Zoe Saldaña Is Enjoying the Moment

THE OSCAR-WINNING ACTRESS STARS IN THE NEW PIXAR MOVIE ELIO—BUT SHE’S BEING A ‘NORMAL’ MOM THIS SUMMER

- TOMMY MCARDLE

Saldaña says she's been recognized on the school drop-off line for her T-Mobile commercial. "I'm like, 'I'll take it!"" she jokes.

Zoe Saldaña celebrated her historic Oscar win in March with a much-deserved break. The Emilia Pérez star, 47, who gave a tear-filled speech at L.A’s Dolby Theatre after becoming the first performer of Dominican descent to win the best supporting actress Academy Award, was simply worn down. “I think I slept for a whole week. I didn’t get out of bed,” says the mom of three. “I got a fever. I lost my voice.”

Her voice has thankfully returned—and it can be heard in the new Disney Pixar animated adventure Elio (in theaters June 20). In the emotional story about what it means to fit in, she plays Olga, a military officer whose recently orphaned nephew Elio (Yonas Kibreab) makes contact with aliens and gets whisked away to outer space. Saldaña, who shares twins Cy and Bowie, 10, as well as son Zen, 8, with her husband, filmmaker Marco Perego Saldaña, 46, tells People about the cinematic adventure and her low-key summer plans.

You won your Oscar three months ago. Does it still feel surreal?