Zoe Salda?a's Net Worth Revealed
Zoe Salda?a's net worth is surprising for a star who's one of the highest grossing actresses of all time.
Zoe Salda?a's net worth is largely due to her starring in more than one of the most successful movies ever. The actress has appeared in multiple franchises, including Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Star Trek and Avatar; as such she is one of the highest-grossing actresses of all time. Despite that, her salary doesn't always match the box office numbers of the films she's starred in, and her net worth may not be as much as some people expect.
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How did Zoe Salda?a become famous?
Born in Passaic, N.J., and raised in Queens and the Dominican Republic, Zoe Salda?a's first taste of show business was a love of dance. She quit ballet when she "didn't have the feet" and knew her star shone too bright to be in the background of a troupe. She began acting in 1995 with the Brooklyn, New York, theatrical group Faces, then with the New York Youth Theater. She was discovered by a talent agent for her role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. This led to her first movie role in Center Stage as a ballerina, utilizing her prior dance training, in 1999.
Salda?a next appeared in Crossroads alongside Britney Spears in 2002, followed by Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl in 2003, then as a Star Trek-loving immigration officer in the 2004 Tom Hanks vehicle The Terminal. While The Terminal was a critical and commercial disappointment, playing a Trekkie in the film helped Salda?a get her biggest break yet: She was cast as Uhura in Star Trek, released in 2009, and finally got some of the attention she so sorely deserved in Hollywood after more than a decade of screen work.
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What is Zoe Salda?a's net worth in 2023?
Zoe Salda?a's net worth in 2023 is estimated to be $35 million. She has starred in three of the most successful movies of all time: Avatar, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, so in theory, it feels like it should be substantially higher!
Is Zoe Salda?a the highest-grossing actress?
The highest-grossing actress of all time (as of 2023) is Scarlett Johansson, whose movies have earned $14.29 billion. Zoe Salda?a is the second highest-grossing actress, whose movies have earned $11.22 billion (prior to the release of Avatar: The Way of Water).
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How much did Zoe Salda?a make from Avatar?
20th Century Films
Zoe Salda?a earned $4 million for starring in James Cameron's Avatar in 2009. The film would go on to become the highest-grossing movie of all time.
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How much did Zoe Salda?a make from Avatar 2?
20th Century Films
According to reports, Zoe Salda?a will earn $8 million for appearing in Avatar: The Way of Water. Her co-star, Sam Worthington, will earn $10 million for appearing in the film—despite Salda?a's resume and box office history far surpassing his.
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How much does Zoe Salda?a make per movie?
Zoe Salda?a's salaries vary from movie to movie. Her current salary range appears to be between $2 million and $11 million per movie, depending on the size of the role and the film's budget.
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How much did Zoe Salda?a make for Guardians of the Galaxy?
Marvel Studios/Disney
Zoe Salda?a reportedly earned just $100,000 for her appearance in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, with rumors that she made even less than co-star Karen Gillan, who reportedly made $140,000. The film went on to earn over $770 million at the box office. Her co-star Chris Pratt reportedly made $350,000, making all of this look like a potential case of gender and racial pay disparity.
Related: Chris Pratt's Net Worth Revealed
How much did Zoe Salda?a make for Avengers: Infinity War?
Marvel Studios/Disney
Zoe Salda?a's exact salary for Avengers: Infinity War has not been confirmed, although it is believed that she made about $3 million for appearing in the film. While this is a dramatic increase from her payday in the first Guardians of the Galaxy, it still paled in comparison to the rumored paychecks of her co-stars, who reportedly earned tens of millions of dollars for appearing in the film. Pratt, for instance, is estimated to have made $5 million for the same movie.
It is possible she may have negotiated a higher overall payday thanks to box office bonus points, but her contract isn't publicly known.
That said, Salda?a is happy to do other work outside of Marvel and Star Trek, and possibly Avatar as well.
"I feel that for the last 10 years of my life, I've been just stuck. I felt stuck doing these franchises," Salda?a told Women's Wear Daily. "I'm very grateful for the opportunities that they provided, from collaborating with amazing directors and getting to meet cast members who I consider friends and getting to play a role that fans, especially children, love. But it also meant that I felt artistically stuck in my craft of not being able to expand or grow or challenge myself by playing different sorts of genres and different roles."
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How much did Zoe Salda?a make from Endgame?
Marvel Studios reportedly paid Zoe Salda?a $11 million for her role in Avengers: Endgame. The movie went on to gross over $2.7 billion at the box office. If she earned back-end box office points, however, her income from the film may have been higher.
In an interview with InStyle in December 2022, she said that she was frustrated with the secrecy associated with Marvel projects.
"That can be annoying sometimes," she said. "That's not cool, because you have to memorize, you have to prepare, you have to do research. And I tend to take myself a little too seriously sometimes." She added, "I really enjoy working with filmmakers who don't underestimate my intelligence and know that I am an adult. I will be discreet. It is as important to me, as it is for him or her, that I don't let these scripts out of my sight."
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How much did Zoe Salda?a make get paid for Colombiana?
Sony Pictures
Zoe Salda?a's salary for Colombiana has not been publicly revealed. The movie had a budget of $40 million and only went on to earn $63 million at the box office.
How much did Zoe Salda?a get paid for The Adam Project?
Zoe Salda?a's salary for The Adam Project has not been publicly revealed. The movie had a budget of $116 million, and star Ryan Reynolds earned $25 million to appear in the film.
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How much did Zoe Salda?a make from From Scratch?
Zoe Salda?a's salary for the Netflix series From Scratch has not been publicly revealed. The show is based on Tembi Locke's memoir and premiered on the streaming service on Oct. 21, 2022.