Zoe Saldana on body image: ‘I do look in the mirror and see things I don’t want’

These are assorted photos of Zoe Saldana out and about to promote Guardians of the Galaxy. Someone asked yesterday why I’m talking so much about Chris Pratt and Zoe instead of focusing on co-stars like Vin Diesel. I would love to talk about Vin Diesel, but his interviews are pretty blah right now. He’s been walking around on stilts too. Vin’s hot, but stilts are not newsworthy. Sorry to the Vin fans.

Anyway, Zoe looks super pregnant in these photos, but we’re not supposed to talk about that. I still agree with her about general privacy expectations for pregnant women, but she can’t expect to hide a bump like that in form-fitting dresses. And she still needs to tell her friends and family to stop talking to the press.

Zoe did a feature with Women’s Health UK where she posed nude (you can see those photos here). She’s lean and mean (obviously pre-preg) and doesn’t have an ounce of fat on her. Zoe still admits that she worries about her changing body:

Her changing body: “My body is less toned. I do look in the mirror and see things I don’t want. My first reaction is I breathe and I think, ‘I’m a woman, I’m 36, my body is changing.’ This past year I’ve had to start letting go. My body dictated it as if saying, ‘Slow the f— down!’ … And I struggle with that. I love to be an athlete.”

She’s okay with it, really: “I’ve learnt to listen to myself, so whenever I don’t feel like doing anything that starts with ‘I should’ then I don’t. I’m exactly where I want to be. I do feel beautiful in a way that even when I was working out a whole lot, I sometimes didn’t. Because there have been times that I was really slender and I didn’t like that I sometimes looked a little too muscular and flat chested – you’ll never be completely happy, so at the end of the day it’s like ‘F— it. Just be happy, regardless.'”

On the amazing Marco: “We give each other a great deal of support and love but it wasn’t because we found it in each other, we came that way and then got together. That’s what I love about it. I do believe whatever’s meant to be will be – but had the universe said, Let’s just wait, he’s going to come into your life later,’ I would’ve been fine on this journey I was on just knowing who the f— I was.”

[From Women’s Health]

Zoe’s words come off as little obnoxious since she’s posing naked and looks absolutely fantastic. She’s humblebragging a bit, you know? I get that we all look in the mirror and can see room for improvement, but Zoe has made a tidy living from being a hot-bodied babe. I want to give her some credit for admitting that she worries about her body, yet Zoe’s words seem a little vague and like a put on. She’s not digging deep like Chris Pratt did yesterday. Am I being too harsh?

Zoe Saldana

Photos courtesy of WENN

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30 Responses to “Zoe Saldana on body image: ‘I do look in the mirror and see things I don’t want’”

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  1. Lori says:

    If I read this am I invading her F*&^%&ing privacy?

  2. Tiffany27 says:

    I like her maternity style so far. She looks good.

  3. starfan says:

    she looks fantastic

    • Brandy says:

      This post comes off as being a little upset that her insecurities are superficial and not a big deal.. not everybody has stretch marks and cellulite to complain about , she just complains about losing muscle tone which like she said is completely fine.

  4. Josefa says:

    I keep forgetting she’s a whole decade older than me. She looks so much younger.

  5. FF says:

    Wasn’t she not upset about the pregnancy coverage – anyone with eyes can see she’s pregnant – but people spilling that she three months along and expecting twins?

    • Candy Love says:

      ^ This.

      She only got mad and made a comment when people started telling that she was three months along and expecting twins. It was obviously something she wasn’t ready to share with the public yet so I can see why she would be upset.

    • T.C. says:

      Problem is her message didn’t specify what she was upset about. She gave a general statement about wanting the media to stop invading her privacy. To me it’s like Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield asking the paps to stop taking their picture. When you sign up to be a lead in blockbuster films, the media is all over you because your studio itself wants maximum attention. You have minimum privacy. It’s not fair but that’s how things have worked in Hollywood for over 100 years.

