We're willing to bet most of you know Zoe Saldana as the green-skinned, universe-saving,
Gamora from Guardians of the Galaxy.
But you probably don't know about Saldana's storied past.
Long before she became a staple in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she was on a trajectory
toward superstardom.
Dancing in the Dominican Republic
Born in 1978, Zoe Yadira Saldana Nazario was hit with tragedy at a young age.
Her father, Aridio Saldaña, died in a car accident when Saldana was just nine years
old.
After spending her childhood in Jackson Heights, Saldana was uprooted and relocated to the
Dominican Republic following her father's passing.
With her mother and her sisters Cisely and Mariel, Saldana settled into her new life
and discovered her love of dance, and especially ballet.
After a while, however, Saldana's passion for dance faded.
In the 2012 debut issue of Cosmopolitan for Latinas magazine, Saldana dished on why she
ditched the dancing dream, saying,
"I had to quit ballet because it felt like a part of me was dying inside.
It takes a lot of courage to face up to things you can't do because we feed ourselves so
much denial."
The relentless full-body immersion in ballet took a physical toll as well, and she soon
realized she, quote, "didn't have the feet" for ballet.
Saldana gave up the dream, but better things were on the horizon.
Back to the Big Apple
In 1995, the Saldana family packed their bags and returned home to New York, where Saldana
started working with the New York Youth Theater, starring in a production of Joseph and the
Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Her performance landed her an agent who helped snag her a guest role in everyone's favorite
murder show, Law & Order.
Saldana popped up in two 1999 episodes, "Merger" and "Refuge: Part 2".
Though she went uncredited for her first appearance, her next gig made her someone to watch.
Center Stage
Saldana broke through to the mainstream in a big way: starring in the teen drama Center
Stage, a film, coincidentally enough, all about ballet.
As the wickedly talented but sour-tongued student Evanna "Eva" Rodríguez, Saldana showed
off her expert dance technique and stellar acting chops.
Though it opened to mostly mediocre reviews, Eva was the role that served as a launchpad
for Saldana's career.
Saldana herself has even noted that ballet trained her for action, which she'd need for
what came next.
Mega-stars
Saldana was up for increasingly prominent roles.
In Britney Spears' 2002 coming-of-age road-trip drama Crossroads, Saldana heard wedding bells
as the bride-to-be Kit.
Just 10 months later, she went back to her dancing roots again to play Laila, the mysterious
love interest in the musical dramedy Drumline.
But Saldana wasn't just banking on a ballet and beauty; she soon scored a lead in what
became one of Disney's biggest movie franchises to date.
Pirates of the Caribbean
Saldana stepped into the swashbuckling Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
to play Anamaria, a victim of Jack Sparrow's thieving ways.
Though the role saw her brush shoulders with high-powered costars and offered her the chance
to work with acclaimed director Gore Verbinski, it was one that nearly ruined her relationship
with acting forever.
During her time on set, she learned her worth as a female in the business.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Saldana explained that unpleasantries behind the scenes
were enough to tempt her to quit acting for good, saying,
"It was very elitist.
I almost quit the business.
I was 23 years old, and I was like, 'F— this!'
I am never putting myself in this situation again.
People disrespecting me because they look at my number on a call sheet and they think
I'm not important.
F— you."
Star Trek stardom
Following a string of rom-coms like The Heart Specialist and After Sex, Saldana boarded
the Enterprise in 2009 in J.J.
Abrams' Star Trek reboot.
Abrams himself asked Saldana to join the project, and after he complimented her abilities, she
was sold.
While not exactly a Trekkie herself, having never seen the '60s show, Saldana portrayed
Star Trek fanatics in both The Terminal and Guess Who.
Saldana's mom, however, is a huge fan of Star Trek and would often call Saldana on set to
give her advice on how to approach the character, telling MTV,
"She'd be like, 'Zoe, so for this scene when you are in front of Spock, Uhura has to be
stoic because she is elegant and remember she's a translator so she is very sociable.
Okay?'
She would leave these messages and I was like, 'Who is this lady?'
She's such a sci-fi geek!"
Also in 2009, Saldana's role in the James Cameron award-winning sci-fi epic Avatar raised
her profile to a new level.
The film shattered Cameron's own 12-year record for the highest-grossing film in history,
dethroning Titanic, but it wasn't a paycheck gig for Saldana.
She told The Hollywood Reporter,
"You just gravitate naturally to what your heart yearns for.
I grew up in a very science fiction-driven household.
It was odd for me to grow up and go out in the world and not see other women going crazy
for science fiction."
Going green
Saldana's most recent scene-stealing role is as Guardians of the Galaxy's badass galaxy-saving
gal Gamora.
Director James Gunn approached her about playing the green-skinned heroine, but her sister
had to get her up to speed on who the characters even were.
Saldana admitted to MTV,
"My sister sort of informed me of it, I read the script and I was blown away with it."
But she also had concerns about the role.
During screen tests, Saldana stressed Gamora stay "pretty" to draw teenage boys into seeing
the film, Saldana explained in an interview with Collider.
"I don't know why I was stressing this a lot but I really was when we were testing…
I'm like, 'Pretty.
Teenage boys, please.
We gotta get their vote.'"
In retrospect, her concerns seem fairly unfounded.
The superhero adventure nabbed the approval of millions of adoring fans, not just adolescent
guys.
And being a part of the Guardians is something Saldana truly cherishes, saying
"We're kind of like the Rolling Stones of the whole Marvel comics that I find so f—-ing
appealing.
We're like the ones who always fail in class but for some reason we can burn the house
down, and I like that."
Thanks for watching!
Click the Grunge icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!