Roxann Dawson

Infobox Actor
name = Roxann Dawson


imagesize =
caption =
birthname = Roxann Caballero
birthdate = birth date and age|1958|9|11
location = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
othername = Roxann Biggs, Roxann Biggs-Dawson
spouse = Eric Dawson
homepage =

Roxann Dawson (born September 11, 1958) [Her birthdate is given as 1964 or 1958. According to the "California Birth Index" compiled by Center for Health Statistics and California Department of Health Services, the only Roxann Caballero born in California was on 11 September 1958. Dawson's university graduation year ( [http://www.berkeley.edu/tour/students/famous_alumni2.html 1980] ) suggests she was born in 1958. The IMDb also lists this year for her birth.] is an American actress, producer and director, best known as B'Elanna Torres on the television series "".

Biography

Early life

Dawson was born Roxann Caballero in Los Angeles, California. She has no middle name.

Career

A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley earning a B.A. in Dramatic Art in 1980, Dawson's first professional acting job was in a Broadway production of "A Chorus Line". She continued a stage career through the 1980s and 1990s, while occasionally landing minor film and television roles.

In 1994, Dawson began her role as the half Human/half-Klingon engineer B'Elanna Torres on "" for all 7 seasons of the show. Many of Dawson's fans were surprised that she, in reality, knows nothing of engineering or science. The character of B'Elanna Torres was much younger in age than Dawson. When "Voyager" started Torres was 22 years old (born in 2349), while Dawson was 36.

While working on "Voyager", Dawson made her directorial debut with the episode "Riddles" (aired September 1999). Dawson also directed another episode of "Voyager" and continued on to direct several episodes of "."

Dawson has pursued a writing career; her first play, "Passage Through the Heart", debuted in 1997 at the University of Minnesota Duluth. She has also written, with Daniel Graham, a trilogy of science-fiction novels — "Entering Tenebrea" (ISBN 0-671-03607-6), "Tenebrea's Hope" (ISBN 0-671-03609-2), and "Tenebrea Rising" (ISBN 0-671-03611-4).

Dawson continues to expand her television directing credits, filming episodes of such programs as "Charmed", "The O.C.", "Close to Home" (where she directed fellow Star Trek alum Connor Trinneer), "Lost", "Heroes", "The Closer", and the 2006 season finale and 2007 premiere of "Cold Case". Besides directing episodesof "Crossing Jordan" and "Cold Case", she has also served as a producer on both series.

Her television credits include appearances on "Nightingales", "Baywatch", "Matlock", "Jake and the Fat Man", "The Untouchables", "Any Day Now", "Without a Trace", "The Lyon's Den", "The Division", "Coupling", and the science fiction television series "Seven Days". She also provided voicework for an episode of "".

Personal life

Dawson's first marriage was to Casey Biggs (who played Damar in '). From 1988 to 1994, she was credited as Roxann Biggs. She is currently married to casting director Eric Dawson, and they have two daughters, Emma Rose Dawson, born on January 16, 1998, and Mia, adopted from China. After her marriage to Dawson, she briefly used the name Roxann Biggs-Dawson"'.

Dawson is also a strong supporter of the Half the Sky Foundation, an organization devoted to improving the lives of orphaned children in China. She auctioned off her Klingon forehead prosthetic from "Voyager" to donate to the organization.

Notable awards

* 1998 ALMA Award
* 2001 ALMA Special Achievement Award for her work on "Voyager"

References

External links

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* [http://www.roxanndawson.net/ RoxannDawson.net (official site)]
* [http://www.halfthesky.org/ Half the Sky Foundation]
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