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
2 me shes black
Of course she’s black. Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic is just where you are born or where your parents or ancestors come from.
She’s mixed.
Why should she call herself black? Why do we have to go by Jim Crow laws. She even looks Taino for god’s sake.
dude c’mon she looks mostly black, but could pass for taino. The tianos I’m accustomed to have always been much lighter than her, such as my family
The truth is that the Taino on the island of Hispaniola were wiped out mostly due to disease. In a census taken by the Spanish 1542 only 5000 Taino were counted. 98% of the Taino population was wiped out mainly due to European disease. This is why in around 1512 the first African Slaves were brought to the island of Hispaniola by the Spanish. The Portuguese actually were the Latins who had a monoply on the Slave trade and transporting the most slaves to the new world. Brazil and the island of Hispaniola received the most slaves. 85% of the Dominican Republic is African Ancestry and Haiti is around 98%
I’m Puerto Rican and have a lot of Taino blood, in fact one of my grandparents is almost completely Taino. Before the Tainos were not killed off a lot of them mixed with the Spaniards and others escaped to the mountains where many of them still remain today. The statistics about Tainos are usually wrong because those that are still around don’t usually take part in census surveys. however if you go to the very rural parts of the mountains I assure you, you will find them. Also, many of the people on the island have Taino blood.
Not all tainos from Hispaniola were wipe out. That’s just a myth. Many survived and mixed with Africans and Spaniards. In fact, the average Dominican is 11% taino. People with taino features are not uncommon in DR.
Zoe looks Taino? In what universe?
She looks slightly influenced. The taino in her is very diluted.
latino people don’t say that they are black with SOME latin heritage, especially if they or their parents are from that country. they would say: ” i’m cosa rican,” or i’m “Columbian.” This is how i know that the people saying that they are upset that she doesn’t call her self black are not Hispanic people, and those people do not have the place to comment on what someone claims on nationality or race since what determines race is not the same in every country. in Latin America you are your country and then mestizo, Moreno, indegeno, and if you don’t know what those are then you especially do not have the right to cast judgment on what any Latino person considers themselves. this is coming from a person of both African American and Mexican heritage so my perspective is from both sides.
I agree!!!! …Being an immigrant from a Latin/Caribbean country myself and ALSO being racially mixed, I’m so tired of certain ignorant Americans who seem to think they know everything, especially when it comes to race…That’s a joke!!! Especially when this country is notorious for it’s racism!!! …Unless you know how the culture is from another country, you have no room to talk, because you’re just talking out of your ass and sounding like one too! Educate yourself before you open your ignorant mouth! Just because this country has an ugly past when it comes to race, doesn’t mean that certain people have to keep harping on the ignorant notions of yester-year—Stop quoting the out-dated, ignorant and unjust “One Drop Rule” BS cause it makes you sound stupid. This is 2011 people–time to get with the program and grow a brain already! If there was no forward change, where would we be today—It’s time to move with the times!
She’s black and was born in America. Too bad you are mixed, racist.
Wow, what she consider herself is her choice and business.
My opinion is it’s obvious she’s black but she’s also of Latin
Culture. I don’t get why people act as if it’s impossible. Latins
Thinking their white, is all on how their raised. It’s obvious
She’s was raised with common sense. Being Dominican or puetor rican
Is a nationality and culture, but that’s different from your actual ethnic race.
so i read some of the comments.. most them i could not finish reading because of how hostile or ignorant they were. why are we fighting over how she identifies herself? it is really no one’s place but her’s and God: God made her have parents with Latin ancestry, so to me if that is how she identifies then that is what she is obviously her skin is dark, but there are East Indians, Cambodians and people of the south pacific who are darker so this alone does not make her black. here is a scenario to think about: we see a white person let’s say Angelina Jolie? she has darker features, full lips, and something that makes us say ” what else is in her ancestry?” we will look up somethings and find that she may have some distant Lebanese. looking at her recessive genes do we start calling her Lebanese? do we accuse her of denying her middle eastern heritage? not really. obviously Latin people have a mix most of the time, recessive genes are bound to appear no matter how recent or distant the mix. no one has the right to tell anyone what their “REAL” mix is since we are not in their families nor do we know them personally.
She’s black stupid. Try again and get over it.
You are making this far more complicated than it is. Zoe Saldana’s race is Black. Her heritage is Latino. All Latino means is that you come from a country that speaks Spanish (Dominican Repbulic).