FANS were surprised when Zoë Saldaña revealed that her husband, Marco, decided to take her last name.
The pair met on a flight to New York in 2013 and got hitched in the summer of that same year.
Who is Zoë Saldaña’s husband, Marco Perego-Saldaña?
Marco Perego-Saldaña is an artist, filmmaker, and former football player from Italy.
He played football growing up and was selected to be part of Venice’s professional team, only to be forced to end his athletic career when he sustained an injury at the age of 21.
He went on to pursue a career in the arts and moved to New York City.
Perego-Saldaña initially supported himself by working as a server and busboy, but by the time he was 28, he launched his first solo art show in the Big Apple and sold paintings costing between $20,000 and $30,000, and sculptures at $15,000.
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His clients include the Moratti family, Dolce & Gabanna, Hard Rock Café heir Harry Morton, and Fiat heir Lapo Elkan.
“My first show in New York was unbelievable, you know, because they show up like 700, 800 people in Ingrao Gallery,” he told the New York Observer. “My story was unbelievable, because I come here and I come from very normal family, you know? My father is a waiter, my mum stays at home.”
He shared that he got his big break when he showed his art to Gilda Moratti, who worked at Sotheby’s at the time.
“One day what happened was, I come to her and I say, ‘Listen, look at my work, tell me what you think. If it is a joke I will try to find something else,” he said.
Perego-Saldaña started small, having opened his first solo exhibit in Milan in 2005, but surprisingly, Giorgio Armani was already one of his first customers.
“I say okay, I will do one little show in Italy, I put 30 pieces, and the first day I sell everything,” he recalled. “It was incredible. I live in Spanish Harlem, you know, and now Giorgio Armani would like to buy a painting.”
He eventually dabbled in other projects, having directed the film The Absence of Eden, which also stars his wife.
“Supporting my husband being a partner not just in life but in art means everything to me because – it’s you know he’s the same towards me,” Saldaña told The View.
When did Zoë Saldaña and Marco Perego-Saldaña get married?
Zoë Saldaña and Marco Perego-Saldaña got married in 2013, just a few months after they first met.
The Guardians of the Galaxy actress admitted that it was love at first sight, and that they didn’t hesitate to take the plunge into marriage when they started dating.
“I don’t do the ABCs,” she told Marie Claire. “I do what my heart says, what my heart feels. So from the moment I met my husband, we were together. We knew.”
She also shared with The Hollywood Reporter that she had no plans of tying the knot with anyone before meeting Perego-Saldaña, but he managed to change her perspective on marriage.
“He did. And as soon as we decided we were going to get married, we didn’t wait,” she said. “We did it three weeks later. That part was very, very quick.”
Marco Perego-Saldaña took her last name, which Saldaña was initially opposed to.
“I tried to talk him out of it,” she told InStyle.
“I told him, ‘If you use my name, you’re going to be emasculated by your community of artists, by your Latin community of men, by the world.’ But Marco looks up at me and says [she puts on his Italian accent], ‘Ah, Zoë, I don’t give a sheet.”
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Do Zoë Saldaña and Marco Perego-Saldaña have any children?
Zoë Saldaña and Marco Perego-Saldaña share three children, twins Cy Aridio and Bowie Ezio, and Zen Anton.
Cy and Bowie were born in 2014, while Zen was born in 2016.
The couple is raising them to be multilingual, often talking to the three in English, Spanish, and Italian.
Per Saldaña, having kids changed her marriage with her husband for the better.
“When we had our boys, I looked at my husband and I realized: I was meant for you, and you were meant for me,” she told People. “I don’t want to be separate. I want my church. I want to live inside the religion of our own little family.”
She also told the outlet that they were no longer planning on having more children, saying that they are already at “capacity.”
“If we were individuals that lived a much more consistent life, then we would entertain [having more kids],” she said. “But we don’t know when we’re going to be traveling and for how long, so bringing more children into an already hectic and full life just feels a bit irresponsible for us.
“Of all the things that I have going on right now, my children are my most important priority. And I know that my husband can say the same.”