Zoë Saldaña Shares Her Philosophy on Love, Covers ‘Latina’

Actress Zoë Saldaña is the newest beauty to hit the cover of Latina magazine and reveal private information about her professional and personal life. In between talks about her latest projects—the Nina Simone biopic and the Star Trek sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness—the Dominican and Puerto Rican actress shares why she wants (not needs) a man and gives deets on her reported mental breakdown after starring in Avatar.

On Wanting (Not Needing) A Man: “I don’t want to need things. I need water, you know what I’m saying? I need to exercise, I need to eat. To be with a man, should be a want. I don’t need anybody. And the people that I do need are just family, tu entiendes? But a man is something that I want, I want be with a partner, because this partner is going to add or I’m going to add to this partner.”
On (Reluctantly) Accepting the Role of Uhura in Star Trek: “I was afraid…I was very concerned. I think I was just a little beside myself because after the treat and the gift of booking Avatar and being in the middle of shooting, to be able to then do another great movie with another great filmmaker back to back—I was a little overwhelmed and I thought: ‘Maybe I should just take some time off and focus and just rest?’ But my mom is a Trekkie, and my team was like, ‘Zoe, are you stupid? Don’t let fear immobilize you.”
On Her Color-Blind Upbringing: “I grew up in Queens and the Dominican Republic. It wasn’t easy, s*** was going on. But the kind of world that we had indoors, that my mom created for us, makes more sense to this day than what is out there. I would come home from school and go, ‘Mami, what am I? You know, cause I’m getting all kinds of things and people are mean.’ And Mami would look at me and go, ‘You’re Zoe.’ And I’d go, ‘I know, Mami, but what am I?’ and she would look at me and say, ‘You’re my daughter, your grandma’s granddaughter, you’re Zoe.’ My mom wouldn’t go, ‘tu eres una mujer de color and always remember it, this world is going to be rough.’ My mom never f****** told us that, why would she? Why would she stop my flight before I even take off?”