Zoe Saldaña Admits 'I Didn't Even Know What SAG Was' Early in Her Career as She Wins at 2025 SAG Awards

Mar. 15, 2025

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

Zoe Saldañais adding another trophy to her shelf this awards season.

“To be in this room is a true honor. This is my community. This is my circus,” she began in her speech. “Thank you to SAG and AFTRA, thank you to my fellow nominees … it was an honor to watch your performances this year, I was deeply moved.”

She continued, “I got my first SAG card in 1998 and I didn’t even know what SAG was, and I am grateful that my mother and my father and my sisters looked it up and helped me educate myself on what it means to be a part of a union that protects me so that I can make a living out of this crazy, crazy industry.”

Saldaña went on to thank her “working family,” including her agents and lawyers “who educate me every day on how I can make a living and support my family doing what I love.”

Zoe Saldana on Feb. 23, 2025.Frazer Harrison/WireImage

Frazer Harrison/WireImage

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up to date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

She concluded her speech with a touching message, saying, “I believe that everybody has the right to be who they are andEmilia Pérezis about truth and it’s about love, and I think that us as actors now more than ever before we really have to tell stories that are beautiful and thought provoking and live within the spectrum of artistic freedom.”

Saldaña’s fellow nominees wereMonica Barbaro(A Complete Unknown),Jamie Lee Curtis(The Last Showgirl),Danielle Deadwyler(The Piano Lesson) andAriana Grande(Wicked).

Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez inA Complete Unknown(2024).Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Barbaro was additionally recognized for her performance as Baez, 84, with anAcademy Award nominationfor Best Supporting Actress. She even finallymet Baez for the first timeearlier this month, per photos sheshared on InstagramFeb. 11.

Jamie Lee Curtis inThe Last Showgirl(2024).Roadside Attractions

Roadside Attractions

Returning to the SAG Awards for the first time since 2023, Curtis, 66,previously won forher performance inEverything Everywhere All at Onceen route toher Academy Award winfor the same movie. She was also nominated at the SAG Awards back in 1995 for the movieTrue Lies.

Curtis costars inThe Last ShowgirlalongsidePamela Anderson,Brenda SongandKiernan Shipkaas a group of women living and struggling to pay their bills in Las Vegas. Her character Shelly is a former-showgirl-turned-cocktail waitress.

Curtis was also nominated for this role at the 2025BAFTA Awards, but Saldaña took home that trophy on Feb. 16.

Danielle Deadwyler inThe Piano Lesson(2024).Courtesy of Netflix

Courtesy of Netflix

Deadwyler, 42, is a first-time nominee at the SAG Awards; she costarred with John David Washington, Samuel L. Jackson,Erykah Badu, Skylar Aleece Smith, Jerrika Hinton, Gail Bean andCorey HawkinsinThe Piano Lesson, an adaptation of the the renownedAugust Wilsonplay of the same name.

The movie follows a familial dispute in 1936 Pittsburgh, where one sibling in the Charles family strives to sell a prized piano, and Deadwyler’s character fiercely defends keeping the instrument.

Deadwyler was alsonominated for this roleat Feb. 7’sCritics Choice Awards, butSaldaña took home that trophyfor her part inEmilia Pérez.

Ariana Grande in Wicked.Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures

Grande, 31, entered the SAG Awards with a score of nominations for portraying Glinda inWicked, one of 2024’s most popular movies. She also received nominations for best supporting actress at the BAFTA Awards, Critics Choice Awards andGolden Globe Awardsthis winter.

The actress-pop star is also nominated forWickedin the Best Supporting Actress category at the upcoming 97thOscarsceremony on March 2.

SeePEOPLE’s full coverage of the 31st annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, airing on Netflix.

source: people.com