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Is Zoe Saldaña The Mainsteam Latina Star We've Always Hoped For?

07 May 2009 | 20:30 Comments: 9

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We've been very vocal about the disappointment we've felt when its comes to Jessica Alba's relationship with the media, or with the way actresses like Penelope Cruz, Eva Mendes, and Salma Hayek seem to relish the "hot tamale" role that's been dealt to them. But maybe, just maybe, Star Trek star Zoe Saldaña could very well be the perfect antidote to Latina actresses who haven't represented Latinas in a way that we've felt proud of. Zoe, for one, takes roles other than "the girlfriend" (although she did get to play Diego Luna's Trekie love interest in Terminal) or "the best friend" and, while she does hope to be cast for her talent, she doesn't pull the "oh, I'm so hot that it's a curse" card:

In terms of roles for women, I don’t want to be home baking every day, or waiting for Spiderman to rescue me. I like strong roles, and Jim and J.J. are known for that. They are action filmmaking men, but they still have a feminine side to them. I want to keep growing, and I want to be respected. The business sense in me knows it is a necessity to be considered hot to be marketable. It is a canker sore at times. I wish it was based more on my approach to my work, but people everywhere are judged on their looks; Hollywood is no different.

In fact, she's confident about her looks while remaining totally grounded. In fact, she told Latina magazine that she can pretty much have any dude she wants:

Look at me. I'm skinny, I have a big nose, no tits and no ass, but in a room full of beautiful women, I would still leave with the most gorgeous guy.

Us, too! Although he's usually gay and wants to leave the party to go have Southwest eggrolls at Chili's instead. Speaking of being gross and bloated:

There’s nothing sexual about shooting a sex scene, you must know! You are sweating your ass off under the lights, or you’re freezing. You’re hungry, or you’re bloated and gassy because they had pizza on the set that day.

Plus, she celebrates the fact that she's multicultural, talking openly about her New York upbringing and her Dominican roots, even if she's not always typecast playing Latina characters. zoesaldana

So, yeah. We're excited to see more of this girl. She's got a couple of interesting movies coming up: the sci-fi flick Avatar and The Losers, based on the graphic novel. What do you guys think, though? Are you rooting for Zoe?

Zoe Saldaña, a rising 'Star' [NY Daily News]

Zoe Saldana's Rising Star [Latina]

What do you think?

LOL
CHISPAS
AY DIOS MIO
QUE CUTE
NERDO
NACO
CURSI
QUE COOL

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Comments

laroncha May 7, 2009

Zoe FTW!
Reply

el smrtmnky May 7, 2009

i think she is an amazing choice for Uhura. and she's right about abrams: he knows strong women and how to write for them. he made jennifer garner and keri russell stars. this is just the tip of the iceberg. of course, it would be nice if she wasn't cut out of the box when you see this story on the homepage.
Reply

Alejand May 7, 2009

I think Penelope, Eva and Salma are typecast as "hot tamales" because they are OBVS latinas, whereas Zoe could be Jada Pinkett's sister. That is to say, is the general public thinking, whoa they cast a latina as Uhuru or are they just saying eh, another black chick with a weird name?
Reply

kingflys May 7, 2009

I think Zoe is a great actress and not to mention pretty caliente! #42 on Maxim's list for 2008? I have a feeling she's going to use that Star Trek Enterprise to rocket herself up that list for 2009! Bella! Absolutamente bella.
Reply

Guest May 8, 2009

Unfortunately, most people don't know that Zoe is a Latina. Most assume that she's African American, and she usually plays African American characters. What makes you think that she will be the next "Mainstream Latina Star?" I think Hollywood sees her as a rising star who happens to be Black (or multiracial).
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Guest May 8, 2009

What about Gina Torres? JJ Abrams used her in Alias, I always wondered why she's never really been a breakout star. She's HOT
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