Who Is Zoe Saldaña? The Actress Who Overtook Scarlett Johansson to Become Hollywood’s Highest-Grossing Star

In the headlines across the world, Zoe Saldaña has now pushed past Scarlett Johansson as the highest-grossing actress in Hollywood history. With more than $15 billion in box office sales from films worldwide, Zoe Saldaña has quietly claimed the top.

This isn’t just the hand of one lucky blockbuster but rather the payoff from years of choices that were strategically laid out, franchise dominance, and a continued appeal to a worldwide audience. Be it from Avatar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Zoe Saldaña built a career standing, to this day, unparalleled in the annals of box-office history.

So, who is Zoe Saldaña, how did she achieve all that, and why does this record matter so much? Let’s break it down.

Who Is Zoe Saldaña?

Zoe Saldana is an American actress and is known for her lead roles in some of the biggest franchises in history. She was born on June 19, 1978, and is of multi-cultural ethnicity and has had training in ballet and performing arts since her childhood years.

Unlike many actresses in Hollywood who gain fame from romantic dramas or from publicity-driven fame, the career path that Zoe Saldana chose differed thoroughly from these actresses. Zoe has developed her career around physically demanding roles in science fiction films that use heavy CGI.

What makes her story unique is she has not pursued traditional stardom. Rather, her fascination has been with projects with international reach, which has eventually made her dominate the international box office.

Full Name	Zoe Yadira Saldana Nazario
Date of Birth	June 19, 1978
Age	47 years
Birthplace	Passaic, New Jersey
Nationality	American
Spouse	Marco Perego
Net worth	USD 60-80 Million
Profession	Actress
Active Years	1999–present

Zoe Saldaña in Avatar: The Role That Changed Everything

In the case of Zoe Saldaña, it was her role in Avatar that marked a turning point. The movie didn’t just become a box office hit-it became the highest-grossing movie of all time.

Despite being a fully CGI character, Zoe’s acting had depth in emotion and precision in body language. Acting through performance capture has to be one of the more daunting tasks, and Zoe conquered it with ease.

“Avatar” proved to be one of the biggest productions in her acting career so far, giving her the whole world as her audience. This movie opened doors to her being one of the main casts in a franchise that would run for an extended period of time. With several “Avatar” sequels to follow, this one franchise alone is one of the largest contributors to her unprecedented box office earnings.

How Zoe Saldaña Overtook Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson was long the highest-grossing actress for years, thanks to her dominance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But Zoe Saldaña’s continued presence across several billion-dollar franchises simultaneously flipped the equation.

Zoe Saldana was a part of major blockbusters like Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Avengers films, which grossed billions of dollars in box offices. Her movies always did well at various global markets that contributed to her success.

This wasn’t about competition—it was about career longevity and scale. Zoe’s films kept adding billions to her total, eventually pushing her past Scarlett Johansson’s long-standing record.

Zoe took her Instagram to express her gratitude to her fans “I just want to express my sincerest gratitude for the extraordinary journey that has led me to become the highest-grossing film actor of all time today.

“An achievement made possible entirely, entirely by the incredible franchises and the collaborators that I have been fortunate enough to be a part of, to every director who placed their trust in me.”

Scarlett Johansson and Karley Scott Collins’ Reaction to the News

The Hollywood world didn’t just sit quietly as Zoe Saldaña claimed the top box-office spot — the shift even made its way into comedy. During the January 17 episode of Saturday Night Live, Scarlett Johansson’s husband, comedian Colin Jost, delivered the headline in a humorous Weekend Update segment.

Jost announced that Zoe Saldaña had surpassed his wife Scarlett to become the highest-grossing actress of all time, triggering a visual bar graph comparing their box-office totals. In classic SNL style, the joke took a self-deprecating turn: Jost quipped that if you included his own films in Scarlett’s total, her earnings might look better — only for the onscreen total to drop even lower, prompting laughter from Jost himself.

The bit was taken in good spirits and audiences praised Jost’s comedic reaction, making light of the milestone rather than turning it into personal drama. Overall, the moment was framed more as a playful acknowledgment of Zoe’s success and a humorous way to address a shifting Hollywood record.

Zoe Saldaña Net Worth in 2026

The estimated net worth of Zoe Saldaña varies between 60 million to 80 million as of 2026. The primary source of income of Zoe Saldaña is from these high paying movies.

Zoe chose a different path from most and became part of movies depending heavily on CGI. Her movies became successful gaining her the attention she deserved.

Zoe Saldaña’s Other Movies and Career Highlights

Outside of Avatar, Zoe Saldaña has had major roles in a variety of films that have succeeded worldwide. She made her film debut with “Center Stage” in 2000 giving us some amazing movies though her career. Here is a complete list of Zoe Saldana’s movies of all time.

Year	Movie Name	Role Played
2000	Center Stage	Eva Rodriguez
2001	Get Over It	Maggie
2001	Snipes	Cheryl
2002	Crossroads	Kit
2002	Drumline	Laila
2003	Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl	Anamaria
2004	The Terminal	Dolores Torres
2004	Haven	Andrea
2004	Temptation	Annie
2005	Constellation	Rosa Boxer
2005	Guess Who	Theresa Jones
2005	Dirty Deeds	Rachel Buff
2005	The Curse of Father Cardona	Flor
2006	Premium	Charli
2006	The Heart Specialist	Donna Chaisson
2007	After Sex	Kat
2007	Blackout	Claudine
2008	Vantage Point	Angie Jones
2009	Star Trek	Nyota Uhura
2009	The Skeptic	Cassie
2009	Avatar	Neytiri
2010	The Losers	Aisha
2010	Takers	Lilli Jansen
2010	Death at a Funeral	Elaine
2010	Burning Palms	Sara Cotton
2011	Colombiana	Cataleya Restrepo
2012	The Words	Dora Jansen
2013	Blood Ties	Vanessa
2013	Star Trek Into Darkness	Nyota Uhura
2013	Out of the Furnace	Lena Warren
2014	Infinitely Polar Bear	Maggie Stuart
2014	Guardians of the Galaxy	Gamora
2014	The Book of Life	María Posada
2015	Unity	Narrator
2016	Nina	Nina Simone
2016	Star Trek Beyond	Nyota Uhura
2016	Live by Night	Graciella Corrales
2017	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2	Gamora
2017	I Kill Giants	Mrs. Mollé
2017	My Little Pony: The Movie	Captain Celaeno
2018	Avengers: Infinity War	Gamora
2019	Avengers: Endgame	Gamora
2019	Missing Link	Adelina Fortnight
2020	Vampires vs. the Bronx	Becky
2021	Vivo	Rosa
2022	The Adam Project	Laura Shane
2022	Amsterdam	Irma St. Clair
2022	Avatar: The Way of Water	Neytiri
2023	Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3	Gamora
2023	The Absence of Eden	Esmee
2023	Good Burger 2	Herself
2024	Emilia Pérez	Rita Mora Castro
2024	Dovecote	Zoe
2025	Elio	Olga Solis
2025	Avatar: Fire and Ash	Neytiri
2026	The Bluff	N/A

Summing Up

Zoe Saldana, who has shown herself to not only be a supporting actress but has proven to be Hollywood’s highest-paid actress, despite contributing to some of the greatest cinematic successes of all time due to her reinvention of what it means to be successful within the modern film industry.

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