Zoe Saldana: "Black Pearl" in Hollywood

A pearl-studded Zoe is definitely a new "pearl" in Hollywood. Do not own a beautiful "diving saurian", but when appearing on the screen she has the ability to do great things that keep viewers watching every second, every minute and the director must be compliment plate. And one more thing that is rarely seen in the actress is the scandal.

Zoe emerged from Star Trek and Avatar. But Avatar blockbuster Cameron - Avatar she officially named her on the map of Hollywood. Natural acting, perfect role play and charisma are the things that made Zoe's success as a beautiful princess from Pandora. Coming up with a new set of photos in the magazine Complex, Zoe also seems to carry what she shares in Avatar to the public. There is something "science fiction" in every shoot that she made for this magazine.

Complete Zoe Saldana was born in Zoe Yadira Zaldana Nazario, New Jersey, USA. Her father brought her Dominican blood and her mother was a Puerto Rican woman. Her first language is English and Spanish. At 10, she and her family moved to her hometown to live in the next seven years. Saldana participates in a ballet class - one of the most famous dance schools in the Dominican Republic. Returning to New York at the age of 17, she began performing at the Faces Theater - where she always sent positive messages to teenagers about issues such as substance abuse and sexuality.

The performances not only gave her great experience but also the pride of knowing that she had done different things in the lives of young people just like herself. While performing at the Faces Theater, she became a member of a new management agency. The skill of a dancer and acting experience earned her the first role - Eva - a talented and energetic ballet dancer in the Center Stage in 2000. That was the beginning of her career. The movie made her name later: Drumline (2002) Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) ... and most recently Avatar. Some impressive images of Zoe Saldana in the magazine Complex:

Zoe Saldana Gives Birth, Welcomes Twin Boys Cy and Bowie With Husband Marco Perego

Zoe Saldana and her husband Marco Perego have welcomed twin boys -- find out their names here! Credit: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Her little guys are here! Zoe Saldana and husband Marco Perego have welcomed twin boys, the actress' rep exclusively confirmed to Us Weekly on Friday, Jan. 2.

"Actress Zoe Saldana and her husband, artist Marco Perego, have welcomed twin boys, Cy Aridio and Bowie Ezio Perego-Saldana," the statement read. "They were born Thursday, November 27th in Los Angeles. Mother and sons are happy and healthy. Zoe and Marco are so grateful to all of the fans for their incredible support and beautiful wishes. The family is also appreciative of the respect of their privacy during this exciting time. Thank you!"

The proud new mom also shared an update on her family via Twitter.

The actress followed her Tweet with an Instagram post about her sons. "Our boys CY and BOWIE are finally here," the Avatar star wrote alongside a photo of two identical Comotomo baby bottles embellished with plush toys. "#marcoperego and I wanted to thank you for your beautiful wishes and for your patience."

Us broke news last July that Saldana, 36, and her Italian artist beau, 35, were expecting. After several red carpet appearances, Saldana addressed her pregnancy for the first time during an ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in August. In September, her former Crossroads costar Britney Spears spilled the beans that Saldana was eating for three.

The Center Stage star stayed upbeat during her pregnancy, even revealing that she split her pants while carrying her sons. (She pole danced too!) She discussed possible baby names during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Oct. 17. 

"My husband is very Italian and I'm very Latina so every day we have messages from our parents, 'Oh it should be Rocko, Giovanni, Luigi, Antonio Ramon Jose.' And you're like, 'Oh my god, people chill, chill,'" she teased. "We're kind of hippie…we just want them to be healthy."

Healthy and multilingual. "Of course [our children] will speak the languages that we speak; my sisters and I grew up learning French and speaking English and Spanish, and because of that, we're able to understand Italian and Portuguese," Saldana said for Cosmopolitan of Latinas' September 2014 issue. "But I'm going to have to make a conscious effort to speak Spanish to my children, because I speak Spanglish."

Zoe Saldana Reveals Her Twins' Names—Find Out What They Are!

Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

 
UPDATE: Zoe Saldana's rep released the following statement to E! News regarding the birth of her twin sons:

"Actress Zoe Saldana and husband, artist Marco Perego have welcomed twin boys, Cy Aridio and Bowie Ezio Perego-Saldana. The twin boys were born Thursday, November 27th in Los Angeles. Mother and sons are happy and healthy. Zoe and Marco are so grateful to all of the fans for their incredible support and beautiful wishes.  The family is also appreciative of the respect of their privacy during this exciting time. Thank you!"
________
Less than one month after giving birth to twins, the star has revealed her little ones' names!
The proud new mama took to Instagram to share the exciting news, posting a photo of blue bottles (one blue and one yellow) with teddy bears attached.

"Our boys CY and BOWIE are finally here.#marcoperego and I wanted to thank you for your beautiful wishes and for your patience," she wrote. So cute!