  6. Trek Girl says:

    I didn’t read any humble-bragging. It sounds to me like she’s telling the truth.

    She may make money partly off of how she looks, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have insecurities or things she doesn’t like about herself. Heck, I’d think that after all this time it should be pretty clear that having a career where your looks are a priority can lead to extra or harsher self-scrutiny and insecurities. I mean, so many people wonder why stars so often mess their looks up with fillers and plastic surgery — well, that’s partly why; more pressure, more scrutiny, and, because of their visibility, more opinions from others about their looks than the average person.

    What she said makes sense. She’s certainly handling it in a healthy way, if what she said is true.

    • JennySerenity says:

      ITA with eveything you just said.

      Just goes to show, everyone, no matter how seemingly perfect on the outside, has body issues. But man, life is not fair. I would kill to have her perfect figure!

  7. Jac says:

    I don’t think a slender person’s body issues are less valid than a heavier persons. We’ve all got our battles.

  8. FF says:

    FYI this seems like an effort to bitch about her. Most would just skip – its not like her posts get much over 50 comments per post if even that – so it just seems like you want to rag as much as she does. At least she’s carrying and can plead hormones…

    She’s not as thin as she was and answering accordingly. She sees her body changing and y’all just see Zoe SaldanaTM. In short: everybody has body issues – if she said she didn’t have any she’d be accused of being arrogant/a liar.

    She can’t win.

    Verdict: too harsh.

    And please tell me you aren’t planning on covering her entire press tour – I bet even she’d get sick of hearing herself.

    • notpretentious says:

      I totally agree with everything you said here FF.

    • Val says:

      Agree with this. Also about your post upthread that the reason she felt her privacy was invaded is that details of her pregnancy were revealed, not just “she’s pregnant”. I don’t understand why people hate her so much.

      As an athlete I can totally relate… and dread getting to the point where my body can’t just follow as well anymore.

      And yeah, we ALL have body insecurities. From models to actresses, everyone has that pressure to be perfect.

      • Leaflet says:

        @ FF,
        Thank you, the moderators and press just want to give her a “verbal slam” for everything.

        If it’s going to be like this on every Zoe Saldanna post, then why even cover her?

        She’s doing absolutely nothing wrong. I like that she admits that she has body image issues, but that she handles them in a healthy way. I also love the fact that she admits to the press that her body is aging, and that she can’t do what she used to be able to do anymore, hence, she struggles with that.So darn tired of women putting other women down for no good reason.
        I also agree with it being determined on the last post that she is not upset about people knowing she’s pregnant. Clearly she’s upset about the media broadcasting the extra details about her pregnancy.

  9. Mike says:

    I don’t blame celebrities for being “blah” in interviews since everything they say gets twisted into something controversial.

  10. mallory says:

    The pregnancy – now that it is obvious to anyone with functioning eyes – seems like a natural topic to come up in the interviews she does promoting her movies but it is never mentioned. E.g. LIve with Kelly & Michael — they ALWAYS talk about people’s kids, families, etc. during the course of the interview and it seemed rather awkward when she was on their show and it was completely ignored like the proverbial “elephant in the room”.

    • lisa2 says:

      I saw most of it.. and yes it was just OK.. strange.. Especially since most of her stories were about family. She even talked about a new baby in the family. I don’t know if that is invading their privacy but she never talked about being pregnant and it was right in their faces… I laughed out loud.

      I guess they were asked not to talk about it. I kind of think looking at her clothing that she was going to reveal the pregnancy during the promotion. He cloths after that first dress show her very pregnant. That is why I think the twin stories are true. She is either further along than 3 months or that is def more than one baby.

      anyway she looks beautiful expecting.

  11. Dame Snarkweek says:

    She is articulate, expressive and confident. I love this about her even if I don’t agree with everything she says. I like her ownership of her issues.
    And the baby weight looks amazeballs on her!

