Zoe Saldaña Says Her Pride for Husband Marco Perego's Success as a Producer 'Almost Doesn't Fit into Words'

Marco Perego and Zoe Saldaña have been married since 2013; they share three sons

NEED TO KNOW

• Zoe Saldaña shared how proud she is of her husband Marco Perego as he debuts three movies he produced at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival
• According to the The Hollywood Reporter, Perego stands out as the first producer to ever debut three movies in the festival’s main competition in the same year
• Perego and Saldaña have been married since 2013; they share three sons

Zoe Saldaña is gushing as her husband Marco Perego receives some time in the limelight at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival.

On Thursday, May 14, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Perego, whom Saldaña has been married to since 2013, is making Cannes history as the first producer to ever have three movies premiere in the festival's main competition.

"Marco, three films at Cannes. Three worlds you believed in when maybe not everyone else did," Saldaña, 47, wrote in an Instagram post on May 14, as she shared THR's article. "That is not luck, that is you, exactly as you are: stubborn in the most beautiful way, uncompromising in your love for what cinema can be. You have always known that art is not decoration. It is the main course, the whole meal, the reason we sit down together at all."

"And you fight for that truth every single day, even when it costs you," she added in her caption. "I am so proud of you it almost doesn't fit into words. All my love, always. 🎬❤️"

THR noted in a report on Thursday, May 14, that those three movies are among the most anticipated films opening at this year's festival, including Minotaur, from Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev, Sebastian Stan's new movie Fjord and Paper Tiger, which stars Scarlett Johansson, Miles Teller and Adam Driver. On top of those titles, Perego is a producer on Barry Keoghan, Riley Keough and Harry Melling's new movie Butterfly Jam, which premiered separately in the Directors' Fortnight section at Cannes this year.

Perego is a former soccer player and a painter. He and Saldaña, who won an Academy Award in 2025, began dating in 2013 and married that same year. Perego even took Saldaña's last name when they married; they share three sons: twins Cy and Bowie, 11, and Zen, 9.

"Growing up in a small place in Italy, my father and my mother showed me films all the time. I was very curious — it can be a great voice for all these different places around the world, where you can talk about social commentary, or just tell a story about the human condition," Perego told THR on May 14, when asked how he achieved the Cannes producing record.

"The first question I asked myself was: Where is the space to support that? We set up a company called Leaf Entertainment," he continued. "I asked my partner Michael [Cerenzie], 'What do you think about starting to really produce auteurs?' I was very lucky to be part of this very strong community of all these great filmmakers."

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"There is a necessity culturally to really help and protect the voice of these great auteurs, now more than ever," he added.

Aside from Perego's work as a producer, he is working on a new movie as a director titled Petrichor that stars Isabella Rossellini and Valeria Golino, which Deadline reported in February. Saldaña, meanwhile, most recently appeared in a movie when she reprised her long-running role in the Avatar franchise as Neytiri.

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