yr old has a more elaborate use of words.
Bitch go stuff ur self ugly hoe u don’t know me skank u got me fcked up u Fckn trick ass bitch ugly ass tramp stfu cuz u got nothin on me bitch shyt back up
Venny stfu u ugly whore
LOL she is Black. “Hispanic” isn’t a race. “Hispanic” means “from Spain or Portugal”, and you can tell no significant part of her genetic ancestry came from either of those. The way some idiots use “Hispanic” is to refer to people from Mexico and Central America who are some degree of mixture between Spanish and Amerindian. Well, there’s more to “Hispanic” or “latino” than that!
I totally agree. Hispanic/Latinos like Alexis Bledel and Zoe are opening these people’s ignorant minds
@ nina I’m sure u need help in understanding how to actually know what u’r reading. The term blcak does not mean African American,it means a person of African heritage. In LAtin America there are many ppl,that are dark,which means their ancestors are from Africa too, okay? That doesnt mean they cant chk the latin/hispanic box when filling out a census form or application. My grandfather is of Cuban heritage,yet he is a black man. No,not spanish cuban or mixed,but a Cuban that is 100% African . stop the ignorance. Such an idiot!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nina, you are absolutely uneducated and stupid. Just by looking at her you can tell she has a lot of African ancestry. Hispanic isn’t a
Race either you can be black, white etc and still be hispanic. You’re in denial and just don’t want to accept the fact that she has black in her.She’s even stated it! In denial moron !
BRIEF WONDER…By the way, the whole thing about claiming/ pointing out black when african americans always worry about… okay so how come african americans dont have african dance festivals bongo drums and all that good stuff that every latin american country has? if a latino (any color, mix origin-thats what being latino is all about…a mix not just skin wise) so yea so when a latino bust a african dance, move, gesture, way of being… how come african americans always find this weird and they don’t understand?..African americans claim they are black just because of their skin or one drop rule mentality..but that is it! nothing else is black about it! who is blacker now… And also..Why are Americans so ignorant?, Because one time this african american said how are you to this afro latino guy and the latino didnt respond and the african american wanted to attack the guy and the latino guy’s friend was like Dude Chill out the guy doesnt know any english! lol its like americans always think black and white and that it..and if they see anything that is african practice based on culture they say its voodoo. even african americans say that too.. Please anyone tell me what is black about african americans besides their skin?
You shouldn’t say americans are ignorant. you’re making judgements on a society off of what one person said or did.
Good point but this is not the case here one person thing..that is not what my post was about..why no one has been able to answer to me. Even statistics has shown that most americans didn’t even know where they were located..geographically speaking..so yea i wonder what makes african americans black besides their skin?
I personally classify black as a descendent of an African slave. But i’ve said someone could be black by just looking at them but that’s not fair to them. No one has the right to put labels on someone. We have to just identify them by what they identify as.
So your saying the afro latinos should be classified as Africans more than African Americans, right? So tell your latino brothers and sister they are African and stop acting like they dont know.
To AMBER BERG..
I am not sure to whom your statement was responded towards.. but just in case……
as mentioned before,, This is shown through the music, the food, way of life, the culture, this Africanism is recognized and yes if you compare this culture to Africa IT IS closer to Africa than African Americans…And also they could never claim as africans( actually no one could whom were brought as slaves or simply had left a nation centuries ago and marry into another forcefully or not could) because it wont be just that anymore…and that what being latino is all about the mix of cultures..throwing something else in the bag aka influences and language of course)
FYI, some people didnt and still dont know that they are black (seriously) and this might be shocking to alot of us and it was to me at first too after stumbling over this documentary by professor gates called Black in Latin America; In Peru this lady said she only had found out when she went to cuba and returned back to her country…Because she said When she arrived to Cuba she noticed that this is the same food that they eat there, the similar accents and ways and other cultural similarities and so she returned to Cuba and said to her family Why diddnt you tell me we were black… and in the same country this afro peruvian lady said she found out through her voice she noticed something different which she later realized that this talent has a story from beyond all her years growing up didn’t know, so even Professor Gates mentioned that in alot of countries in Latin America and cases it is all diluted ( Racial Identification); Even Cameron Diaz is Latina…. Even the fact that Mexico’s second President was Mulatto (racially identified as black) and how Peru and Mexico were once black capitals and so on… However, this “Blackness” is shown through their accents, and culture, food, etc….so yea some people dont even know they are black due to many reasons and some people might act like they don’t know and just like cases with any other race or culture it’s like not wanting to speak spanish or do anything that is foreign once they step in the U.S and possibly due to many reasons including one that is well known..that the criticism and cultural shock that this causes Americans or anywhere or anything that seems different. But Yea This was very interesting, educational documentary you should check it out…….