  12. GoodNamesAllTaken says:

    I really liked what she said about being a complete person in her own right before getting together with Marco. I think that’s key to happiness as a couple.

  13. Candy Love says:

    I think you are being too harsh.

    She not say anything like Kate Upton did in the other post, all she is saying is that she insecurities about her body it’s changing in more ways then one because she is getting older and is pregnant.

  14. Renee says:

    She is slender and has long hair but she also has facial features that aren’t considered to be conventionally beautiful. She is not particularly light-skinned, has deep smile lines and she has the type of nose that usually falls prey to nose jobs in Hollywood. She is also small busted when not pregnant. (There is nothing wrong with being small busted it’s just that large breasts are usually deemed to be most desirable). Although she is attractive she’s usually not categorized as beautiful and I’d say that she’s at least on par with Jennifer Aniston who was formerly proclaimed the “most beautiful woman in the world” and whom I’d label as basic at best. I’d believe that Zoe has issues about the way that she looks.

    • Virgilia Coriolanus says:

      I think Zoe is attractive looking–that’s about it. I would not give her a second look if she was walking down the street, or on a red carpet. I don’t really find anything special about her looks, personality, or acting skills.

      She’s okay. She isn’t unwatcheable, but I’m not going to a movie because of her.

    • Cherry Shmerry says:

      Your comment is very odd. It’s almost bordering racism.

  15. ashley says:

    You’re being too harsh. I like zoe,she’s just being herself and i love that. I’m loving her maternity clothing,wishing her and marco all the best.

  16. T.C. says:

    I don’t understand why she continues to wear super form fitting clothes that clearly show every bit of her pregnant belly but we are not suppose to speculate about it. There are many types of beautiful dresses that will show her general outline without focusing on her belly. It comes across as though she WANTS people to notice and talk about her pregnancy but at the same time she wants to control what aspect of the pregnancy people talk about. Maybe it was IVF and she doesn’t want that information leaked (especially if it’s twins) because either she or her husband had fertility issues. That is understandable but there is a friendly way of asking for privacy and understanding.

    Her body is gorgeous in the nude pics and as a former dancer I understand the lost of control over your once athletic and toned body but she will bounce back quickly because of her history.

    • Leaflet says:

      I don’t think she’s trying to hide her pregnancy. It just seems that she just doesn’t want to talk about it, and why should she? Form fitting clothes is what makes Zoe feel comfortable. Jus because she’s wearing them doesn’t make it alright for the press to violate her in any way. She doesn’t care that her pregnancy is noticeable; she just won’t tolerate the stupidity that comes from the media not respecting their boundaries by extracting her personal information. That’s understandable. Her being an actress is not an excuse for the media to violate her personal rights as a person and a pregnant woman. I think her pregnancy fashion Is beautiful. She’s the best dressed pregnant woman I’ve seen in a long time. Besides, if she wore ugly, oversized maternity wear she would look like a woman stuck in the 70’s.

      • T.C. says:

        @Leaflet

        I understand what you are saying but those are the drawbacks of being not just an actress but an actress doing big money blockbuster films. You are viewed as a public figure and many aspects of your private life is covered. Low profile actresses only known for small indies or stage actors maintain much more privacy so sometimes you do have to decide what is more important the fame or privacy. You just can’t have both. It’s been this way in Hollywood for decades, I’m sure Zoe knew that before entering the business. Even January Jones had to put up with being asked as private a question as who is the father of her child and speculation that her married director is. RDJ has to put up with his son’s, a non-public figure, private addiction story on the front pages of magazines. Everyone in big blockbuster films get this type of invasion of privacy.

  17. Lydia Says says:

    I like her maternity style. I don’t see it as bragging. Everybody has body issues, thin or curvy. It’s obvious that her body is changing . Why can’t she talk about that? In my opinion , the little extra weight looks good on her. If I were a celebrity, I would never do magazine interviews because no matter what you say, it will always be taking out of context.

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