Photo Credit: unknown
Photo Credit: Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos
Has Been Spotted Wearing these Sunglasses
- Dolce & Gabbana - 6049
- Gucci - 2562S
- Luxottica Eyewear - white
- Ray-Ban - Original Aviator
Biography
Zoe Yadira Zaldaña Nazario was born June 19th, 1978 in New Jersey. She was raised in Queens, New York until age 10, when her parents moved the family to the Dominican Republic, where they would reside for the next seven years. While there, she studied ballet and other forms of dance at the ECOS Espacio de Danza Dance Academy, and upon moving back to the United States with her family at the age of seventeen, she began performing with the Faces theater troupe in New York.
Her combined experience in dance and acting helped her land her first movie role: Eva Rodriguez in the ballet academy drama, Center Stage (2001). But she is probably better remembered for her next major motion picture appearance, when she played the outspoken pirate, Anamaria, in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).
In 2005, Zoe appeared in the film Guess Who as Theresa Jones, a performance which earned her four award nominations. She continued taking small television and movie roles until 2009, when she was cast in her breakout role of Nyota Uhura in the re-imagining of the original Star Trek. Her portrayal of that classic character resulted in two more award nominations, and likely a part in the movie's 2011 sequel.
Trivia
- Did a T.V. commercial in 2006 for Macy's Department Stores
- Speaks English and Spanish
- Met with Nichelle Nichols, the original Star Trek "Uhura," to prepare for her role
- Acted in plays for teens which dealt with serious issues, such as drugs and sex, when she was part of the Faces theater troupe
- Had never seen the original Star Trek series before she was cast in the movie
Quotes
- "I don't understand labels. I don't need anybody to tell me I'm Latina or black or anything else. I've played characters that were written for Caucasian females, I just want to be given the same consideration as everybody else, and so far that has been happening."
- "I'm very proud to say I am a geek. But I'm kind of a cool geek. I grew up in a very sci-fi home so I've seen a lot of sci-fi movies, from Dune to Alien, 2001, ET, Batteries Not Included... All these films I go crazy for. But never Star Trek."