From “Center Stage” to the golden stage, Zoe Saldana’s talent is undeniable.

The star, 46, took home her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role in “Emilia Pérez” at the 2025 Academy Awards on Sunday.

“My mom is here. My whole family is here. I am floored by this honor,” Saldana said through tears while accepting her award. “To my cast and my crew of ‘Emilia Pérez,’ I’m sharing this award with you.”

She added: “To my mom, my dad and my sisters — everything brave, outrageous and good I’ve ever done in my life is because of you.”

Giving her other half, Marco Perego, whom she married in 2013, a shout-out, Saldana continued, “And to my husband with that beautiful hair, the biggest honor in my life is being your partner.

“My grandmother came to this country in 1961. I am a proud child of immigrant parents with dreams and dignity and hardworking hands. I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award, and I know I won’t be the last.”

She beat out Monica Barbaro (“A Complete Unknown”), Ariana Grande (“Wicked”), Felicity Jones (“The Brutalist”) and Isabella Rossellini (“Conclave”).

The accolade comes after Saldana swept awards season, taking home the Golden Globe, Critics Choice, BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild awards for playing lawyer Rita Mora Castro.

The then-20-year-old actress made her acting debut in 1999 with a guest role in an episode of “Law & Order.”

At 21, Saldana put on her pointe shoes as she landed her first feature film role in the 2000 dance musical “Center Stage” as ballet dancer Eva Rodriguez.

“I went in and I read the sides, and they liked what I did and then they asked me to come back and they put me with a ballet teacher in a room and they just video recorded me doing some moves,” she told Entertainment Weekly in 2022 about landing the part. “And then I met [director] Nicholas Hytner for it.

“So, once I booked the role of Eva Rodriguez, then it was just about learning the choreography and getting to meet the cast,” Saldana recalled.

Reflecting on filming the project, she gushed, “That was a wonderful summer. We shot in the summer of 1999. I know I’m dating myself, but I love it. I turned 21 on that set and we shot it in Lincoln Center. Obviously in the city of my dreams. Being a New Yorker I love it. We shot it in Lincoln Center which was always a dream of mine to perform on that stage and I did.”

Saldana then starred opposite Britney Spears and Taryn Manning in the 2002 rom-com “Crossroads.”

The trio played childhood best friends who took a cross-country road trip to California after graduating high school.

When asked if she would be open to a sequel, Saldana told Variety in 2024, “Why not?”

But under certain conditions.

“I feel like it would only work if Britney comes back and plays her character again,” she elaborated. “And Taryn Manning does as well, and Anson Mount. And that we write realistic sort of scenarios for them. That would be beautiful.”

With two hit movies under her belt, the phone calls kept coming for Saldana in the 2000s.

She starred in the 2005 flick “Guess Who” opposite Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac. Saldana played a young woman who brings home her new fiancé (Kutcher) to meet her parents.

The actress shared that the director, Kevin Rodney Sullivan, allowed the cast to bring their own perspectives about biracial relationships to the project.

“I’m from New York, so this is not something that’s common for me,” Saldana said while on “The Early Show” at the time. “My family is very, very diverse and very mixed, and it is not an issue in my house. I was very open about that. This is what I’m putting on my table: I don’t know about this topic, and I would love to explore it and take this message out — that was the sole purpose for everybody. We have a common message; let’s treat [it] with respect; and at same time let’s laugh.”

By 2009, she’d joined James Cameron’s “Avatar” franchise, playing the role of Neytiri. After playing the character in 2022’s “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Saldana is set to reprise her role in the fictitious land of Pandora in “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” scheduled for release in December.

That year, she also starred as Lieutenant Nyota Uhura in “Star Trek,” followed by “Star Trek Into Darkness” in 2013 and “Star Trek Beyond” in 2016.

As for the possibility of a fourth “Star Trek” film, Saldana told the Playlist in 2024, “I still have hope,” calling the first three projects “a wonderful experience.”

She added: “I know that they’re always trying to sort of aim to wrangle everybody together, but I also know that Paramount is working on a new sort of fresh take on ‘Star Trek,’ which I think is such a wonderful franchise that should live for a very long time, whether or not us as the original remake cast can come back. I don’t know, but I certainly hope so.”

In 2014, she took on the character of Gamora in “Guardians of the Galaxy” before reprising the green-skinned warrior princess four more times: “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017), “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), “Avengers: Endgame” (2019) and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (2023).  

In 2023, Saldana began playing CIA officer in the Paramount+ spy series “Special Ops: Lioness” alongside Nicole Kidman.

Speaking about working with Kidman, 57, she told the Wrap in November 2024, “It’s so rewarding. I get to call her a friend. We have so many things in common — our dedication to our work, but primarily our dedication to our families.

“In the mornings, we’re constantly talking about what we’re going to be doing, in addition to breaking from our work and talking about personal things.”

Fast forward to 2024 and the Netflix musical thriller “Emilia Pérez.”

The movie led the 2025 Oscars race with 13 nominations, coming only one nod shy of tying the record for most-ever nominations for a movie. The project also marked the most ever nods for a film predominantly in a non-English language.

“Emilia Pérez” follows a Mexican drug cartel leader (played by Karla Sofía Gascón) who transitions to a woman.

When Saldana snagged the trophy at the 2025 SAG Awards, she took a moment to reflect on her career.

“To be in this room … this is my community, this is my circus,” she began. “Thank you to SAG-AFTRA. I got my first SAG card in 1998. I didn’t even know what SAG was. I am grateful that my mother and father and sisters looked it up and helped me educate myself to know what it means to be a part of a union that protects me so I can make a living out of this crazy industry.”

“I am proud to be a part of a union that allows me to be who I am. I’ve never been questioned where I come from or judged for how I speak or what my pronouns are,” Saldana continued.

“Everyone has the right to be who they are. ‘Emilia Pérez‘ is about truth and love and us actors really have to tell stories that are thought-provoking and beautiful and live within the spectrum of artistic freedom.”