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 wonder if charlie sheen has this problem about his latin identity. I don’t think people in these forums would question his latin background…i mean no one is yelling “ooh he’s too white, to be spanish…or too dark to be irish.” I’m saying this while knowing spaniards color ranges from white to very dark skin. A lot of latinos in the u.s. want to distance themselves from anything african…the thought being black=bad. There are a lot of africans that are not “black” or don’t look sterotypically black…algerians,lybians, sudanese, ethiopians, and south african colored people. People impress all that makes you american.
omg zoe is a dominican and puerto rican woman what is so hard to understand about that..if she says she black so what if she says shes latina so what..we all know she is latina and black or whatever so just get over it..im a light skin dominican girl..ppl think im white and hispanic and i just say no im dominican..im not mixed with anything and thats that..no need for all this convo…oh and dominicans arent strange..you just dont understnad them..just like theres some people i dont understand..so what if you want to know things ask them and they will tell you and thats that..the next person that says dominicans are strange is gonna piss me off!!!
To vanessa
Hello vanessa,I assuming your talking to me,and I sorry if I’m pissing you off;not my intention.The thing is I did ask,and what they said made no sense.Now I understand different cultural history,lifestyle and things like that,and I know it wrong to go by color.However when you have people who are 2 shades darker telling me I’m black,but their not it makes no sense.Now I understand they may be mixed-blooded,but so am I so I used the word strange.Now when it comes to black,that covers a wide range of colors and facial features,and to some people calling them black is like stabbing them in the eye,why I don’t know.Anyhow I’ll stop using the word that offends so many.Also if you or anyone else wish to school me on dominicans,I’m willing to learn
this is a subject that I have struggled with my whole life.First of all i love Zoe i dont care what color she is.I watch a commerical with her on MTV3 everyday.she speaks spanish and english very well.She is just a talented woman.Anyways as far as me…I am Black and Dominican.I was adopted by black people so the Spanish that I did learn was from my PR and Dominican friends.i am from NY but live in GA.When I am in NY or certain parts of GA people can recognize my Hispanic side, and proceed to speak spanish to me.but when i tell African Americans in GA that I am also Dominican, they assume that I am not the correct skin color of a mixed person.I am brown skinned like Michelle Obama but have a mixed hair type and I have certain other features that clearly shows that I am not all African America, such as my hair, my petiteness and a couple other minor things.This is crazy.I just want to acknowlege both sides.Even my other half who is from GA doesnt acknowledge my Dominican side at times because I was adopted and not raised by my Dominican dad and my spanish is kinda rusty but hell,since I been I GA things are segregated.Mexicans are the majority of the hispanics here and if you dont look like them or speak fluent spanish they will not f with you.It’s different here than NY.In NY I grew up with all kind of friends.In GA it’s different.For the most part, people stuick with their own.
thanks for the comment, interesting background you have there. also thanks for letting us know your experiences in NY and GA (Atlanta Georgia?). from what your said NY people sound quite open minded.
yea Atlanta, Georgia.People in NY are pretty open minded.I like that about it.The weather on the other hand, never liked that
You are so right about that. The weather here sucks most of the time. What part of NY are you from?
I’m from Buffalo…which i miss alot..alot of different races there and everybody is cool with everybody
wow i think its amazing just how judgemental sum ppl can be. of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions but they r just that: opinions and not the facts. *zoe saldana has not tried to disclaim being black at all so to say that dominicans or puerto ricans r denying their blackness is ludicrous. she calls herself puerto rican and dominican bcuz that is where her direct lineage can be traced. it is true that most races r descendants from africa but u cant call her african american when that isnt her origin. if u ever visit puerto rico or the dominican republic, a variety of skin colors can be seen and that means nothing as skin color is really the ability for melanin in to produce color-changing pigmentation (the darker u r, the more protected u r from the sun) so ur ability to produce more melanin (darker skin color) depends on region of the world ur family is from nd ur genetics. dark skin does not make u a direct descendant of africa. also pay attention to other features among various nationalities nd not just skin color. even zoe’s hair is not the same as most african americans.
Ughhh, all this talk about Dominicans, Puerto Ricans or Hispanics period either being or appearing to be Black or White is just stupid ! Because all Latino heritages link back to Africans(black), Europeans(white),Natives, & * Spainards due to slave time & etc. So either way you put it some where along the line there’s a little bit of all of that in us. & also the color of your skin doesn’t decide what you are, Us hispanics look very Bi-Racial.
– – -& Fuzzybear how the hell do Dominicanos seem strange to you ? Like WTF that makes no sense. What type of evidence do you have that states all Dominicans are strange ? I take that to an offense considering the fact that I have Dominican blood in me you Ignorant ASS :-P !
