Hispanic Heritage Month 2013: Oscar De La Renta, Zoe Saldana and Michelle Rodriguez Among Most Successful Dominicans

The Dominican Republic has brought out some of the biggest celebrities of our time with many of them successfully going to Hollywood. The following are a few actors and designers who have Domincan roots.

Michelle Rodriguez: The actress who was born in Austin, Texas comes from Dominican decent. Her mother Carmen Milady Rodriguez was a native Dominican, while her father Rafael Rodriguez was Puerto Rican. Rodriguez has built one of the biggest careers in Hollywood since her big break in the Indie film "Girlfight." The film put her in the spotlight and won her a number of acting awards including one from the National Board of Review. Since her breakout, she has taken roles in such franchises "Fast and the Furuious" and "Resident Evil." She also starred in "Avatar," the most successful movie ever made. The actress continues to be busy as she will reprise her role as Luz in "Machete Kills" this September and will return to her character Letty in "Fast and Furious 7." She also plans on developing two screenplays she wrote. The actress originally had plans of being a director when she entered the business and plans on taking time off from acting to direct.   

Zoe Saldana- Saldana also comes from a Domican mother and a Puerto Rican father. The actress built one of the most successful careers for a Latina in Hollywood in recent years. She first appeared on "Law and Order" before taking her first film role in "Center Stage." She later took small roles in "Crossroads," "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," and "Drumline." Her big break, however, came in 2011 when she got roles in "Star Trek" and "Avatar." Since then she has appeared in "Colombiana," "Takers" and "The Words." This year, Saldana will appear in "Blood Ties," "Machete Kills," "Out of Furnace" and "Nina." She will also reprise her role from "Avatar" in "Avatar 2" and is set to play Gamora in "Guardians of Galaxy."

Oscar de La Renta-Fashion Icon de La Renta was also born to a Dominican mother and quickly rose to fame for his elegant red carpet gowns and evening wear. In recent times, the designer has dressed such celebrities as Amy Adams, Penelope Cruz, Melanie Diaz, Emma Watson, Jessica Alba, Giselle Blondet and Tina Fey. The designer has won a number of awards and currently serves as one of the board of members at the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall and WNET. He is also chairman of the Queen Sofia Institute and received an honorary degree at the Hamilton College.