Part of The Avengers featuring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Mark Ruffalo.
Rise to Fame
She trained as a dancer growing up, which was supposed to be her whole career. Then Center Stage (2000) happened, a film about ballet students, which was a natural fit. The real break came in 2009: two franchise-defining roles at once. She played Uhura in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot and Neytiri in Avatar in the same calendar year. She spent six months preparing in archery, martial arts, and horseback riding for Avatar, and she's credited her dance background as part of why she landed the role. That physical discipline shaped the whole trajectory.
In the Spotlight
She spent most of her career making the kind of movies that print money but don't win awards - Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Endgame. Then in 2025 she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Emilia Perez, a French-directed narco-musical in Spanish, taking the Golden Globe, SAG Award, and BAFTA the same season. Months later, Avatar: Fire and Ash made her the highest-grossing actor of all time, with her films collectively clearing $15.47 billion. Franchise cash machine and first Dominican-American Oscar winner. Same person.
Side Notes
Italian artist Marco Perego took her last name when they married in 2013, becoming Marco Perego-Saldana. She grew up partly in the Dominican Republic (her father died in a car crash when she was nine, her mother moved the family there) studying dance and is fluent in Spanish, which is part of why Emilia Perez made sense for her. The film's portrayal of Mexican culture and trans identity drew criticism from advocacy groups, which she publicly pushed back on. They're raising three sons trilingual: Spanish, Italian, English.