Zoe Saldaña has spent the past two decades building one of the most unusual résumés in film history — and 2026 has turned out to be one of her biggest years yet.
Born in New Jersey and raised partly in the Dominican Republic, Saldaña broke through in the 2000s with roles in “Center Stage” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” before landing three franchises that would define her career: Neytiri in “Avatar,” Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Nyota Uhura in the rebooted “Star Trek” films.
That combination has made her impossible to ignore commercially. Thanks to franchises like Avatar, Star Trek, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Avengers, Saldaña has become the highest-grossing actor in film history, overtaking Scarlett Johansson, with her movies grossing more than $15.47 billion worldwide.
The recognition has followed the numbers. Saldaña won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in “Emilia Pérez.” She was honored in Time’s 2026 TIME100 list, and in early 2026 she became a global ambassador for Lancôme, fronting the brand’s Absolue Longevity MD campaign.
On television, she’s currently the face of Paramount’s “Special Ops: Lioness,” playing CIA station chief Joe McNamara opposite Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman. The series has been renewed for a third season, with filming already wrapped and the first episode airing August 2, 2026.
Saldaña isn’t done with Pandora, either. She’s set to return as Neytiri in the upcoming “Avatar” sequels, continuing a franchise commitment that will stretch the saga’s timeline all the way to 2031.
And she’s already looking past acting. Speaking at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, Saldaña revealed she wants to move into directing, telling the audience she’s ready to take the camera herself after years of watching others call the shots.
Off screen, Saldaña’s family life has become almost as public as her filmography. She’s been married since 2013 to Marco Perego, an Italian former professional soccer player turned artist and filmmaker who took her surname when they wed. The couple have three sons together: twins Cy Arido and Bowie Ezio, born in 2014, and younger son Zen Anton Hilario, born in 2017.
Perego has been having a milestone stretch of his own. He became the first producer ever to have three films premiere in the Cannes Film Festival’s main competition in a single year, two of which won the festival’s top two awards. Saldaña has spoken openly about balancing that demanding career with parenting, describing herself as “tribal” with her family — wherever she goes for work, they go too — while acknowledging the real sacrifices that come with a schedule that keeps her constantly traveling. The couple also make a point of introducing their sons to classic cinema together as part of a family routine, recently watching films like Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment” and “Cinema Paradiso.”
Between an Oscar, a beauty campaign, a renewed CIA drama, and directing ambitions on the horizon, Zoe Saldaña’s 2026 has been less a comeback than a full-speed continuation of a career that shows no sign of slowing down.