I Guess It’s Because Dominican’s Don’t Really Identify Their-selves By Race. They Identify By The Color Of Their Skin. So Anyone Who Is Brown Skin Over In Dominican Republic Are Brown People, But In Countries Like Canada, And U.S. The Brown People Are Usually The Indians (Republic of India), Pakistan, Afghanistan etc.
But When Fuzzybear Was Saying Dominicans Are Strange To Him, I Don’t Think He Meant It In A Negative Way!
To Alexis Lety Pena-Cabrel Castillo
Well first,I didn’t say all Dominicans.Next I said their strange to me because I know some of them.The ones I know are darker than I am,will look me right in the face and say your black I’m not.I ask them to explain,they say because their Hispanics.Now that’s what strange to me,being Hispanics doesn’t change the fact that they are black men.That phrase is not a magic wand.On top of this ,everytime poor Zoe goes to the Dominican Republic,she’s gets ask the same stupid question over and over again,what are you.She says over and over,that she’s a black woman.An they are forever trying to make her say she’s not(NO NO your just dark skinned).She knows what she is,but certain Dominican try and make her think the way they do;to be ashamed to say your black.So how are Dominicans not black,but you’ll quickly call African American black?
Dominican Family:
http://www.mikesjournal.com/March%202006/Dominican%20family.jpg
African American Family:
http://www.dentalcenter-in.com/DataFiles/PracticeImage/African-American-Family.gif
http://abagond.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/istockphoto_3325989_african_american_family.jpg
Now what the difference please?
P.S.
I going to resist trading insults with you
I agree with Fuzzybear =) But not all Dominicans are mostly black right? Or is it so? Just curious.
I do know that puerto ricans (overal) are much lighter skinned and actually look like a mix of spaniard with maybe some hints of native american. (also mixed with black sometimes/black lineage, but it’s usually not visible).
Funny how there’s such a big difference between the appearance of puerto ricans and dominicans. I wonder how come, I should hit the books.
To Adriana
Your right,there are Dominicans who don’t have any recent black lineage(the ones that didn’t come there as black).I’m just wondering what’s the difference between them and us,that they would call us black,but not themselves.Now I’m not asking them to call themselves black if they don’t want to,but don’t stand there and tell me your not black when stevie wonder can see that you are
Mmmhh. I think it’s the fact that they’re proud to be latino. And because of that they really identify with that part, and the culture, and therefore they don’t consider themselves black. That’s the only thing I can think of.
I wanted to tell you something. I joined the Skadi forum and I mentioned that one fifth great grandmother of mine was half black, thus, my 6th great grandmother was black. And they banned me from the forum. That happened yesterday. I really liked the forum, because I found it so informative. But I’m very pissed off, I can’t even see the forums now. I ca’t believe people are like that =) So I’m 0.39% black and I get banned that’s very racist in my opinion. It pissed me off to be honest. Thought it was modern times!
Hey Adriana, what a discovery that is. And what kind of forum would ban you just because you have African heritage?
You are more exotic than you thought.
The Skadi forum.
http://www.forums.skadi.net
Hahaha yes a little like Johny Depp just without the native american parts xD
Yes it’s ridiculous. If I’m not even 1% black and they ban me, what about other people? And if I hadn’t mentioned it they wouldn’t have known. But why should I refrain from mentioning it? I know it’s so little “it doesn’t count”, but it’s there and I won’t deny it.
It really ticked me off.
http://forums.skadi.net/
oh, sorry brah
Skadi is scumbag central, sorry you had to learn the hard way.
bullshit
cry some more anon
no I am on your side. I hate Skadi, its bullcock.
To Adriana
Hello you,how are you?I’m on here a little early.Now I understand them being proud of their heritage,but they seem to only want to Identify with one part,which is their right,however they shouldn’t get mad because I can clearly see the other part.I don’t know if you read what I wrote about my mother father,that he was Afro-Latino,but you don’t see me acting like that;and I’m proud of every part of me.Oh well I’ll just drop it,and move on.
Now what up my Nubian queen,come on let’s go stick it to the man,LOL. Your kidding me now I’m mad,you can go all the way back to your 6th great grandmother.I can’t believe people are still like that either,but that’s racist reality for you,so screw them it’s their lost.
I have even seen white Latinos do this. I always thought/felt it was because in the US if you are a Latino you get treated differently no matter what your race is. I am a white Latina, and I have had people react/treat me differently after finding out that I am Latina (some love it and find it fascinating, while others give me the stink eye). I think because of that, Latinos have come to identify more with their culture than the color of their skin and feel more comfortable just saying they are Latino.