Marco Perego-Saldana is an Italian artist and former soccer player. He is married to American actress and dancer Zoe Saldana. The son of a waiter father and a stay-at-home mother, Perego came from a humble background. He was deeply interested in art as a child but his first love, soccer, became his primary concern. He subsequently played professional soccer until he was 21 years old before suffering a leg injury. He was forced to quit soccer and relocated to New York