<P> Zoe Saldana - Perego (born Zoe Yadira Saldaña Nazario; June 19, 1978), known professionally as Zoe Saldana or Zoë Saldana, is an American actress and dancer . Following her performances with the theater group Faces, Saldana made her screen debut in an episode of Law & Order (1999). </P> <P> Her film career began a year later with Center Stage (2000), where she played a struggling ballet dancer, followed by a role in Crossroads (2002). Saldana's breakthrough came in 2009 with the roles of Nyota Uhura in Star Trek and Neytiri in James Cameron's Avatar . The latter film received widespread acclaim, and is the highest - grossing film of all time . Saldana continued her career with films such as Colombiana (2011), Star Trek into Darkness (2013), Out of the Furnace (2013), Star Trek Beyond (2016), and Live by Night (2016). </P> <P> Saldana in the Marvel Cinematic Universe portrays Gamora beginning with Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and later also in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). </P> <P> Saldana was born in Passaic, New Jersey . Her father, Aridio Saldaña, was Dominican, while her mother, Asalia Nazario, is Puerto Rican . Saldana also has Lebanese and Haitian roots . With regard to her racial identity, Saldana stated, "There's no one way to be black . I'm black the way I know how to be ." She spent the majority of her early childhood growing up in Jackson Heights, New York . She was raised bilingual, speaking English and Spanish . She has two sisters, named Cisely and Mariel . Their father died in a car crash when Zoe was 9 years old, and their mother subsequently moved with the children to the Dominican Republic . </P>

Who plays gamora from guardians of the galaxy
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