Rosario Dawson

Infobox actor
name = Rosario Dawson


caption = Dawson c. 2007
birthname =
birthdate = birth date and age|1979|5|9
birthplace = New York, New York, United States
deathdate =
othername =
yearsactive = 1995—present
spouse =
occupation = actress, singer
website = http://www.rosario-dawson.net/

Rosario Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress and singer. Her career got started as a tiny dancer in the broadway musical Tiny Pete, but is perhaps best known for her roles in the films "Sin City", "Clerks II", "He Got Game", "Kids", "Rent", and most recently as a lead character in Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof".

Early life

Dawson was born in New York City, the daughter of Isabel, [cite web |url=http://www.newyorkcool.com/archives/2005/November/about_5.htm |title="Rent" Party |accessdate=2007-04-10] a Bronx-born professional vocalist, and Greg Dawson, a construction worker.cite web |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1213683,00.html |title=Spotlight on Rosario Dawson |accessdate=2007-04-10 |publisher="Entertainment Weekly"] The two are now divorced.cite web |url=http://magazines.ivillage.com/marieclaire/print/0,,679254,00.html |title=Rosario Dawson: From Tenement to Tinseltown |accessdate=2007-03-20 |last=Hensley |first=Dennis |publisher="Marie Claire"] Dawson's mother is of Puerto Rican and Cuban descent while her father is of Irish and Native American ancestry. [ [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/01/08/1073437410018.html Between The Rock and a hard place] ] cite web |url=http://movies.go.com/rosario-dawson/b830777|title=Rosario Dawson: Actress Profile|accessdate=2007-03-20 |last=Hensley |first=Dennis |publisher="Movies.go.com"]

Dawson grew up on Manhattan's Lower East Side and has a brother named Clay. She and her family squatted in an abandoned building during most of her childhood. While attending school, she had aspirations of becoming a marine biologist.

Career

Although showing no interest in acting as a child, Rosario was 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 1995 controversial film "Kids". Since then Dawson's films have varied; ranging from independent films, to highly successful big budget blockbusters, and large scale box office bombs. Among her successes are " Rent", "He Got Game", appearing briefly topless while working opposite professional basketball player Ray Allen, and "Men in Black II", which saw her sharing the screen with Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones; among her failures are "The Adventures of Pluto Nash" (which was nominated for six Golden Raspberry Awards [cite web |url=http://imdb.com/title/tt0180052/awards |title=Adventures of Pluto Nash awards page |accessdate=2007-03-20 |publisher=Internet Movie Database] ) and the live-action film adaptation of "Josie and the Pussycats". [cite web |url=http://www.mutantreviewers.com/rjosie.html |title=Mutant Reviewers from Hell Josie & the Pussycats review |accessdate=2007-03-20]

In 1999, Dawson teamed up with Prince for the re-release of his 1980s hit "1999". [cite web |url=http://www.amazon.com/1999-New-Master-Prince-Revolution/dp/B00000I3XH |title=1999: The New Master EP |accessdate=2007-03-30 |publisher=Amazon.com |quote=2. Rosario 1999 ] 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 Millennium. [cite web |url=http://www.dtt-lyrics.com/albums/newmaster.html#rosario |title=Prince & The Revolution - The New Master Lyrics |accessdate=2007-03-30 ] The same year she appeared in The Chemical Brothers' video for the song "Out of Control" from the album "Surrender". [cite web |url=http://www.slickmedia.com/super/bn990830.htm |title=SlickMedia.com - August 1999 |accessdate=2007-04-05 |quote=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.] 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.

In 2004, Dawson appeared in Oliver Stone's "Alexander" as the bride of Alexander the Great, which also featured her in a fully nude scene. In August-September 2005, Dawson appeared on stage as Julia in the Public Theatre revival of Galt MacDermot's 1971 musical "Two Gentlemen of Verona" at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. [cite web |url=http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=514406 |title=Dawson & Lewis to Star in The Two Gentlemen of Verona in Central Park |accessdate=2007-03-30 |publisher=Broadway.com]

She starred in the film adaptation of the popular musical "Rent", where she played the exotic dancer Mimi Marquez, replacing the original Mimi, Daphne Rubin-Vega, who was pregnant at the time of filming and wasn't able to play the part. She also appeared in the adaptation of the graphic novel "Sin City", where she played the prostitute-dominatrix, Gail. She will appear in "Sin City"'s sequel in 2008.

