For Zoe Saldaña, parenting is not a walk in the park!

The Hollywood actress has shared some of the struggles she experiences raising boys to be young men in the current terrain, which is filled with misogyny and other vices.

Zoe Saldaña and her partner artist Marco Perego are parents to 11-year-old twins and another 9-year-old in their nearly 15-year-old marriage.

Zoe Saldaña Attempts To Hold It Together For Her Sons

The media personality confessed that one of the challenges of parenting sons in such a controversial world is that the noise out there is constantly pervasive and persuasive. She continued that it is very daunting to shield her boys away from the noise and keep their hearts pure and unadulterated.

Protecting their minds is not the only important step on Saldaña’s list; she is also faced with the huge task of making sure their identity as men of color, sons of immigrants, and American men never gets in the way of their survival. Saldaña herself is of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent, while her husband hails from Italy.

While she is incredibly proud of her children’s background, the actress emphasized that she just wants them to be perceived as human beings. “And I do believe that men are delicate flowers. That can be really resilient, but they’re so gentle. So I’m literally just preserving that for them,” the filmmaker noted to Page Six.

The ‘Avatar’ Star’s Kids Are Pretty Aware Of Her Superstar Status

Saldaña often raved about her family of five and how her husband and kids are the best people in her life, despite the blockbusters and groundbreaking cinema films. As noted by PEOPLE, the actress and her artist husband have done their best to keep their kids out of the limelight, stating that they have the utmost respect for their privacy and anonymity.

Saldaña, however, revealed that her kids are fully aware of her status as a famous person and often tries to put her persona as a mom and a screen icon into perspective, which to her is a very fun way to boost her street cred.

The actress’ kids also try to be part of her world sometimes by joining her on red carpets, like in 2024 when they showed up at the premiere of her movie “Emilia Perez” in Italy. When she received her first Oscar in 2025, she thanked her beautiful family, including her husband and her kids, who fill their sky every night with stars.

Zoe Saldaña Kept Her Twin Pregnancy Under Wraps

The actress gave birth to her twin kids, Cy Aridio and Bowie Ezo Perego-Saldaña, in Los Angeles via emergency C-section. However, she did not announce her pregnancy before the birth. The actress got candid about battling some health issues during the pregnancy, especially her body changing dramatically, and growing in ways she did not think were possible.

She raved about the unbreakable bond between herself and her two kids, which began right from the moment they were born. Saldaña added that raising boys has equally been a humbling and educational experience, which involves establishing a lot of boundaries.

By 2016, Zen Anton Hilario Perego-Saldaña was born in Los Angeles, arriving quietly, accompanied by an unusual birth story. Saldaña and her husband have raised their children to speak Italian, English, and Spanish, with a strong lesson that fathers and mothers can be great role models to their children.

The Oscar Winner Initially Did Not See Marriage In Her Future

Saldaña was certain she was never going to get married until she met her husband; ironically, her husband also had the same policy before he met the “Avatar” star. As stated by Today, before they met on an airplane in 2013, the duo had already heard about each other’s works.

“I just saw him from behind. It was 6:30 in the morning, and I was on a flight to New York. And I can’t even describe to you, it was a vibration. He turned in that moment, because he felt the vibration as well,” the actress explained. Months after they started dating, Perego popped the question, and they got married in a private ceremony held in London.

While she added Perego to her last name, her husband also took up her Saldaña last name. The decision made headlines after their marriage, with people wondering why a man would take such a dramatic step, but people defended Perego’s actions, noting that it was a sign that the world was progressing.

Zoe Saldaña’s Father’s Death Changed Her Trajectory 

The filmmaker lost her father in a car accident in 1987, and when it happened, she found herself adjusting to a new climate when she had to move with the rest of her family from New York to the Dominican Republic.

As shared by The Blast, Saldaña explained that when she got to her new location, the slight differences added up to make the adjustment hard for her, as there were no grapes, apples, winter, or Santa Claus.

The actress noted that she felt like an outsider in her own body, and her new environment made her father’s death even more profound. Saldaña added that the small bits of her childhood memories, which she missed, all added up to make the journey very tedious for her.

What will Zoe Saldaña reveal next?