Rosario Dawson Biography

Rosario Dawson
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Rosario Dawson

Dawson in 2009
Born May 9, 1979 (1979-05-09) (age 30)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation Actress/Singer/Writer
Years active 1995 – present
Official website

Rosario Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress and singer, having appeared in films such as Men in Black II, Clerks II, The Rundown, Sin City, Rent, Death Proof, Eagle Eye and Seven Pounds.

Contents

Early life

Dawson was born in New York City, the daughter of Isabel,1 a plumber of Puerto Rican, Cuban and Dominican descent, and Greg Dawson, a construction worker of Native American and Irish descent.234 Isabel was 17 when Rosario was born, and 18 when she married. When Isabel was 21, she broke into an abandoned building on the Lower East Side of Manhattan where she and her husband installed plumbing and electrical wiring, in order to turn the building into a squat in which Rosario would grow up. Dawson cites this when explaining how she learned "if you wanted something better, you had to do it yourself." 56 Her parents are now divorced.6

Career

As a child, Rosario made a brief appearance on Sesame Street. She was subsequently "discovered" on her front porch step by photographer Larry Clark and Harmony Korine, where Harmony lauded her with praise as being perfect for a part he had written in his screenplay that would become the controversial 1995 film Kids. She went on to star in varied roles; ranging from independent films, to big budget blockbusters including Rent, He Got Game and Men in Black II.

In 1999, Dawson teamed up with Prince for the re-release of his 1980s hit "1999".7 The new remixed version featured the actress in an introductory voice over, offering commentary on the state of the world in the year before the new millennium.8 The same year she appeared in The Chemical Brothers' video for the song "Out of Control" from the album Surrender.9 She is also featured on the track "She Lives In My Lap" from the second disc of the OutKast album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, during which she speaks the intro and a brief interlude towards the end.

Dawson starred as "Naturelle," the love interest of a convicted drug dealer played by Edward Norton, in the 2002 Spike Lee film drama, 25th Hour. In the 2004 Oliver Stone film Alexander she played the bride of Alexander the Great, which featured her in a fully nude/sex scene. In the autumn of 2005, Dawson appeared on stage as Julia in the Public Theater's "Shakespeare in the Park" revival of Two Gentlemen of Verona.10 In the film adaptation of the popular musical Rent in 2005, she played the exotic dancer Mimi Marquez, replacing the original Mimi, Daphne Rubin-Vega, who was pregnant and unable to play the part. She also appeared in the adaptation of the graphic novel Sin City, co-directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller where she played Gail, a prostitute-dominatrix. Also in that year she appeared in a graphically violent scene in the Rob Zombie film The Devil's Rejects. Though the scene was cut from the final film, it is available in the deleted scenes on the DVD release.

In 2006's Clerks II, starring as Becky, the crush-turned-wife of Dante Hicks, she mentioned in the making of documentary, Back to the Well, the donkey show sequence was what made her decide to take the role. In May of the same year, Dawson, an avid comic book fan, co-created the comic book miniseries Occult Crimes Taskforce.11 She was at the 2007 Comic-Con to promote the comic. She co-starred with former Rent alum Tracie Thoms in the Quentin Tarantino throwback movie Death Proof in 2007, part of the Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez double feature Grind House. She teamed up with friend Talia Lugacy, whom she met at the Lee Strasberg Academy, to produce and star in Descent.12 On July 7, 2007, Dawson presented at the American leg of Live Earth.

In 2008, Dawson starred with Will Smith in Seven Pounds and in the Steven Spielberg produced Eagle Eye. Beginning in August, Dawson starred in Gemini Division, an online-based TV series. In the computer animated series Afterworld she voiced the character Officer Delondre Baines .13 On January 17, 2009, Dawson hosted Saturday Night Live. Later in the year she voiced the character of Artemis in the animated Wonder Woman film.14

For the Kasabian album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum she is featured singing on the track "West Ryder Silver Bullet".

Personal life

Dawson dated former Sex and the City star Jason Lewis for two years. They lived together in Los Angeles until they separated in November 2006.15 She has also been rumored to have dated Dawson's Creek star Joshua Jackson.16 In December 2008, Dawson confirmed on the Tonight Show that she had been dating an international DJ that she met at a French cafe.

