Zoë Yadira SaldañaPerego born June 19 1978 is an American actress Known primarily for her work in science fiction film franchises she has appeared in the three highestgrossing films of all time Avatar Avatar The Way of Water and Avengers Endgame a feat not achieved by any other performer Films she has appeared in have grossed more than 14 billion worldwide and as of 2023 she is the secondhighestgrossing film actress and the fourth actor overall Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2023 A trained dancer Saldaña began her acting career in two 1999 episodes of Law Order Her first film role was in Center Stage 2000 in which she played a ballet dancer She received early recognition for her work opposite Britney Spears in the road film Crossroads 2002 Beginning in 2009 Saldaña achieved a career breakthrough with her roles as Nyota Uhura in the Star Trek film series and Neytiri in James Camerons Avatar film series She portrayed Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe from Guardians of the Galaxy 2014 to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 2023 In addition to franchise work Saldaña has starred in the science fiction film The Adam Project and the romantic drama miniseries From Scratch both for Netflix in 2022