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Zoe Saldana is radiant in red on the cover of Siempre Mujer magazine’s April/May 2010 issue!

Here’s what the 31-year-old Avatar actress had to share…

On her roots:

“I’m just Zoe. Not a little bit Dominican, not a little bit Puerto Rican, none of that silliness…I am what you want me to be if that’s what it takes for you to overcome your insecurities. As a Latina, I think we should be very proud of our heritage. We tend to look for European roots and reject the indigenous and the African, and that is disgusting. Being Latin is a mix of everything. I want my people to not be as insecure, and to adore what we are because it’s beautiful.”

On her masculine side:

“I have too much of one! People have sometimes told my grandmother, ‘Your niece has a bit of lesbianism in her.’ It’s that my sisters and I spent all our time amongst men. We were very popular with them. Our way of thinking is very masculine.”

But what about her feminine side?:

“If you want to punish me, send me to get a manicure or pedicure, or dress me in a skirt or shorts, and I would die. But if you dress me in jeans and a button down blouse I feel very sexy, feminine and powerful. It has to do with my personality. That’s why I think I’m very attracted to men who are masculine but in tune with their feminine side. I’ve been with my partner for 10 years!”

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Her view on life:

“Life is much more and less than what we imagine. Life for me is very simple. When I wake up in my bed I always think, ‘If I’m fortunate enough to die in a bed, I’m not going to take with me material things, or money, or jewelry, or fame – nothing except the profound moments I experienced.”

Where her outlook on life comes from:

“At 31 years old, 100% of my 150% self esteem comes from my upbringing. The other 50% comes from my life experiences…The only thing I’ve asked of life is to be happy. I know that if I’m rich or poor, I’m going to be happy. Because I know what it’s like to be poor and happy when I had nothing, but I still felt like the richest woman in Babylon.”

On her definition of happiness:

“I like to work. I don’t have any preconceived notions on fame. Everything else is the price I pay for being happy with my work. Everything I’ve done has been for the love of art, and I try not to focus on the things that can distract me.”

For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.