Zoe Saldana Loves Having ‘Street Cred’ With her Kids Because She’s Gamora

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Zoe Saldaña makes no bones about it. Her and husband Marco Perego’s three kids – Zen, 5, and 8-year-old twins Bowie and Cy – are “going to grow up to be really pretty nerds.” That’s according to Zoe, 44, when speaking to InStyle. The “nerd” part of that equation comes from Zoe’s placement in the pop culture pantheon, thanks to her parts in the Star Trek, Avatar, and Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. “I see how he’s trying to place me in his mind like, ‘OK, you’re mama, but you’re also Gamora,'” she said of her youngest. “They’re going to watch these movies, and it’s going to be a part of what they like and what excites them. And the fact that that gives me street cred with my kids, it’s fun, it’s great.”

As for the “pretty” part, Zoe told InStyle that she and Marco have made some good-looking kids. “I know that every parent finds their children super-handsome. Maybe that’s what’s to blame. But I look at my kids, and I’m like, ‘My god, you guys are so f-cking handsome,'” she says.

Zoe also spoke about how her children take after her. “I’ve always felt very insecure around people that are just too cool and that have themselves so put together and know exactly what to say and know everything. I’ve always felt very unstable around people like that,” she told InStyle. “I like to be around people that are naturally curious and honest about the curiosity. And when they don’t know something, I like when they say, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ My kids are like that; they feel so present.”

Gamora might have a new challenger in the Saldaña household. Avatar: The Way of Water brings Zoe’s Neytiri back to the big screen, along with Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver. Kate Winslet and Michelle Yeoh join the cast for this sequel. “Kate Winslet is a queen,” she said of her new co-star. “I can’t even tell you. She’s just so marvelous. The moment you meet her, she just gets down and dirty with you, goes and does the work and beats herself up, and works harder than everybody else and demands 120% of herself.”

“I’ve met so many of my idols, especially women, and I have to say that I’ve never really walked away disappointed,” she says. “If anything, I walk away from working with someone like Kate Winslet repurposed, re-inspired. I feel raised a little more. I’m too hard on myself, just like every artist and every other person in this world. I do suffer from imposter syndrome a great deal, so if I’ve earned her respect from the experience that we had working together, that’s checked off my bucket list.”