And in another snapshot, she shared a sneak peek inside her new family's New Year's celebration—complete with cheese plates, crackers, brad and wine!

"Happy New Year! Our first meal of #2015- Caviar, Rosé Champagne, Pâté, bread and cheese. Wishing you all a healthy, happy, loving and successful new year," she told her many followers.

"May all your wishes and goals come to life. And to all my #fans - thank you for another year of support, love and strength. You make me better and inspire me everyday to continue kicking ass.
On Dec. 12, E! News reported that the Guardians of the Galaxy actress had given birth.

"She had her twins" and she and hubby Marco Perego "are both so excited," a source told us shortly after the arrival of the two boys.

"They are surrounded by family and friends. All that matters now to Zoe and her husband is that the babies are healthy."

During a guest appearance on Ellen DeGeneres' daytime talk show, a pregnant Saldana opened up about how she and Marco have been deciding on baby names.

"My husband is very Italian and I'm very Latina, so every day we have messages from our parents, 'Oh it should be Rocco, Giovanni, Luigi, Antonio Ramon Jose.' And you're like, 'Oh my god, people chill, chill,'" she shared. "We're kind of hippie we want it to be like, Lavender," she added, laughing, "I'm joking."

Zoe Saldana & Chrissy Teigen Put Their Glowing Skin On Display In Beverly Hills!

What a couple of rebels!

Zoe Saldana and Chrissy Teigen were both wearing white after Labor Day at the Go90 Sneak Peek event in Beverly Hills on Thursday night. Gasp!!

All jokes aside, these two beauties proved just how to rock the crisp color right into fall!

The Guardians Of The Galaxy starlet showed up to the event in a sheer cream tunic, layered over a beautiful white dress.

It's so chic!

Meanwhile, Chrissy revealed a sliver of midriff in her matching Hayley Paige outfit!

Does either look stand out more?? Let us know what U think!

Zoe Saldana STILL Deals With Post-Pregnancy Pain & Tells Women Not To Strive For A Size Zero!

Zoe Saldana gave birth to her twins Bowie and Cy almost a year ago, but she's still feeling the effects of carrying two children around in her womb for nine months!

 
On Thursday, the 37-year-old revealed that even now she has to avoid pumps and stilettos, explaining that the post-pregnancy pain doesn't just go away when the baby belly does:

"It hurts to be in heels still! And I remember my sister telling me - she's a mom of two girls - and she'd be like, ‘Zoe, you will understand when you're there.' I thought, ‘I'm going to live forever, heels every day, Louboutin, here we go!' But there's something that happens to your body hormonally, and it's not just the weight that you acquire but your nerves, your muscles…Everything hurts and feels uncomfortable."

She also added that it's super important to give your body a break for a while since, you know, you just pushed a living, breathing child out of it AFTER bearing it for almost a year.
And in her case, ladies, she had to do TWICE the work! She urged:

"You have to remind yourself that everything takes time. I feel bad for those women who are desperate and want to bounce back three months after having a baby. It's more like - ‘Breastfeed! Stay home! Sleep! Your kid is only 3 months old, what are you going to the gym for? Catch up on f—king reruns of some sort!' I definitely took a break and trusted that my body was going to bounce back when it was ready. I never wanted to push myself."

And as far as bouncing back, the momma-of-two documented her journey on Facebook, to encourage women to chase healthy — not unrealistic — standards, saying:

"I've witnessed, throughout my years in this business, women who hide in a cave and don't come out until they're a size zero, and that is a very misleading message. I wanted women to feel connected to me because I feel so connected to women. I felt like a tree and I felt my roots growing - all these women were reaching out and I felt their help and their guidance and their support. And I wanted to share that because especially now with the web, there are so many beautiful things that we can say…and people really responded to that and women especially felt seen and heard. Especially women with curves, and that's all of us. It doesn't matter how slim or how tall or whatever - I've got a booty! I got some thighs I've got to burn off all the time. I want[ed] to connect with women who are going through that every day."

We adore that Zoe is all about promoting positivity among women, especially when so many lovely ladies constantly scrutinize and criticize themselves.
Keep the good vibes coming, girl! And we hope you'll be able to slip those heels back on soon! LOL!

Zoe Saldana: Nina Simone Controversy Won't 'Deter Me' From Telling Story

LONDON -- Zoe Saldana has played an alien and a future space traveler – but taking on the role of an actual famous person proved even harder.

The 34-year-old star of "Avatar" and "Star Trek" plays pianist, singer and activist Nina Simone in the forthcoming biopic "Nina."

Her casting drew criticism from some, who argued that Saldana bears little resemblance to the singer, who died in 2003 aged 70.

Musician India.Arie said "they should have chosen someone who looks like Nina Simone," and an online petition for a boycott of the film attracted more than 10,000 signatures.

