Zoe Saldaña is opening up about her painful past.

The Emilia Pérez star spoke out in a cover story for Harper’s BAZAAR‘s February 2025 issue, out now.

During the conversation, she spoke candidly about her childhood, facing ADHD and dyslexia diagnoses, bullying, losing her father, moving to the Dominican Republic and much more.

Keep reading to find out more…

On the profound impact of losing her father in a car accident when she was just nine years old:

“When my father passed away, we all went straight into survival mode. We dropped all those little pleasures of life that you do in a day that compel you to calm down. I remember my mom used to wear red lipstick, and she used to walk around in little tight shorts and tight jeans, and she always looked pretty and was always flirting with my dad, and the moment he passed away, she wouldn’t get out of bed for more than a couple of years.”

On moving to the Dominican Republic after her father’s passing and the difficult experience of facing bullying from other kids:

“You can’t speak English; you have to speak only Spanish. You can’t code-switch. And then you get bullied because kids don’t understand you. And we weren’t little victims. We pushed back, but then they pushed harder, because they all understood each other.”

On how growing up with ADHD and dyslexia, left her feeling sad and isolated, as she struggled to fit in:

“I was always off. When you have a child that has ADHD and is dyslexic and has a lot of energy and doesn’t sit still and is unable to listen, you think that it’s on purpose. I just remember asking myself, ‘Why don’t I fit in? Why do I do this?’ It would make me really sad, and it would make me feel really isolated.”

On how she finds peace in creating art:

“I learned in a very innocent, unconscious way when I was very young that I need to live in art, because I find peace. I can rest when I’m creating.”

On how at first, she didn’t believe she was cut out for her role in Taylor Sheridan’s Lioness, ultimately turning it down before contacting him a year later:

“I didn’t feel that I was cut out for it. I was convinced that I was going to fail…he responded immediately, and he was like, ‘We’re f**king waiting on you.’”

For more, head to Harpersbazaar.com.

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