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’ve alway preferred the use of “hispanoparlantes” to “hispanics” for all the reasons cited above. It is a rainbow culture. And here’s something of cultural interest. There’s one country in Africa, Eq. Guinea, I think it is, that is Spanish speaking. Hence, hispanoparlantes, instead of hispanics, since it’s in Africa. In the context of the hispanoparlante, I think, we can better anticipate and accept its rainbow nature, from Maria Celeste to President Fujimori to Celia Cruz. Unfortunately, among the hispanoparlante there’s continuing proof of deep seated race animus. It’s said, for example, that despite the Castro influence in Cuba, there exists race discord coming primarily for the (caucasian) Cuban community in the form of the old and antiquated “I wouldn’t want my daughter…”. Lastly, even in multiethnic Venezuela President Chavez hasn’t fully escaped the stings of his multicultural heritage. Thank you.
What people don’t understand is that everyone can trace themselves back to the motherland. Some take longer to others to accept this. that is ok. Dominicans have done this historically as a defense against being discriminated upon based on their skin tones. What they have not understood is that, denial will not remove it. you must embrace it and move forward despite what people think. Every place on the map has a trace of african and it can show up in any generation. Slaves were drop off all along the islands. There is always evidence of african tracings, it is how we accept information. Hair textures, features and skin tones? come on that is slave mind ideology that is put into the minds of those to keep them down and others up. Yet we live by it. It is much deeper than that in most cases but I don’t have all day.
We are a strong people-to believe it you must live it, thrive on it, embrace it when no one else does. Give this strength to your children so they can unteach others the madness. In America we fought hard for the civil liberties that most take for granted now. there were many of us who could have tried to pass but why? Cotton pickers we were, President we are today. Get educated like most of the world so that we may know our history and history of others so we may take away confusion.
Jst fck it we all mixed and should be proud:)
Wow,this is well said. I think u should,(if it doesn’t sound stupid) patent this. u are definitely a thinker and for the positive to open another’s eyes and maybe their intellect.
Hey Susan, shut your mouth!!! Your point is old.Nobody cares anymore :O)
umm . so im dominican i was born there to & im dark skinned so does that mean i have african american in me? i get my dark skin from my dad side i think cause all my moms family is light – skinned . so what race does that make me ? o.O
Ur probably mixed
Read some history most(73%) of the people in the domincan are mixed heritage. That includes AFRICAN maybe you were told this but it was probably because of the history that it was not told to you or rather taught. sorry to disappoint.
It’s not african american. It for u would be African. If u had a pparent born in American ,then it’d be African American. U’d be Afro-Dominican. Someone in Colombian,Afro-colombian. Or i guess just dominican ,but to not use the term Afro in front of it as to not have a separation.
anonymous, Just because you are dark, doesn’t make you part african. Be Latina and proud. God forbid you had any black in you. Nobody wants that. Yuck!!! :O)
I think she’s a beautiful women. My teacher did a lesson in world health & used her as an example. He put up people around the world on the board and had us guess there race. As we yelled out ethnic groups & races he corrected us. He also explained to us about “race” Races aren’t real it’s a made up thing, created to divide and conquer. We are all the same & have 99.9% of the same genes. Don’t let the word race define you. Everyone is beautiful and unique the way they are.
We share 99.9% of the same genes with pigs and monkeys….
seriously this shyt never ends
OMG i thought she was black
omg she is black! lol j/p she is a black person of a different nationality than american, which still makes her black!
Zoe has consistently stated she is Black.
Just because someone’s “ethnicity” which happens to be a Nationality first-and-for-most (last time I checked) and doesn’t end in “-American” doesn’t mean one isn’t black.
She is black, stupid. Just cause she’s Puerto Rican amd Dominican doesn’t mean she isn’t black. Plenty of people in those countries have African ancestry