In Conclusion, What was being shared and questioned was…Besides visual identification and label and/or the very importance for an African Americans to classify or point out others as black or not was…. what else is black about Afro -Americans besides their skin? what do they claim is black about themselves besides the color of the skin? And why do they make fun of other Latinos who practice their Afro culture and ca ll it voodoo ( which is actually a religion)? with the wrong intention. This is what was being discussed…
Well for one I already seen dr gates documentaries, for 2 I knew there were many blacks in latin america, and I knew the history of the slave trade before this documentary, I’ve actually been studying it since elementary! For three African Americans dont make fun of black latin Americans- we see yall as our brothers and sister! Latinos are the ones who say they are not like us and try to act like they are better! When all we are trying to do is let the afro latinos know we share a common history! Just yall speak Spanish and we speak English! Also our music is African influenced as well, our dance is African influenced! The way we do our hair is African influenced there are a lot of settle things we do that is African influenced! And most of all we acknowledge our black African history, which majority of Afro Latinos dont do consciously- it’s not yall faults- yall white heritage tried to keep your beautiful, rich African culture from you! But as long as the Afro Latino acknowledge their African culture- African Americans have nothing but love for you- we are one in the same- I love latinos they are beautiful and great!
Good Explanation Amber on the wonder there but why is this directed to “my people” you have no clue what continent I am from( or anyone who has been sharing here), if I am latino or not:)
Yea great it was an awsome documentary…
and not all latin countries in latin america speak spanish or only speak spanish…Brazil, Jamaica, Honduran Island, Haiti, Panama etc…
Well this is Zoe’s page so when Im talkin about latino Im talking about Spanish speaking latinos. I would consider Hatians and french or portugese speaking coutries Latino, however spanish speaking countries do not consider portugese or hatian speaking countries latino.
They know that they are AFRICAN. Something we do in the caribbean/latin america is we awknoledge all of our race. In La Republica Dominican we awknoledge the fact that we’re African, Taino, and European. We are just as much Native as we are african. To keep it real we’re probably more african than a african american we still kept alot of our traditions and the way we cook, dance etc. You get what I’m saying? When you label them as black they don’t like it because they look at black people as those who come from those who we’re slaves in southern america. they we’re slaves in the CARIBBEAN. Which is why we call ourselves afro-latino, latino or caribbean. On my fathers side my Dominican family is African, Taino, Spanish and French. My Cuban side is Spanish. On my mothers side my grandpa is Trinidadian they are African, Thai, and Indian. My Grandma was born in DC her mother was German Dutch and Native and her Father was Liberian. I’m going to claim all of these things you get what I’m saying? in America the slave owner taught yall that yall have to use the one drop rule which caused yall to take pride in the African roots(which nothing is wrong with) but denounce the rest(which is wrong) as a result from the White man telling yall that’s all you we’re even if your father was white. I’m sorry but i won’t do it, I’m proud of every damn thing i am.
@keepitreal- Ur wrong,not many dominicans acknowledge they are black. Most afro-latinos shunned me when i’d say hello or smile. whether or not they don’t like the term blk,because it reminds them of blks in america,ok were they not descendants of slaves themselves? It’s not like their group of Africans went to other parts of the world free and willingly. The reason for the one drop rule was of course to separate, but no other race coukld be “LABELED” as superior to the white race,therefore if u were mixed w blk,how could a man be considered smart and educated as a man that is pure Anglo. In latin-america it’s the opposite. When ur mixed w spanish,ur more white(another issue that keeps negative race relations going). Even on facebook i made a comment that began w why are afro-latinos in denial of their African roots. of course i dont mean all. Its sad,being black period ,there will seem to remain a war of denial, pride and injustice. smh
I get what your saying- Im not going to come down hard on you because your letting us know the afro latino experience. And Afro Latinos were raised on the idea of race! I wish the people of the African diaspora could all come together- whether light, medium, or dark! I see thats what you have in mind too!
