The “Avatar” star acts, sings and even raps in “Pérez,” and does it all in Spanish, her first major role in the language. “Either the project just wasn’t the right fit for me or an Afro-Caribbean Latina wasn’t the right fit for the project,” she said. Zoe Saldaña as Rita Moro Castro in "Emilia Pérez." Portrayed by Karla Sofía Gascón, Manitas’ journey to becoming Emilia Pérez is the heart of the movie, shepherded by Saldaña’s Rita and set against the struggles of Manitas’ uninformed and disillusioned wife Jessi (Selena Gomez). “Where would I have been if it weren’t for these women?” Saldaña asked, explaining how specific and fastidious they were in helping her put her best foot forward in taped auditions.

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Persons: Zoe Saldaña, Pérez ”, “, Saldaña –, ”, ” Saldaña, Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard, Boris Razon, Saldaña’s Rita, it’s, Saldaña, Rita Moro Castro, Shanna Besson, Manitas, Rita’s, Karla Sofía Gascón, Jessi, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Elle, ’ ” Organizations: CNN, Puerto Rican, Elle Magazine, “ Guardians, Galaxy, Pathé, Cannes Film, Netflix Locations: Dominican Republic, Puerto, Caribbean, Latin America, Mexico, Emilia, France, Hollywood