Zoe Saldana shares heartfelt reflection on losing her father as a child

Zoe Saldana recalled how her dad's Aridio Saldaña devastating death, affected her as a child.

In a recent chat with Harper's Bazaar for its February 2025 issue, the Avatar actress opened up about how the untimely death of her father led her and her family including sisters Mariel and Cisely to have a harder life, "we all went straight into survival mode."

When the actress was only nine years old her father lost his life in a car accident in 1988

“When my father passed away, we all went straight into survival mode. We dropped all those little pleasures of life that you do in a day that compels you to calm down," Saldaña told the publisher

"I remember my mom used to wear red lipstick, and she used to walk around in little tight shorts and tight jeans, and she always looked pretty and was always flirting with my dad, and the moment he passed away, she wouldn’t get out of bed for more than a couple of years,” she recalled.

The Guardians of the Galaxy star's mother Asalia moved her and all her sisters back to their hometown in the Dominican Republic while she remained in New York and did several jobs at a time.

“I think that unified us even more because not everybody could relate,” Zoe's younger sister Cisely noted. “You can’t expect them to have the same capacity and to understand what you’re going through.”

Zoe who has been vocal about her father's passing, won Golden Globes for the best performance by a female actor in a supporting role.