Fun fact about Zoe Saldaña: She's starred in four of the highest-grossing movies of all time. That's right, four. Those films are Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Avengers: Infinity War. (The first three are the first three spots on the highest-grossing list, while Infinity War comes in at No. 6.) So, if you were one of the many, many people who saw one—or all—of those movies, then you've definitely seen the actor at work.
Saldaña is known for her roles in movie franchises, including those record-breaking blockbusters. She plays Neytiri in the Avatar movies, Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Nyota Uhura in Star Trek. She was also in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
But it's not just sci-fi and action for Saldaña. She began her career in teen dramas and comedies, including Center Stage, Crossroads, and Drumline, and has gone on to appear in dramas, thrillers, romances, and more. Whether you're already a big fan of the movie star or are looking to learn more about her prolific career, here's a full rundown of Zoe Saldaña's filmography.
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1. Center Stage (2000)
Sony Pictures ReleasingSaldaña made her film debut in Center Stage, a 2000 movie about students at a ballet school, who hope to attend the fictional American Ballet Company. She was 21 when the film was released and plays Eva Rodríguez, a talented dancer, who has to improve her attitude in order to be accepted to the company.
2. Get Over It (2001)
The following year, Saldaña was in two movies. The first is the teen comedy Get Over It, which is inspired by the William Shakespeare play A Midsummer Night's Dream. Kirsten Dunst and Ben Foster play the romantic leads, Kelly and Berke, while Saldaña plays Maggie, the best friend of Berke's ex.
3. Snipes (2001)
Also in 2001, Saldaña appeared as Cheryl in Snipes, a drama about a couple (Saldaña, Nelly), who witness a murder and become accidentally involved in the aftermath.
4. Crossroads (2002)
Saldaña stars alongside Britney Spears and Taryn Manning in Crossroads, a coming-of-age movie about three teenage friends who go on a road trip together right after graduating from high school. Saldaña plays Kit, a popular girl already engaged to her boyfriend.
5. Drumline (2002)
In another coming-of-age dramedy, Drumline, Saldaña plays Laila, the love interest of Nick Cannon's lead character, Devon. While Devon is a drummer in their college's marching band, Laila is a dancer.
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Buena Vista Pictures DistributionSaldaña has starred in a number of action franchises. The first of her career is Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the first movie of the franchise. She plays Anamaria, a pirate whose ship was stolen by Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). This is the only Pirates of the Caribbean movie that Saldaña is in.
7. The Terminal (2004)
The Terminal stars Tom Hanks as Viktor, a man who begins living in New York City's JFK airport because he cannot go back to his home country—the fictional Krakozhia—because of a coup. But he cannot enter the U.S. because his passport is no longer valid. Saldaña plays a customs officer who becomes friends with Viktor.
8. Haven (2004)
Saldaña teamed back up with Pirates of the Caribbean co-star Orlando Bloom for Haven. They play a couple, Shy and Andrea, in this crime drama, which is set in the Cayman Islands.
9. Temptation (2004)
The actor plays Annie in Temptation, a musical set in nightclub. But not too much is known about this movie since it was never released. Co-stars include Alice Ripley, Adam Pascal, and Michael Cerveris.
10. Constellation (2005)
While Constellation premiered in 2005, it wasn't released in the U.S. until 2007. (Delays like these are common with independent movies.) The film is about a family who reunites in the wake of one member passing away, at which point they have to confront past traumas.
11. Guess Who (2005)
Sony Pictures ReleasingGuess Who is a remake of the 1967 film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, which stars Sidney Poitier as a Black man who visits his white fiancée's (Katharine Houghton) parents. In this version, a white man (Ashton Kutcher) meets the parents of his Black fiancée (Saldaña).
12. Dirty Deeds (2005)
Dirty Deeds is a comedy about a teenager, Zach (Milo Ventimiglia), who attempts to complete a series of 10 dares as part of a high school tradition. Saldaña plays the character Rachel.
13. The Curse of Father Cardona (2005)
Saldaña plays Flor in The Curse of Father Cardona, which is about a priest (Anthony Alvarez), who moves to a small town and falls in love with one of the residents (Saldaña).
14. Premium (2006)
The romantic comedy Premium stars Saldaña as Charli and Dorian Missick as Cool. Charli and Cool are exes, but when they cross paths only days before Charli's wedding, Cool realizes that he still has feelings for her.
15. The Heart Specialist (2006)
Freestyle ReleasingSaldaña plays Donna, a nurse in a love triangle, in rom-com The Heart Specialist. Her romantic interests are played by Wood Harris and Brian J. White. While the film had a premiere in 2006, it didn't get a limited release in theaters until five years later.
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16. After Sex (2007)
After Sex consists of conversations that couples have after sex, with eight different couples of various backgrounds, relationship situations, and ages featured. Saldaña is paired with Mila Kunis, as Kat and Nikki, college roommates who hook up while Kat is still hiding the fact that she is a lesbian from her parents.
