Let the audience wait for 13 years, the film "Avatar: The Way of Water" directed by James Cameron is about to be released for a month, and as of the end of last week, the global box office has exceeded 1.7 billion US dollars, not only won the first place in the global box office year-end list in 2022, but also rose to 7th in the global film history box office list.
At the 80th Golden Globe Awards ceremony that just ended yesterday, although they did not win the award in the end, "Avatar 2: The Way of Water" and director James Cameron were also nominated for the Best Picture Award and Best Director Award in this year's film drama category, respectively.
As the sequel to the first movie in the "Avatar" series, "Avatar 2: The Way of Water" continues the story line and beautiful visual perception of the previous film, telling the story of the Sally family who came to the island and reef tribe on the coast of the planet Pandora to seek refuge, and the family did their best to protect each other, experience hardships and survive together.
But today we are not here to tell you about the plot of the film, but to talk about the heroine of this movie, and one of the highest-grossing actresses in global film history - Zoe Saldana (Zoe Saldana).
In the second sequel, Zoe Saldana still returns as the role of Neytiri, the princess of the Na'vi tribe, and fifteen years after the previous story, Neytiri completes her transformation from girl to woman, starts her own family, and raises three children with Sully.
If in the first film, Neytiri is a fearless warrior who does not want to submit to the fate of being born a princess and only wants to be herself until she meets Sully and falls in love, then this one is the continuation of this love, and the continuation of her struggle with the Sky People, the persecution of her family, her planet and everything she loves.
The reason why she dares to say that she is one of the highest-grossing actresses in the world is because she has made important appearances in three of the five highest-grossing films of all time, namely "Avatar" (2009), "Avengers 3: Infinity War" (2018) and "Avengers 4: Endgame" (2019).
Coupled with the latest release of "Avatar 2: The Way of Water", these 4 films alone have accumulated more than $9.4 billion at the personal box office, and the total global box office is only second to "widow sister" Scarlett Johansson.
Despite her excellent box office results, many viewers still said that the name Zoe Saldana was a little unfamiliar, but if you see her performance, you will definitely evoke a sense of familiarity with this face.
In Hollywood, Zoe Saldana is known as an "alien professional", from the Avatar series Na'vi princess Neytiri:
To the green-haired red-haired Gamora in the Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers series:
Then to Uhura Uhura, who plays the communications officer in the "Star Trek" series (although she is an earthling, but she is in love with the alien Spock):
It has a perfect body shape, and the action scenes are also smooth and powerful. In the male-dominated superhero IP movie, every character played by Zoe Saldana is not the traditional weak female image waiting to be saved, but the fearless, independent and powerful Power Woman in herself, a veritable "big heroine" in sci-fi films.
Remove the blue, blue, green and green alien makeup, and Zoe with a tall figure of 170cm and innate taste in dressing in the real world is also a suitable black beauty.
She likes to experiment with different styles and prefers vibrant fashion looks. Petra Flannery, the fashion promoter who has worked with Zoe for more than a decade, told VOGUE, "Zoe really enjoys trying different styles. ”
Especially during the release and promotion of "Avatar 2", it brought us a lot of unforgettable wonderful shapes, mainly black and white, but not monotonous at all——
At the world premiere, Zoe wore it
Alexander McQueen sheer black evening dress
At the US premiere, Zoe was dressed
Schiaparelli Fall/Winter 2022 collection black velvet dress
At the London premiere, Zoe was dressed from
Victoria Beckham's spring/summer 2023 ready-to-wear collection unveiled
After the London premiere, Zoe returned to the British edition of Vogue's "Power of Change" themed dinner, pairing it with a sheer top and futuristic metal bracelet with a high-waisted velvet skirt:
At the Seoul movie event, Zoe appeared in a Lanvin loose black and white suit, handsome and neat, which is a look that can also be used for everyday wear:
Occasionally, there will be some brighter and more colorful combinations, and beautiful skin tones can be 100% digested:
Whether it is the appearance and figure, or the overall temperament and aura, Zoe can always make people look at her, and it feels like she hasn't even changed much over the years - can you tell that the actress is 44 years old this year?
Whether it is Neytiri on the planet Pandora or Zoe Saldana in real life, in addition to pleasing outfits, a good posture is also an important factor for her temperament, which is inseparable from Zoe's ballet literacy and long-term sports habits cultivated since childhood.