But Saldana said she feels strongly that she's right to play Simone, an immense, irascible talent who made an indelible mark on both music and the civil rights movement with songs including "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" and "Mississippi Goddam."

"The Nina Simone story needed to be told, and I'm really blessed that I did it," said Saldana, a New Yorker of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent.

"I'm human. I wish I was made of steel and so certain things wouldn't affect me," Saldana said at a recent London event to promote "Star Trek Into Darkness," in which she plays multilingual communications officer Lt. Uhura.

"So it did affect me but I couldn't let that deter me from doing what I needed to do.

"Just like everybody else I feel very strongly about Nina Simone, and that (this) was a story that needed to be told.

"I do believe that if everybody had more information about how this all came to be, it might help," she added. "But then again, I'm not here to get the acceptance of people. I'm here to be an artist first."

"Star Trek Into Darkness," the second film in J.J. Abrams' rebooted series, sees Uhura play a bigger role in the action, to Saldana's delight. She even got to do a scene in Klingon.

"They flew in this linguist from San Francisco who gives courses. You go away for the weekend and you just speak Klingon," she said. "It ended up being much easier than I thought."

Like the entire Enterprise crew, Saldana has mixed feelings about Abrams' imminent departure for the "Star Wars" universe. He is due to revive the series with a new film in 2015, so it looks unlikely he'll be at the helm of a third "Star Trek" voyage.

Saldana hopes he'll remain as a producer, with another member of the existing team – possibly one of the writers – stepping in to direct.

She said she wouldn't want to see a new director come in and lose the essence of Abrams' reboot of the series.

"There's been a tone set" with Abrams" movies, she said – "So much so that it's made a fan out of me."

Aha! So is Saldana, like Abrams, a "Star Wars" fan in the "Star Trek" camp?

Neither, it turns out.

"I'm more of a `Dune' kind of person," she said.

"Star Trek Into Darkness" opens Thursday in the United States.

Zoe Saldana Opens Up On Nina Simone Controversy

Zoe Saldana Opens Up On Nina Simone Controversy
Posted by Wilson Morales

June 30, 2014

Source: Monarch

It’s been over a year since actress Zoe Saldana was chosen to play the legendary Jazz singer Nina Simone, with controversy coming from all sides. Just about every outlet has had their say on whether Saldana’s casting was the best choice. At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the producers screened the film looking for foreign sales and distributors and there hasn’t been any feedback. In fact, there’s a lawsuit filed by director Cynthia Mort claiming its British production company has hijacked the film.

In the latest issue of Monarch Magazine, Ms. Saldana addresses the issues that has raised questions on her casting. Besides talking about ‘Nina,’ she also talks about her other projects, including ‘Guardians of the Galaxy,’ and working with the Jones sisters (Kidada and Rashida) on a TV series.

Here are some highlights regarding the Nina Simone film:

Playing the late, great Nina Simone, what inspired you to do a project like this?

Zoe Saldana: Nina was a true genius and an iconic artist. It was a dream job for me. It’s one of the scariest projects I’ve ever been involved with because it was about an iconic figure, and there were so many political [issues] around it from the beginning; but I really wanted it to be a love song to Nina Simone and I wanted it to just come from a place of absolute love. I loved the complexity of Nina and her beauty that she expressed with her music. I wanted to do right by her and knew it would be challenging. I feel so blessed to have such an amazing opportunity to play a true legend.

How did you prepare for the role?

ZS: I did a lot of research to prepare for Nina. I took piano lessons, voice lessons, worked with a dialect coach, and I really invested months of just doing research about Nina – her background, her story, her life. My research ranged from reading books about Nina, listening to her music, watching footage of her.

How did the controversy about you playing Nina affect you?

ZS: The Nina Simone story needed to be told, and I’m really blessed that I did it. I’m human. I wish I was made of steel and so certain things wouldn’t affect me. So it did affect me but I couldn’t let that deter me from doing what I needed to do. Just like everybody else I feel very strongly about Nina Simone, and that [this] was a story that needed to be told. I do believe that if everybody had more information about how this all came to be, it might help; but then again, I’m not here to get the acceptance of everyone – I’m here to be an artist first. Hopefully people will enjoy the film and I helped shed some light on this amazing iconic.

Do you feel like your heritage and ethnicity is always questioned?

ZS: I find it uncomfortable to have to speak about my identity all of the time, when in reality it’s not something that drives me or wakes me up out of bed every day. I didn’t grow up in a household where I was categorized by my mother. I was just Zoe and I could have and be anything that I ever wanted to do … and every human being is the same as you. So to all of a sudden leave your household and have people always ask you, “What are you? What are you?” is the most uncomfortable question sometimes and it’s literally the most repetitive question. Because I can’t wait to be in a world where people are sized by their soul and how much they can contribute as individuals and not what they look like … I feel like as a race, that’s a minute problem against the problems we face just as women versus men, in a world that’s more geared and designed to cater towards the male species.