To Hmmm,
Nicely said there in your last sentence And according to the first two sentences in you comment
what about the people of papua new guinea???
but besides all of that explanation, to my understanding this is a skin color thing..Africans( and other blacks throughout Latin America) always complain and is known that African-Americans are not very nice to them and most are known to make them look bad, make fun of them and the whole voodoo thing and etc…, everything is just black and white for Black Americans…Where is the rest of it where are the drums and afrocentric music like punta in honduras and strong African presence in about every latin american country and most parts of Africa of course and the rituals celebrations carnaval that would connect every nation that shares that ancestry Culturally( black and everything else example..Brazil, Honduras, Celia Cruz performing in Africa..all that good stuff!
Based on my the previous posts where is that here in the African American people being black… Im just trying to understand since the whole black thing was brought up?
but look
Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXN-_asIaYs
Maybe u are the one that has the problem w African-Americans?????? Idk what part of America ur in to say that AA’s think that its voodoo when they see an afro-latino do an African ritual. Have u knocked on every americans doors to give some survey? Or maybe some ppl are associating it w voodoo from Haiti or in the south;since voodoo is originated from Africa! U should try to educate urself on American black history. Yes the same for many AA’s. Black Amber could not have said it any better (our part) of African slaves were not at all able to keep anything to do w African culture,language,etc. Foods we cook are similar,just named differently around most parts of central n south america….it also goes both ways asmany Afro-latinos act twds americans. I can give a few stories,but for what purpose. I just wish that we all can learn more about us as ppl of African descent. For one, I can say that the Europeans ,whether Spaniard or English of the past knew what they were doing when in America stripped and continue to have us deny anything that has to do w PRIDE and knowledge of our ppl. Then in Latin America when,even though most that are not ashamed of being blk,do have more acknowledgement of their African roots,yet majority are ignorant and deny any part of their roots too. White ppl keep us bickering at one anothers necks,while they look like the heroes.Being BLACK,regardless of where ur family was placed,us as ppl should learn when we have time. There’s a lot more positive than whats shown and talked about.
@Okay so the question was “how come african americans dont have african dance festivals bongo drums and all that good stuff that every latin american country has?” It’s because when we were brought to America as slaves we were stripped of ALL our culture. Slave owners would often separate the young kids from the adults so that they wouldn’t be able to learn the languages or anything about being African such as their history and festivals, etc. But these rules didn’t just apply to the youth. The older crowd wasn’t allowed to practice the religions they were used to, sing, or dance. They even had to change their names to the “American” names that their slave owners assigned to them. So after a few generations, whatever it is that you would expect to be “black about African Americans besides their skin” was gone. And as for “african americans always find this weird and they don’t understand?” I’m not sure what you mean…every black person I know would love to go to a dance festival with bongo drums and stuff lol. Maybe elaborate a little more on that?
@ Black Amber, i for one am proud to be black or African American,Cuban etc.( There are ways for us to ,to find out what our African ancestral background is. This would be AfriGenealogy.com Forgot,bit its on facebook;thats if u or anyone cares. Its for all who are black,whether u speak english,french,spanish,whatever. Also being of black origin,many ppl are light-skinned w/o having to be mixed and hair texture than any of us in the western hemisphere. Explore africa,educate,learn. We all have to cut the bs ) this is for everyone that comes across this)
Zoe looks mixed she doesn’t look black and we are all mixed any way
to ana..
Yes exactly..because if she was just only black no one would be bugging her…it is because she is even more then just that. Because I bet you If she had denied her Latina roots and just said oh Im Black American and period they would be bugging her about possibly being something else:) and by the way mixed or not but since color is the most notable and one major factor of racism..