Born in Passaic, New Jersey, she grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York. A tragedy had the family move to the Dominican Republic where her father was from. She soon found herself back in New York where in 1995 she performed in a theater group in Brooklyn.  She later moved on to roles on television and then on to the big screen. She is married to Italian artist Marco Perego, who adopted her surname when they married, breaking the wedding tradition of just the wife taking the surname of the husband. Her name is Zoe Saldana-Perego. His name is Marco Perego-Saldana. Together they have twin sons.

This 38th birthday is bittersweet for her.  It is Father’s Day in the Unites States, a day she cannot celebrate with her father because her dad died in a car crash when she was 9. A memory cruelly relived today and darkened by another tragedy because her Star Trek co-star Anton Yelchin had a freak accident with his car on his property yesterday on June 18. He was pronounced dead today at the age of 27. The talented young Mr. Yelchin portrayed Pavel Chekov in the new series of Star Trek films.

Saldana and Yelchin can be seen together in the latest installment of Star Trek, Star Trek Beyond when it premieres next month on July 22, 2016.

Incidentally Zoe’s name in the Greek language means Life. May she live long, and prosper.

The post Bittersweet Birthday for Zoe Saldana appeared first on .

An actor since the age of 9, he worked both in television and in films. As a 6 month old baby, he came to the United States with his Jewish parents, a pair of famed figure skaters from Russia who sought and received political refugee asylum from the US State Department.

Initial reports state that Yelchin was found pinned between his brick mailbox by his security gate and his vehicle. He was found around 1 am on June 18, 2016  by friends of his who came to see why he was late for a rehearsal. Somehow his car rolled backwards down the incline of his driveway and crushed him. According to reports, his car was in neutral and still running. He was pronounced dead today on Father’s Day.

Anton Yelchin does appear as Chekov in the upcoming second sequel Star Trek Beyond (2016). His other film credits include Terminator Salvation (2009), the remake of Fright Night (2011), and the recent adaptations of The Smurfs films and holiday specials where he voiced the character Clumsy Smurf.

The post Star Trek Actor Anton Yelchin Dead appeared first on .

This year marks the 5oth anniversary of the classic science fiction franchise Star Trek.  With all of its reincarnations, it remains the most lucrative franchise that has gone from television to motion picture theaters; not many television programs have had that success with the exception of Star Trek and Mission Impossible (the late actor Leonard Nimoy was a regular on both shows by the way). In celebration of the 50th anniversary, Paramount Pictures will be releasing Star Trek Beyond this July 22nd, the 13th major motion film in the history of this franchise (not including its unofficial spoof, Galaxy Quest) and CBS will stream a new Star Trek series in 2017.  Not to be undone in all of this observance of half of a century of great science fiction, ReedPOP , the proven leader in celebration of pop culture, has teamed up with CBS Consumer Products, a unit of the CBS Corporation, to bring us Star Trek:Mission New York.

There’s that Star Trek and Mission connection again….

In a statement by Lance Fensterman, the Global Senior Vice President of ReedPOP, Mr. Fensterman stated “Star Trek fans set the gold standard of what these type of experiential events are all about, truly establishing this industry that we’ve been so proud to be a part of.” Star Trek fans will have the opportunity to continue setting the bar at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City where the Star Trek Convention will be held a month before ReedPOP’s  New York City Comic Con 2016. Annually, millions of people attend hundreds of events at the 2.1 million square foot convention facility on the West side of New York City named after United States Senator Jacob K. Javits who died in 1986, the year the facility was completed.  A far cry from the first Star Trek Convention which was held January 1972 at the Hotel Pennsylvania, in New York City, where almost 5,000 people showed up when only 300 were expected.

That’s the thing about Star Trek fans; they boldly go wherever they need to go, and this year they will travel the galaxy to Star Trek: Mission New York,  star date: September 2nd-4th 2016. Ticket sales, exhibitors, guests, and events will be announced in the near future.

The post STAR TREK: MISSION NEW YORK appeared first on .