17. Blackout (2007)
Blackout is about the 2003 Northeast Blackout, which affected parts of the northeastern United States and parts of Canada and lasted for up to two days in some areas. The movie is set in a Brooklyn, New York neighborhood, and Saldaña's co-stars include Jeffrey Wright and Michael B. Jordan.
18. Vantage Point (2008)
A fictional president, Henry Ashton (William Hurt), survives an assassination attempt in Vantage Point, which shows the event from various characters' perspectives. Saldaña plays Angie, a TV reporter. The cast also features Sigourney Weaver, Dennis Quaid, and Forest Whitaker.
19. The Skeptic (2009)
The Skeptic is a horror movie about a man (Tim Daly), who moves into a house he inherits only to slowly accept that it is haunted by memories he suppressed from his past. Saldaña's character is Cassie, a woman who helps investigate the supernatural occurrences.
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20. Star Trek (2009)
The actor joined another franchise with 2009's Star Trek. It's a reboot of the original space exploration series, with familiar characters played by new actors. Saldaña plays Nyota Uhura, who was originally portrayed by Nichelle Nichols.
21. Avatar (2009)
20th Century FoxThe same year that Star Trek was released, Saldaña also starred in the first Avatar movie. She plays the female lead, the Na'vi character Neytiri. The Na'vi are the native species of the planet Pandora, which human Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) visits as an avatar.
22. Death at a Funeral (2010)
Death at a Funeral is a remake of a British film that came out only three years earlier. The dark comedy is about a family who come together for a funeral only for a series of events to go horribly wrong, involving hallucinogenic drugs, bodies mistaken for dead, and plenty of relationship issues. Saldaña plays one of the family members, Elaine.
23. The Losers (2010)
The action movie The Losers is based on the comic books of the same name and is about a group of special operations agents and one of their missions. Saldaña plays Aisha alongside co-stars Idris Elba, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Chris Evans.
24. Takers (2010)
Saldaña and Elba also co-starred in Takers, an action thriller about a bank heist released in the same year. She plays Lilly, the ex-girlfriend of T.I.'s character, Ghost, and the fiancée of Michael Ealy's character, Jake. The cast also features Matt Dillion, Paul Walker, and Hayden Christensen.
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25. Burning Palms (2010)
Burning Palms is a satire of Los Angeles that is broken into five segments, each of which is about an L.A. stereotype. Saldaña portrays Sarah, a woman who is raped and then tries to find the perpetrator to start a relationship with him. (It should be noted that Burning Palms was meant to offend audiences, which did not go over well, despite the intentionality.) The cast includes Dylan McDermott, Rosamund Pike, and Lake Bell.
26. Colombiana (2011)
Saldaña stars in Colombiana as an assassin, Cataleya. While she works as a killer for hire, she's specifically seeking revenge for her family being killed by a drug lord 15 years earlier.
27. The Words (2012)
The Words is a story within a story. Dennis Quaid plays a writer, Clayton Hammond, who is giving a reading of his novel, which is about the characters Rory (Bradley Cooper) and Dora (Saldaña). It shows their romance while also revealing a mystery about Clayton.
28. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Paramount PicturesSaldaña returned as Uhura for 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness. In this film, the crew of the USS Enterprise visit the home planet of the Klingons.
29. Blood Ties (2013)
Blood Ties is a crime thriller set in the '70s about two brothers, one of whom, Chris (Clive Owen), is recently released from prison, and the other, Frank (Billy Crudup), who is a police detective. Saldaña plays Vanessa, Frank's ex-girlfriend.
30. Out of the Furnace (2013)
Saldaña had another crime thriller come out the same year as Blood Ties titled Out of the Furnace. She plays Lena, the girlfriend of Russell (Christian Bale), a steel mill employee, who is searching for his brother Rodney (Casey Affleck) after Rodney disappears amid his involvement in a crime ring.
31. Infinitely Polar Bear (2014)
Infinitely Polar Bear is a comedy-drama about a family in the '70s whose lives change when the father, Cameron (Mark Ruffalo), has to enter a psychiatric hospital and then continue his healing once he is released. Since Cameron loses his job, Maggie (Saldaña) decides to go to graduate school in an attempt to get a better career so that she can support their two children.
32. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Saldaña joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe with her role as Gamora in Guardians of the Galaxy. Gamora, a green humanoid alien, is the adopted daughter of the villain Thanos (played in the MCU by Josh Brolin) and the sister of Nebula (Karen Gillan). The 2014 movie is about the adventures of the ragtag group the Guardians of the Galaxy, who eventually team up with the Avengers.
33. The Book of Life (2014)
20th Century FoxSaldaña voices María in The Book of Life, an animated movie inspired by the holiday the Day of the Dead about a bullfighter who enters the afterlife in the hopes of reconnecting with his love. Other voice actors include Diego Luna, Channing Tatum, and Christina Applegate.