Dawson is involved with the Lower East Side Girls Club1718 and supports other charities such as environmental group Global Cool, the ONE Campaign, Oxfam, Amnesty International, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Stay Close.org (a poster and public service ad campaign for PFLAG where she is featured with her uncle Frank Jump),19 International Rescue Committee, Voto Latino,202021 and she participated in the Vagina Monologues. She attended both the Democratic National Convention as well as the Republican National Convention in 2008. In October 2008, Dawson became a spokesman for TripAdvisor.com’s philanthropy program, More Than Footprints,2223 involving Conservation International, Doctors Without Borders, National Geographic Society, The Nature Conservancy, and Save The Children. Also in October 2008, she lent her voice to the RESPECT! Campaign,24 a movement aimed at preventing domestic violence. She recorded a voice message for the Giverespect.org Web site stressing the importance of respect in helping stop domestic violence.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1995 Kids Ruby
1998 He Got Game Lala Bonilla
Side Streets Marisol Hidalgo
1997 Girls' Night Out Girl
1999 Light It Up Stephanie Williams josie and the pussy cats 2000 Down to You Lana
King of the Jungle Veronica
2001 Josie and the Pussycats Valerie Brown
Sidewalks of New York Maria Tedesko
Trigger Happy Dee
Chelsea Walls Audrey
2002 Ash Wednesday Grace Quinonez
Men in Black II Laura Vasquez
The Adventures of Pluto Nash Dina Lake
25th Hour Naturelle Riviera
The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest Alisa
Love in the Time of Money Anna
2003 V-Day: Until the Violence Stops Herself Documentary
This Girl's Life Martine
Shattered Glass Andy Fox
The Rundown Mariana
2004 Alexander Roxana
This Revolution Tina Santiago
2005 Sin City Gail
Little Black Dress Haley
Rent Mimi Marquez
2006 Clerks II Rebecca "Becky" Scott
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints Laurie
2007 Grindhouse: Death Proof Abernathy Ross
Descent Maya
Robot Chicken Clara Palmer episode: "More Blood, More Chocolate" (3.08)
2008 Explicit Ills Babo's Mom
Eagle Eye Zoe Perez
Gemini Division Anna Diaz 30 episodes
Seven Pounds Emily Posa
2009 Killshot Donna
Wonder Woman Artemis Voice
The Haunted World of El Superbeasto Velvet Von Black Voice
Un-broke: What You Need To Know About Money Herself Television special
SpongeBob's Truth or Square Herself
2010 Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Persephone
The Zookeeper

Awards and nominations

  • 2006, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Rent) Nominated
  • 2004, Rising Star Award Won
  • 2006, Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Rent) Nominated
  • 2006, Best Actress (Rent) Nominated
  • 2006, Best Ensemble (Rent) Nominated
  • 2006, Best Supporting Actress (Sin City) Nominated
  • 2003, Best Supporting Actress (25th Hour) Nominated
  • 2000, Best Actress (Light It Up) Nominated
  • 2006, Best Song (Rent) "Seasons of Love" Nominated
  • 2009, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Seven Pounds) Won
  • 2006, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Rent) Nominated
  • 2000, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Light It Up) Nominated
  • 2006, Best Kiss (Sin City) Nominated
  • 2006, Best Supporting Actress Comedy or Musical (Rent) Won
  • 2009, Best Female Actor in a Dramatic Web Series Won

References

  1. ^ "Rent Party". http://www.newyorkcool.com/archives/2005/November/about_5.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-10. 
  2. ^ "Spotlight on Rosario Dawson". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1213683,00.html. Retrieved 2007-04-10. 
  3. ^ Between The Rock and a hard place
  4. ^ Hensley, Dennis. "Rosario Dawson: Actress Profile". Movies.go.com. http://movies.go.com/rosario-dawson/b830777. Retrieved 2007-03-20. 
  5. ^ Rosario Dawson. "Using Fame and Fortune to Help Others" Newsweek; October 13, 2008; Page 58.
  6. ^ a b Hensley, Dennis. "Rosario Dawson: From Tenement to Tinseltown". Marie Claire. http://magazines.ivillage.com/marieclaire/print/0,,679254,00.html. Retrieved 2007-03-20. 
  7. ^ "1999: The New Master EP". Amazon.com. http://www.amazon.com/1999-New-Master-Prince-Revolution/dp/B00000I3XH. Retrieved 2007-03-30. "2. Rosario 1999" 
  8. ^ "Prince & The Revolution - The New Master Lyrics". http://www.dtt-lyrics.com/albums/newmaster.html#rosario. Retrieved 2007-03-30. 
  9. ^ "SlickMedia.com - August 1999". http://www.slickmedia.com/super/bn990830.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-05. "Starring Rosario Dawson of "Kids" and "He Got Game" as a cola-brandishing rebel, the new video is said to deal with a revolution in a fictional Latin American banana republic." 
  10. ^ Brantley, Ben. "Shakespeare in the Park Review; Enter 'Two Gentlemen' For a Sexy Sip of Sangría", The New York Times, August 29, 2005
  11. ^ "SPEAKEASY TEAMS UP WITH ACTRESS ROSARIO DAWSON FOR NEW COMIC". http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6422. Retrieved 2007-03-20. 
  12. ^ Rosario Dawson & Talia Lugacy on Descent
  13. ^ "Welcome to GD Files". Gemini Division Files.com. 2008-03-18. http://www.geminidivisionfiles.com/?tag=afterworld. Retrieved 2009-03-25. 
  14. ^ Comics Continuum cast list
  15. ^ "Rosario Dawson and Jason Lewis Split". Us Weekly. http://www.usmagazine.com/rosario_dawson_and_jason_lewis_split. Retrieved 2007-03-20. 
  16. ^ Rosario Dawson Biography - Yahoo! Movies
  17. ^ http://www.girlsclub.org/special/index.html
  18. ^ Rosario Dawson on Jimmy Kimmel Live 4-9-07 part1
  19. ^ Stay Close :: Pflag
  20. ^ a b Rosario Dawson's Charity Work
  21. ^ Vidéos MySpaceTV : Rosario Dawson par Global Cool
  22. ^ http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/081031/0448209.html
  23. ^ http://www.rosario-dawson.net/
  24. ^ http://rosario-dawson.net/2008/10/24/rosario-dawson-joins-the-respect-campaign/

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