Zoe Saldaña Reflects On How Her Father’s Untimely Death Changed Her Childhood

“Drumline” star Zoe Saldaña recently talked about her father’s passing in the ’80s and how it affected her childhood. The actress has starred in several roles since her debut in 1999. This includes notable franchises like “The Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Avatar.”

Saldaña’s most recent work is a Netflix series adapted from a memoir, “From Scratch.” It featured the story of fellow actress Tembi Locke and her struggle to cope after her husband’s death. Reese Witherspoon is also part of the project.

In an unpublished interview, Saldaña spoke about a similar loss she faced as a child and how it helped shape her for the role. The 44-year-old lost her father at a young age, after which her family had to move to a new country, where she had difficulty adjusting.

Zoe Saldaña’s Father Passed Away In 1987

MEGA

Saldaña got candid about her father’s death and how the loss affected her growing up. The “Avatar” actress spoke on the passing and revealed that her grandmother told her the news not long after her father died in a car accident in 1987.

Saldaña is set to release her cover story for Emmy Magazine on August 18 and gave fans a sneak peek (Via E! News)at what’s inside. She recalled, “I remember her drinking coffee and saying, ‘We’re going to get through this. Papa wants us to get through this. But please understand this part of life: death came knocking and took one of us.’”

The 44-year-old further revealed that after his passing, she moved with the rest of her family to the Dominican Republic from their home in New York. She explained that everything in their new home seemed new and constantly changing.

She Felt Like An Outsider

MEGA

While talking about her new home, Saldaña revealed that she had to adjust to a new climate, and the slight differences added up to make the adjustment hard for her. The actress recalled, “There’s no winter, no Santa Claus, no grapes or apples—it’s mango and guavas. These sound like small things, but they add up in a day. It was hard.”

Saldaña disclosed that she always felt like an outsider in her body, “like I’m on the outside looking in.” These all built up till the “Colombiana” actress felt the loss of her father even more. She said, “I’ve always felt like an alien in my own skin. It’s like I’m on the outside looking in, and I really started to feel it after we lost our dad.”

Saldaña married Marco Perego Saldaña in 2013, and the duo has three children, twins Bowie and Cy, seven and five-year-old Zen. Their wedding took place three weeks after their initial meeting, after which Marco decided to take Saldaña’s last name.

Zoe Saldaña Is In ‘From Scratch’

MEGA

Further on in the interview, Saldaña revealed that she was able to give an inspiring performance in “From Scratch” when she dug into the grief that came with the loss. The Netflix series is yet to be released and was adapted from a similarly named memoir by Tembi Locke. The book deals with the experience of Tembi after her husband’s devastating death.

While talking about the upcoming series Saldaña said, “It was all of those things that Tembi wrote about, but [viewed] through a childlike lens. Losing our hero, the strongest person in the room, who walked on water, and then seeing how our gorgeous, strong mom just fell apart and couldn’t get out of bed to take us to school.”

Reese Witherspoon, along with Saldaña, is part of the project’s executive producers. The actress described it as a piece that showed “a journey of a woman who dared to dream bigger than what her destiny predicted.”

Zoe Saldaña Called Out Warner Brothers

MEGA

In a separate event, Saldaña joined several voices in calling out the Warner Brothers studio for canning the “Batgirl” movie, which had a $90 million budget. The actress supported Leslie Grace, who played the main character role.

The 44-year-old shared a post on her Instagram stories on Thursday morning, describing the studio’s actions as unfair and “atrocious.” She wrote, “Not fair… Truly atrocious act from a studio. For what? For a tax break?! “

Saldaña went on to repost Grace’s comment regarding the situation, which thanked her fans for the short-lived opportunity. “To every Batgirl fan – THANK YOU for the love and belief, allowing me to take on the cape and become, as Babs said best, “my own damn hero!” Batgirl for life!”