Zoe Saldaña’s 2 Sisters: All About Cisely and Mariel

Zoe Saldaña has always been open about how important family is to her, including her relationship with her sisters Cisely and Mariel Saldaña.

Her relationship with her siblings is so strong that they decide to spend their lives working together. The three sisters started a film and media production company called Cinestar, where they produce reality TV, feature films, television shows and more.

“We are really protective of our nuclear family. Without it, we’re broken,” Cisely said of her sisters in a Cinestar YouTube video. “It’s always been a blessing that we’re stronger together, we’re nothing apart, and I think we knew that from the beginning and we’re really proud of the work we do.”

In addition to film and TV production, Cinestar also boasts a short, unscripted YouTube channel, such as the Rosé Roundtable series, where all three sisters discuss hot topics and life lessons with other inspiring women, including fellow actresses, models and personal trainers.

“I’m thankful for my family, especially my sisters — my partners in crime, my soul mates, we’re rock stars together,” Cisely said on the Thanksgiving-themed episode of Rosé Roundtable.

Here’s everything you need to know about Zoe Saldaña’s sisters — Cisely and Mariel — and their relationship with the actress.

They grew up in Jackson Heights, New York

Zoe Saldaña with her sisters Cisely and Mariel and parents Asalia Nazario and Dagobert Galan.

Cisely Saldana’s Instagram

Zoe, Cisely and Mariel all grew up in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, New York.

“We started Cinestar because we only care about stories. Stories are what brought us all the way to Hollywood from Queens,” Zoe said in a video about the company’s roots.

Jackson Heights is known for being one of the most culturally diverse areas in the Big Apple, and Zoe touched on that in a video about holiday customs, saying that their neighbors are from China, Bangladesh, Poland, and Colombia.

“I loved dropping into any holiday party because I always felt like a random tourist,” Zoe said. “You didn’t have to go to a restaurant on Friday, you could go to any of your friends’ houses.”

While their early childhood began in Queens, they also spent much of their young lives in the Dominican Republic, where their mother is from.

“Growing up in New York, our family used to send us back to the Dominican Republic for the summers,” Mariel shared in a family recipe video on the Cinestar YouTube channel.

Mariel is the oldest

Cisely Saldaña, Mariel Saldaña and Zoe Saldaña at the screening of ‘The Honor List’ on May 10, 2018.

Dan Steinberg/Shutterstock

As the oldest sisters, Cisely and Zoe admit they rely on Mariel for support.

“Mariel helped raise Zoe and me,” Cisely said in a video on Cinestar’s YouTube channel, which got her emotional. “I know faith thanks to you. I know my creator thanks to you and that means a lot to me.”

Zoe also said that Mariel is a mother figure in their sibling dynamic, and also praised her ability to be present in the moment.

“She’s motherly, she’s super mature … but there’s also this juvenile quality about her that makes you want to let go and be absolutely present,” she said of her older sister. “When you’re running about your yesterdays and trying to chase your tomorrows, Mariel is just there.”

Cisely is the youngest

Cisely Saldaña at The Art of Elysium’s 13th Annual Celestial Gala in Los Angeles on January 4, 2020.

John Salangsang/Variety/Penske Media/Getty

In an episode of Rosé Roundtable on motherhood and childbirth, Zoe pointed out that Cisely’s reticence about pregnancy and childbirth came from being the youngest in the family and witnessing both her and Mariela’s pregnancy and childbirth.

“[Cisely] she was the one who was there at the hospital every day, wiping asses, cleaning babies, changing diapers,” Zoe said.

In another video titled “Meet the Saldana Sisters,” Mariel and Zoe explain what Cisely means to them and what kind of person she is.

“He epitomizes loyalty,” Zoe said of her little brother. “She doesn’t give up and she’s extremely stubborn, but that’s because her intuition is always spot on.”

“She’s a kid and she’s a boss,” added Mariel. “She’s very creative.”

Together they founded a film production company

Zoe Saldaña with her sisters Mariel Saldaña and Cisely Saldaña.

Cisely Saldana’s Instagram

In January 2013, the Saldaña sisters launched a film production company called Cinestar Pictures. All three women work as producers on the company’s projects.

“We are all different, we are all actually into different things. We want to portray the everyday woman … We all come in different shapes, sizes. We are not all bound in one mold. What we have in common is that we have to love each other,” Mariel explained in the video why they founded Cinestar.

“We want to create content where you feel celebrated, seen, educated, entertained, and feel inspired enough by the content we create that you want to reach out to us and continue to point us in the right direction,” added Zoe.

Cinestar publishes “reality rom-coms,” which are unscripted documentary-style feature films that follow real women on dating adventures in different cities. The idea came true for the first time with their 2023 edition. Let’s meet in Parisand the sequel followed, Let’s meet in Romewhich was released on the Roku channel in February 2024.

Both reality rom-coms were a team effort with Hello Sunshine, Reese Witherspoon’s media company, with Zoe and Reese directing.

Cinestar also released more traditional films, such as 2018 Roll of honorwhich starred Karrueche Tran, Sasha Pieterse and Arden Cho.

They additionally produced shows like Netflix’s From scratch and HBO Max Gordite Chronicles.

Mariel is a mother of two children

Mariel has two children: Eli and Kasey.

Eli was born on May 12, 2003. For their 20th birthday, their aunt Zoe posted a sweet message on Instagram about her love for them, sharing photos and videos of Eli visiting family on set.

“Exactly 20 years ago today, you made us the happiest family in the world,” she wrote. “Thank you for throwing your stardust at every person you meet. You are kind, caring, clean, witty, hilarious, sensible, intuitive, forgiving and an absolute passion to hang out with.”

“We like love! Te amo,” she added in Spanish, translating to: “My first love! I love you.”

Eli is involved in their mom and aunt’s business, spending time on the set of some movies and accompanying them on press trips.

Despite being much younger, Mariel is also dedicated to exhibiting Kasey art. In July 2018, she posted a photo of then-five-year-old Kasey in an art gallery for an exhibit exploring Hispanic identity.

“We are proud, we are Latin American women, we are raising our children to know who they are,” Mariel wrote.

“Kasey’s in the gallery!” Zoe commented, showing excitement at her niece’s exposure to art.

They love to share family recipes

Zoe Saldaña with her sisters Cisely and Mariel and mom Asalia Nazario.

Cisely Saldana’s Instagram

One of the featured series on the Cinestar YouTube channel is a cooking series called “My Family Recipe,” where people are encouraged to share recipes for their favorite family meals.

Both Mariel and Cisely showed how to cook some of their favorite family recipes on the channel.

Cisely decided to cook Moro-Locrio, a hybrid dish of rice, beans and meat, based on her maternal grandmother’s recipe.

“My grandmother used to make this dish for my birthdays and when I was sick,” she said.

“One of my favorite things about her is that she’s overconfident, so when she finishes cooking your favorite dish, she won’t even let you compliment her because she likes to compliment her food,” she added.

Similarly, Mariel recreated their great-grandmother’s recipe for Arroz con Leche, also known as rice pudding.

“My great-grandmother was a force to be reckoned with,” said Mariel. “I used to get very excited when I saw her soaking the rice a little because I knew [she’s] making arroz con leche”.

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Source: HIS Education