Zoe Saldana
Taylor Hill/Film MagicZoe Saldana She has suffered from dyslexia all her life but has only recently begun to speak publicly about the diagnosis.
“I don't have a lot of time and I'm dyslexic, so I tend to forget when I'm really anxious,” the actress said. Upon accepting the Golden Globe Award For Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, January 2025. “I'm Full of Adrenaline.”
Saldaña received the award for her role as Rita Mora Castro Emilia Perez He cried immediately. She later addressed her speech and her decision to bring up her dyslexia during an interview after the awards ceremony.
“I think that's why I felt so anxious, you know, in the days leading up to this awards ceremony,” Saldaña explained. additional at that time. “I know that when the adrenaline kicks in and the nerves kick in, you stop breathing and you lose consciousness. I was so afraid of not recognizing people, of recognizing the people on stage who are responsible for me being where I am. I'm very hard on myself, so I take responsibility for everything I do , so it was like that.
Earning one Golden Globe nomination is a huge honor, but receiving two nominations in the same year for two different projects is a special accomplishment. Several stars have received simultaneous Golden Globe Award nominations for television and film roles over the years. One of the most recent members to join the club is Selena Gomez, who won two Gold Awards for the year 2025 (…)
She continued: “This morning, I received so many messages from my loved ones, saying: Let it all go, breathe, be in the moment and speak your truth. And I did, and suddenly, the words came.”
Keep scrolling for more quotes from Saldaña about her battle with dyslexia:
To be hard on herself
Zoe Saldana
Amy Sussman/Getty Images“I didn’t think I was good,” Saldaña said in a January 2025 interview. New York Times. “I've always felt overlooked, but overlooked in the sense of, 'Well, if I'm overlooked, I deserve it.'”
Her role is “the lioness”.
Saldaña said taking on the role of Jo on the Paramount+ series allowed her to “believe” that she could handle any role — especially if she worked “hard.”
“I think tackling my dyslexia and my anxiety was what prompted me to embark on this challenge to do a Taylor Sheridan-type show,” she said. the people In October 2024. “It's heavy on dialogue. It's very verbal. There is a rhythm to the way he wants the type of dialogues to be said in the scenes.
The actress said that she was 120% prepared when she set foot on the set. “I dared to believe that maybe I could make it happen,” she added.
Overcoming its “challenges”
Zoe Saldana
Robin Beck/AFP via Getty ImagesSaldaña addressed the “challenges” she faced regarding her “learning abilities” during an October 2024 interview with diverse.
“I She suffers from dyslexia and anxiety“Which kept me from pursuing roles – a wide range of roles – that I knew I could have done,” she explained. “I was memorizing, memorizing, memorizing, and by the time that scene came, it was an extension of my character — like ballet.”
Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival It's no secret that Zoe Saldaña has been a part of many on-screen love stories, but her real-life proposal story was worthy of a movie in its own right. When Saldaña, 45, and her husband, Marco Perego, appeared on the Wednesday, April 3, episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, the couple talked about[…]
She noted that “the worst thing” that could happen is a “last-minute scene change” or more dialogue. “Then I say, ‘Wait, wait, wait, this is Dyslexia 2.0 — this will be the next step,’” Saldaña added.
Fear of certain roles
When it came to taking on the role of the lioness, Saldaña said she was afraid to approach the show's creator Taylor SheridanWriting.
“You have to follow good material wherever you find good material. But that's my fear because I know (Sheridan) has big monologues with his characters,” she said at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024. “Spanish is my first language.”
Get a diagnosis
Saldaña said she actually “wasn't diagnosed” with dyslexia and ADHD In a recorded video clip For the ChildMind Institute in March 2020.
“The thing you would tell my older self to my younger self is to rely on those people who really believe in you and are really willing to listen to you honestly,” she said. “It gets better, but please speak up. Don't live in silence, because who you are, what you do and what you're going through is not wrong.
Going public with her struggles
Zoe Saldana
Sonia Fleming/CBSShe shared her journey with dyslexia and ADHD during a 2018 video shared with the Child Mind Institute.
“Growing up with ADHD and dyslexia meant school was difficult,” Saldaña said. “I can't imagine how difficult the year we've just been through has been for kids who are facing the same struggles I did in the classroom. Adjusting to distance learning, trying to stay focused on a screen hour after hour.
