Dominicans worldwide are beaming with pride as global superstar Zoe Saldaña cements her place in history. Her return to play Neytiri in the third film in the Avatar series has won artistic recognition of critics and propelled her to be the highest-grossing leading actor of all time.
Critics praise her performance as a grieving mother in Avatar: Fire and Ash, saying she is building on the acting that led her to win supporting actress award in the musical drama Emilia Perez in 2025.
While in the previous films Neytiri was defined by her connection to nature and her role as a protector, in Fire and Ash, her character arc is defined by grief, rage, and a crisis of faith.
Avatar director James Cameron and critics have noted that the “Fire” in the title largely refers to Neytiri herself. Following the death of her eldest son Neteyam (in The Way of Water), she is consumed by a burning anger. This film explores her darker side as she struggles to forgive and finds her spiritual connection to Eywa tested.
Having surpassed Scarlett Johansson on 13 January 2026, Saldaña’s career total now stands at an staggering US$15.6 billion and growing. The catalyst for this record was Avatar: Fire and Ash, which premiered in December 2025 and sprinted past the $1 billion mark in just 18 days.
Saldaña’s dominance is historic; she has starred in four of the seven highest-grossing films ever made, including the “Big Three”: Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, and Avatar: The Way of Water.
Though born in Passaic, New Jersey, Saldaña’s heart remains rooted in the Caribbean. The daughter of Aridio Saldaña and Asalia Nazario, she famously told Wired she is “three-quarters Dominican.” After her father’s passing when she was nine, she moved to the Dominican Republic, where she discovered her love for dance—a discipline that later defined her physical acting style in roles like Neytiri and Gamora.
From her breakthrough as Uhura in Star Trek to her historic “Awards Sweep” in 2025, Saldaña has become more than a movie star—she is a cultural icon. When she accepted her Oscar for Emilia Pérez in March 2025, she reminded the world: “I am the first American of Dominican origin to win an Academy Award, and I know I will not be the last.”
Saldaña awards
Academy Award (Oscar): Won for Best Supporting Actress in March 2025. She made history as the first Dominican-American actress to win an Oscar for her role as the lawyer Rita Mora Castro in the musical crime drama Emilia Perez.
Golden Globe Award: Won for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture.
BAFTA Award: Won for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award: Won for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role.
Critics’ Choice Movie Award: Won for Best Supporting Actress.
Cannes Film Festival: Won the Best Actress award in 2024, shared with her co-stars Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, and Adriana Paz.
Time 100: Named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
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El Nacional
14 January 2026