Zoe Saldana: "Star Trek" and "Avatar"

By Holly Wood

I first really noticed Zoe Saldana, right, in "Guess Who," where she costarred with Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac in the remake of the Sidney Poitier classic, "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner." She was great.

Zoe, left as Neytiri, has taken off into the stratosphere - - more like the outerspaceousphere. To get leading roles in both "Star Trek" and "Avatar' is almost beyond belief. And dare I say it, for a black actress in Hollywood. Of course there will be sequels to these two incredibly successful films. And Zoe's star will shine even brighter. Go get them Zoe. We are with you all the way.

Zoe shocked everybody by being the love interest for Mr. Spock in "Star Trek." That was right up there with the Thing in "The Fantastic Four" having a blind black girlfriend.

Now I have to admit that it took me a minute to figure out when it was Zoe and when it was Thandie Newton, left. They do look a bit alike and sound alike. Both are thin. Thandie did rule in "Crash" and was wonderful in "Mission Impossible." Newton has also gone sci-fi in "The Chronicles of Riddick" and "2012." She was really great as an evil woman in "Riddick."

Zoe Saldana was born Zoe Yadira Zaldaña Nazario in New Jersey and raised in Queens, New York. Her father is of Dominican descent; her mother is Puerto Rican. (IMDb)