By Eili Cordova
Actress Zoe Saldaña, known for her role in “Avatar” and “Emilia Perez,” shared a reflection on the difficulties of raising her three sons in a social environment marked by misogyny and excess negative information.
In a conversation with Page Six during the 2026 Time 100 gala, Saldaña — mother of twins Cy and Bowie, 11, and Zen, 9, from her marriage to Italian artist Marco Perego — explained that one of the biggest challenges is protecting her children from what she calls “the noise” of the outside world.
“There is a lot of noise out there, and that noise is very generalized and very persuasive,” declared the actress of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent. Saldaña confessed that it is difficult to balance protecting her little ones “from that noise” with the need to “keep their little hearts tender and sensitive,” while “keeping their minds resilient.”
The interpreter stressed that her challenge is even greater due to the intersection of her children’s identities: “I am raising men of color, children of immigrants and American men.” Her husband, Marco Perego, was born in Italy, which adds an additional layer of cultural heritage that Saldaña deeply values.
“I feel great pride in my children’s heritage,” he said. “But at the end of the day, I just want them to be sane human beings.”
With a floral metaphor, Saldaña described his view on masculinity: “I think men are like delicate flowers. They can be very tough, but at the same time very gentle. So I’m literally preserving that for them.”
This is not the first time that the actress has dedicated emotional words to her family. Accepting the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2025 for her role in Emilia Pérez, Saldaña addressed her husband and children. “The greatest honor of my life is to be your partner,” he told Perego. And about his children he added: “You fill our skies with stars every night.”
Indeed, Saldaña was honored this year on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2026. Renowned director James Cameron, who directed her in Avatar, wrote an essay in her honor: “To those of us who knew her, she was the most wonderful, kind, loyal, loving and protective mother, wife, friend and person we have ever known. In both her work and her life, Zoe carried herself with grace and beauty, inspiring everyone she came into contact with.”