In 2005, Dawson 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", Dawson starred as Becky, the crush-turned-wife of Dante Hicks. As she mentioned in the making of documentary, "Back to the Well", the donkey show sequence was what made her decide to appear in the movie. In May of the same year, Dawson, an avid comic book fan, co-created the comic book miniseries "Occult Crimes Taskforce". [cite web |url=http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=6422 |title=SPEAKEASY TEAMS UP WITH ACTRESS ROSARIO DAWSON FOR NEW COMIC |accessdate=2007-03-20] She was at the 2007 Comic-Con to promote her new comic book miniseries.

In 2007, Dawson co-starred with former "Rent" alum Tracie Thoms in the Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's throwback movie "Death Proof".

In 2007, Dawson teamed up with friend Talia Lugacy, whom she met at the Lee Strasberg Academy, to produce and star in "Descent." [ [http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=23157 Rosario Dawson & Talia Lugacy on Descent] ] On July 7, 2007 Dawson presented at the American leg of Live Earth.

On June 26, 2008, it was announced that Dawson will play Artemis in the upcoming animated "Wonder Woman film". [ [http://www.comicscontinuum.com/stories/0806/26/index.htm Comics Continuum cast list] ]

Starting on August 18, 2008 Dawson starred in "Gemini Division", an online-based TV series.

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. [cite web |url=http://www.usmagazine.com/rosario_dawson_and_jason_lewis_split |title=Rosario Dawson and Jason Lewis Split |accessdate=2007-03-20 |publisher="Us Weekly"] She has also been rumored to have dated "Dawson's Creek" star Joshua Jackson. [ [http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800023039/bio Rosario Dawson Biography - Yahoo! Movies ] ]

Dawson is involved with the Lower East Side Girls Club [http://www.girlsclub.org/special/index.html] [ [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3449237673795137517&q=rosario+dawson&total=865&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1 Rosario Dawson on Jimmy Kimmel Live 4-9-07 part1 ] ] 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), [ [http://stayclose.org/campaign/celebrity.asp?id=9 Stay Close :: Pflag ] ] International Rescue Committee, Voto Latino, [http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/500-rosario-dawson Rosario Dawson's Charity Work ] ] [ [http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=2015047602 Vidéos MySpaceTV : Rosario Dawson par Global Cool ] ] and she participated in the "Vagina Monologues". She attended both the Democratic National Convention as well as the Republican National Convention in 2008.

Filmography

*"Kids" (1995)
*"He Got Game" (1998)
*"Side Streets" (1998)
*"Light It Up" (1999)
*"Down to You" (2000)
*"King of the Jungle" (2000)
*"Sidewalks of New York" (2001)
*"Josie and the Pussycats" (2001)
*"Chelsea Walls" (2001)
*"Ash Wednesday" (2002)
*"Men in Black II" (2002)
*"The Adventures of Pluto Nash" (2002)
*"25th Hour" (2002)
*"The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest" (2002)
*"Love in the Time of Money" (2002)
*"World VDAY" (2003) (documentary)
*"This Girl's Life" (2003)
*"Shattered Glass" (2003)
*"The Rundown" (2003)
*"Alexander" (2004)
*"This Revolution" (2004)
*"Sin City" (2005)
*"Rent" (2005)
*"Clerks II" (2006)
*"A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" (2006)
*"Grindhouse: Death Proof" (2007)
*"Descent" (2007)
*"Eagle Eye" (2008)Upcoming:
*"Killshot" (2008) (completed)
*"Explicit Ills" (2008) (completed)
*"Seven Pounds" (2008) (post-production)
*"The Haunted World of El Superbeasto" (2008) [cite web |url=http://www.horror-movies.ca/horror_6878.html/ |title=Rosario Takes On El Superbeasto |accessdate=2007-11-09] (post-production)
*"Wonder Woman" (2009) (post-production)
*"Sin City 2" (2009) (pre-production)

Awards/nominations

*ALMA Awards:*2006, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Rent) "Nominated"
*American Black Film Festival:*2004, Rising Star Award Won
*Black Movie Awards:* 2006, Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Rent) "Nominated"
*Black Reel Awards:*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"
*Broadcast Film Critics:*2006, Best Song (Rent) "Seasons of Love" "Nominated"
*Image Awards:*2006, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Rent) "Nominated":*2000, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Light It Up) "Nominated"
*MTV Movie Awards:*2006, Best Kiss (Sin City) "Nominated"

References

External links

* [http://rosario-dawson.net Official site]
*imdb|0206257
* [http://www.tv.com/rosario-dawson/person/118862/summary.html Rosario Dawson] at Tv.com

Persondata
NAME= Dawson, Rosario
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= American actress, singer
DATE OF BIRTH= 1979-5-9
PLACE OF BIRTH= New York, New York, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=