Zoe Saldaña had an emotional night at the 2025 Academy Awards. The actress won her first Oscar for her performance in Emilia Pérez, and she gave a rousing acceptance speech that resulted in waves of applause after she announced she was the only actor of Dominican descent to win the prestigious award.
But a poignant moment backstage proved that no matter how glamorous and life-changing the night was, her most important and most cherished role will always be that of “mom.”
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In the midst of a post-win interview with Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos, Saldaña hurriedly took a phone from husband Marco Perego-Saldaña and spoke to her three sons. Her 10-year-old twins Cy and Bowie and 8-year-old son Zen seemed to all be on the phone, and she held up her Oscar for them to see.
“Mom won! Mom won!” she told the three in Spanish before switching to English and saying, “I love you guys.”
The Guardians of the Galaxy actress also shouted out her husband and their sons in her acceptance speech.
“To my husband with that beautiful hair,” she said, “The biggest honor of my life is being your partner. You hung the moon in our beautiful perfect sons, Cy, Bowie and Zen.”
“They fill our sky every night with stars,” she continued.
Zoe Saldana, Marco Perego Saldaña at the 97th Oscars held at the Dolby Theatre on March 2, 2025 in Hollywood, California.
Ahead of the show, Saldaña spoke with E! News about what family life is going to look life after a busy shooting schedule and whirlwind award show season. “I would like to take my kids to school every day,” she said. “I would want them to finish this school year with their mama by their side.”
She called her famously stylish sons “resilient” for how they have handled her absence while insisting that she misses them as much as they must have missed her. “I miss them like I miss air and water so I would like to take them to school,” she continued. That heartwarming declaration and her desire to do such a mundane activity after reaching such a pinnacle just goes to show how important motherhood is to Saldaña.
Though school drop-offs may have been infrequent this year, Saldaña still had some pretty cool opportunities to spend quality time with her kiddos. Just last month, Cy, Bowie, and Zen made a rare public appearance when they walked the Santa Barbara International Film Festival red carpet with their mom.
The lookalike brothers all looked so sophisticated and dapper in their coordinating outfits. E News caught the cutest clip of one son spreading his arms wide and declaring, “I love my mom!” And it couldn’t be clearer that that love is reciprocated tenfold.
These celebrity parents are on double duty!
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