Zoe Saldana Nude

Zoe Saldana is easily one of the most famous Hollywood actresses of today, and it’s safe to say that there are very few people under 40 who don’t know who she is. During her adolescent years, Saldana would become a professional ballet dancer, and as luck would have it, her dancing skills would be the reason behind her being cast in her first official movie role in 2000’s teen drama Center Stage. Zoe learned dancing in the Dominican Replublic, which is where both of her parents are from.

Unfortunately, the circumstances behind Zoe becoming a professional ballet dancer at a young age are somewhat wrapped in tragedy: Zoe was born in New Jersey and raised in Queens New York, and she probably would’ve never took up dancing while residing there. However, when Zoe was 9, her father passed away in a tragic car accident, and her mother could no longer afford to take care of her and her two sisters without their late father’s help, which is why she sent the three sisters to the Dominican Republic where they were raised by their father’s family. In the meantime, Zoe’s mom would continue to work in New York so that she could earn enough to put them through private school.

While living in the Dominican Republic (which again, was a result of her father’s premature death), Zoe discovered her love for dancing and attended ECOS Espacio de Danza Academy where she studied various forms of dance, ultimately picking ballet as her passion. And, as was mentioned previously, being a professional ballet dancer would eventually lead to Zoe being cast in the main role of her first movie, the aforementioned Center Stage, a teen drama about a group of young ballet dancers from various backgrounds. That being said, ever since Zoe starred in center stage, she’d regularly continue to appear in commercially-made movie flicks all throughout the 2000s. Eventually Zoe would snag roles in Star Trek as well as Guardians of the Galaxy movies, and this would catapult her acting career to a whole new level.

By 1995, Zoe Would Give Up On Being a Dancing Queen

Zoe Yadira Saldana Nazario was born on June 19, 1978, in Passaic, New Jersey. Her parents Aridio Saldana and Asaia Nazario, both of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent, instilled in her a deep appreciation for her heritage and culture, which would later influence her career choices.

As was mentioned, Zoe moved back to the Dominican Republic at a young age due to her father’s untimely death, and there she would enroll in the aforementioned ECOS Espacio de Danza Academy where she’d study dancing, majoring in ballet specifically.

However, after her sophomore year there, Zoe would move back to New York again and would continue to complete her early education at Newtown High School in Queens.Eventually Zoe chose to give up dancing - according to a later interview she did with Vanity Fair, she apparently didn’t have the feet for it. With her dream of being a professional ballet dancer behind her, Zoe decided it was time to immerse herself in a new passion, and began participating in theather.

Her Earliest Experience With Theather Was Her Involvement With The “Faces” Theather Group

In 1995, Zoe started performing with the prolific “Faces” theater group in Brooklyn, which recruited her after she starred in her very first TV role in 1999 (Law and Order episode “Refuge Part 2”). The “Faces” theater group was known for productions that were themed around taboo topics and activities that underage teens would often find themselves caught up in, namely drug use and underage sex.

These plays were meant to increase awareness on said taboo topics, and Zoe’s performances in them helped her hone her acting skills from an early age. Zoe also performed with the New York Youth Theather during these years, and was eventually recruited by a talent agency which noticed her spectacular performance on the New York Youth Theater’s production of “Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Then, by 2000, the then 22 year old Zoe Seldana had gained quite some exposure as a young up-and-coming actress, and was cast for a leading role in the aforementioned teen drama “Center Stage,” which was her first official movie role.

Saldana Continued To Appear In Movies All Throughout The 2000s Until She Became A Household Hollywood Star

In 2002, two years after her breakthrough role in Center Stage, Saldana appeared alongside Britney Spears and Taryn Manning in the roadtrip-themed romantic comedy-drama Crossroads, which didn’t receive a lot of praise from critics but was still well-liked by fans. If you remember 2002 then you’ll know that Britney Spears was absolutely massive back then, and for Zoe that definitely meant a lot of exposure.Ssure, she had to star in a cheesy teen romance comedy to get that exposure, but truth be told, Zoe’s starred in her fair share of critically lackluster flicks throughout her career.

Zoe also starred alongside Nick Cannon in the 2002 comedy-drama Drumline, which earned mixed reviews. Then in 2003 Zoe played Anamaria in the very first Pirates of the Caribbean Movie (The Black Pearl). Anamaria was a pirate who wanted to confront Johnny Depp-played Jack Sparrow for stealing her ship. Safe to say that this movie practically made Zoe Saldana a star, but her best roles are yet to come. After starring in roughly half-a-dozen less than memorable movies throughout the 2000s, Zoe finally snagged one of her best roles when she was cast as Uhura in the 2009 Star Trek reboot.

From Star Trek To Marvel Movies, The 2010s Were Full Of Juicy Roles For Zoe

After her role in the 2009 Star Trek reboot, Zoe continued to dominate as a Hollywood actress, and by the time the 2010s came around she became a full-fledged celebrity. In 2013 she reprised her role as Uhura in Star Trek: Into Darkness, and by then she’d already appeared in a handful of high-profile Hollywood flicks, most of which are gritty crime films like Blood Ties (2013) and Colombiana (2011). In 2014 Zoe was officially cast as Gamora in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. I’m pretty sure that Zoe didn’t expect her most iconic movie role to be a green-skinned character, but that’s pretty much what Hollywood was during the mid-to-late 2010s; a Marvel Movie marathon.

In 2016 Zoe reprised her role as Uhura in Star Trek Beyond, and in the following year she appeared yet again as Gamora in the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie. And from 2017 to the present, Zoe has over two dozen or so appearances in commercial big-budget high profile media, be it Drake music videos, Marvel movies, or voice acting for the official My Little Pony Movie (2017). Did I also forget to mention that Zoe Saldana starred as the blue chick (a.k.a. Neytiri) in both Avatar movies, namely the initial 2009 release and the 2022 sequel Avatar: The Way of the Water? Yep, Zoe’s had a very busy past couple of years, and it doesn’t look like she’s washing up any time soon, which is very impressive seeing as how there are tons of actresses out there with 20+ years in the industry who seemed to have dominated one decade yet have slowly waned out in the next one.

More Than Just An Actress

Even though Zoe shows no signs of slowing down and seems to average starring in about 4-6 big-budget productions per year, she’s still got time for ventures outside of acting. More specifically, Zoe co-founded the digital media company BESE, through which she focuses on providing content that highlights stories and voices of the Latinx community. She’s also involved with organizations such as FINCA International, which provides financial services that help empower women in developing countries.

Zoe’s also been an advocate for organizations that focus on environmental conservation and sustainability. And to top it all off, Zoe has what seems to be a killer workout routine, since the fact that she manages to keep her fit physique at 45 even after pushing out three whole children is nothing short of remarkable. All that having been said, I enjoy watching Saldana in her roles (not just the one in which she’s covered in full green make-up), and I’m glad that she continues to kick ass as an actress even after a whole two decades in the industry - not to mention the fact that she’s pushing 50.