Young Zoe Saldana grew up in Queens, New York, to a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother. The originally peaceful life was shattered when his father died in a car accident when he was 9 years old. At that time, the mother, who took Zoe and her two sisters, could not continue to maintain a normal life in New York on her own, so she returned to Dominica with the three sisters.
"Dominica is my second home, with beaches, a stable climate, and a good education." There, Zoe, who was well-proportioned and slender in limbs, began to study ballet and was admitted to ECOS Espacio de Danza Academy, the best dance academy in the region.
In 1995, Zoe returned to New York with her mother, and it was with this dance learning experience and extremely talented acting skills that she later successfully won the song and dance movie "Center Stage", the first film in her life.
Since then, Zoe has had occasional flashes in the field of acting. In 2003, he gradually became famous for starring in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl", playing a fierce female pirate Anamaria in the film.
Like her characters, she is an independent, courageous woman with zero tolerance for social disorder and discrimination. There was originally a chance to continue to appear in the later "Pirates of the Caribbean" series of movies, but the young and vigorous Zoe took the initiative to withdraw from the follow-up shooting plan because he was not used to watching the crew hold high and low.
"I realized early in my career that I didn't have to be seen by everyone. I just want to be seen by people who really see who I am. ”
What really brought Zoe Saldana to a turning point in her career was 2009's Avatar. "The response to the film was something I never imagined. It felt so exciting, so incredible. ”
The film became the highest-grossing film in history and brought more opportunities for Zoe's acting career, "It was the first time I felt like I was achieving what I really wanted." This project gave me a roller coaster ride immediately after its premiere. Since then, it hasn't stopped. "So later, we saw powerful female hero characters in the Marvel Universe and the Star Trek series.
This strength is instilled in her body and life. Avatar was just 29 years old when it was first produced, and now 44, like Neytiri, she is a mother of three sons, and in order to enhance the character's sense of strength, Zoe Saldana has undergone intensive physical training and mental preparation, intensifying training in various sports such as archery, horseback riding, martial arts, running and jumping.
After director Cameron decided to focus on underwater shooting, she trained herself to finally hold her breath underwater for five minutes. It is also a personal struggle for someone who has been in deep reverence for water and its power since childhood. "Water has always been one of the elements of life that I admire and respect, but at the same time I am very afraid."
Zoe, who grew up in Dominica, said: "I am an islander, and my grandparents have been islanders for generations. Interestingly, folklore about water was passed down when you grew up on the island, and you were taught to respect the water, to be taught to fear it, and to appreciate it from afar. ”
Zoe is still passionate about all things – acting, ballet, stunt training, martial arts, getting in shape and in shape through daily exercise and diet adjustments, while also devoting herself to family and parenting.
Zoe Saldana, who grew up in a matrilineal family, has been advocating for a more inclusive industry in her own right, especially in her American narrative, which encourages all female sisters to be independent and free from any male judgment, whether community, social or political.
Zoe's husband is Italian artist Marco Perego, and the two secretly married in 2013. Marco first gave himself his wife's surname, now Marco Perego-Saldana, and later Zoe was persuaded by Marco to change his surname to Saldana-Perego.
While on the Jimmy Kimmel show, Zoe Saldana was asked, "Did you force him to do that?" ”
Zoe said, "Oh my God! No! Why do men take their wife's surname, you ask me such a question. If I had taken his last name, it wouldn't have been in the news at all, right? ”
The couple also share their upbringing with their three sons, a five-year-old and a seven-year-old twin, "My identity grows year after year, just as I raised them, they are also raising me." ”
Raising boys who can freely express their feelings is Zoe's educational goal, to tap into their emotions and encourage them to talk freely about their feelings, "We always tell them to have feelings, to perceive everything, that's the most important thing." Raising boys feels like a huge responsibility, but I do feel like they've taught me and Marco a lot as well, and we're coaching them as best we can. ”
Like the superenergy that Zoe Saldana delivers to us on screen, we feel this power running through everything Zoe does, from her healthy emotionally handling attitude in raising her son to her passion and open-mindedness towards everything. A self-effacing and self-reliant woman who supports so many attractive roles continues to inspire and motivate us in life.
WRITTEN BY: KEKE
Editor: Hezi
Design: Lele