34. Unity (2015)
Unity is a 2015 documentary that is basically about humanity, the various ways people live around the world, and why people come into conflicts against one another. It's narrated by over 100 celebrities, and Saldaña is one of them.
35. Nina (2015)
Saldaña plays Nina Simone in the 2015 biopic Nina, and she was heavily criticized for being cast in the role of the Black American singer and Civil Rights activist, because Saldaña is Afro-Latina and was put in darker makeup for the film. She later said she regretted her involvement in the movie.
36. Star Trek Beyond (2016)
The third movie in the Star Trek reboot series is Star Trek Beyond, in which Saldaña once again reprises her role of Uhura. In this installment, the crew of the USS Enterprise face off against a villain named Krall (Idris Elba) on the planet Altamid.
37. Live by Night (2016)
Live by Night is a crime drama set in the 1920s during prohibition. Ben Affleck stars as Joe, a gangster involved in illegal rum sales and crime in Tampa, Florida. Saldaña plays his love interest, Graciela.
38. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Saldaña donned the green skin and red hair to play Gamora for the second time in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. This time lead character Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) is on a mission to learn more about his family history, including his father, Ego (Kurt Russell).
39. I Kill Giants (2017)
I Kill Giants is a fantasy movie based on a graphic novel by Joe Kelly and Ken Niimura. It's about a teen girl, Barbara (Madison Wolfe), whose way of escaping from trauma in her life is an imaginary magical world that includes giants. Saldaña's character is Mrs. Mollé, the psychologist at Barbara's school.
40. My Little Pony: The Movie (2017)
Based on the franchise of toys and TV shows, My Little Pony: The Movie is exactly what it sounds like: an animated film about the colorful pony characters. Saldaña voices a parrot named Captain Celaeno.
41. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Walt Disney Studios Motion PicturesThe Guardians of the Galaxy join up with the Avengers for Avengers: Infinity War. The mission in this superhero flick is a big one: Stop Thanos from gaining the power to destroy half of all life in the universe.
42. Missing Link (2019)
Another voice acting role for Saldaña is Missing Link, an animated movie about a Sasquatch (Zach Galifianakis), who travels to the Himalaya mountains to meet his cousins. Saldaña voices an explorer named Adelina Fortnight and co-stars with Hugh Jackman, Stephen Fry, and Emma Thompson.
43. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
The Avengers versus Thanos story comes to an end with 2019's Avengers: Endgame, a time-traveling adventure in which characters from throughout the MCU come together to defeat the titan for good.
44. Vampires vs. the Bronx (2020)
Vampires vs. the Bronx is a comedy-horror movie about vampires attacking residents of the New York City borough the Bronx. A group of kids from the area fight back against the vampires, while also being concerned about their neighborhood being gentrified. Saldaña plays the role of Becky, a salon owner.
45. Vivo (2021)
Vivo is an animated musical about a kinkajou named Vivo (Lin-Manuel Miranda), who has to deliver a song to his recently deceased owner Andrés' (Juan de Marcos González) long lost love Marta (Gloria Estefan). Saldaña plays Rosa, one of Andrés' family members.
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46. The Adam Project (2022)
The science fiction movie The Adam Project stars Ryan Reynolds as a fighter pilot, who accidentally time travels from the year 2050 to 2022 where he meets his 12-year-old self (Walker Scobell) while on a mission to rescue his wife (Saldaña) from the year 2018 where she had time-traveled herself. All the while, the characters are attempting to stop a powerful woman named Maya (Catherine Keener) from monopolizing the ability to time-travel.
47. Amsterdam (2022)
20th Century StudiosSaldaña plays Irma St. Clair, a medical examiner, in Amsterdam, which is inspired by the Business Plot, a scheme that was meant to overthrow Franklin Delano Roosevelt as president and make Marine Corps officer Smedley Butler a dictator. John David Washington, Margot Robbie, and Christian Bale star as a group of friends attempting to uncover the conspiracy.
48. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Thirteen years after the original movie hit theaters, Saldaña returned as Neytiri in Avatar: The Way of Water. There are three more sequels on the way.
49. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
Another of Saldaña's franchises also got another film recently with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. This addition is focused on Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and his fellow Guardians' attempts to save his life.
50. The Absence of Eden (2023)
The 2023 thriller The Absence of Eden is written and directed by Saldaña's husband, Marco Perego. It's about an ICE agent named Shipp (Garrett Hedlund) and an undocumented woman named Esmee (Saldaña) attempting to come to the U.S. from Mexico. They work together to save a young girl (Sophia Hammons).
51. Good Burger 2 (2023)
Saldaña has a cameo as herself in Good Burger 2. It's the sequel to the 1997 comedy, which was adapted from a sketch from the series All That starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell.
52. Emilia Pérez (2024)
PathéLastly, we have Emilia Pérez, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and will hit Netflix on Nov. 13. The crime-comedy-musical is about a lawyer, Rita (Saldaña), who helps a transgender woman, Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón), come out and escape her past as a gangster. Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz co-star.
