Rosario Dawson
Rosario Isabel Dawson[2] (born May 9, 1979)[3] is an American actress, singer and activist. She made her feature film debut in the 1995 independent drama Kids. Her subsequent film roles include He Got Game (1998), Josie and the Pussycats (2001), Men in Black II (2002), Rent (2005), Sin City (2005), Clerks II (2006), Death Proof (2007), Unstoppable (2010), and Top Five (2014). Dawson has also provided voice-over work for Disney/Marvel, Warner Bros./DC Comics, and ViacomCBS' Nickelodeon unit.
Rosario Dawson | |
---|---|
Dawson in June 2016 | |
Born | Rosario Isabel Dawson May 9, 1979[1] New York City, New York, U.S. |
Occupation |
|
Years active | 1995–present |
Partner(s) | Cory Booker (2019–present) |
Children | 1 |
For her role in Rent, Dawson won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture; for her role in Top Five, she was nominated for the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress in a Comedy.
Dawson is also known for having several roles in comic book adaptations. These include Gail in Sin City (2005) and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014), providing the voices of Diana Prince / Wonder Woman in the DC Animated Movie Universe and Barbara Gordon / Batgirl in The Lego Batman Movie, as well as her portrayal of Claire Temple in five of the Marvel/Netflix series (2015–2018).
Early life
Dawson was born on May 9, 1979, in New York City. Her mother, Isabel Celeste, is of Cuban and Puerto Rican ancestry. Isabel was 16 years old when Rosario was born; she never married Rosario's biological father, Patrick C. Harris.[4][5] When Rosario was a year old, her mother married Greg Dawson, a construction worker.[4] Dawson has a half-brother, Clay, who is four years younger.
Isabel and Greg sublet their 199 Avenue A apartment to Paul de Rienzo and moved their family into a reclaimed building after being approved by the 544 East 13 Street residents on the Lower East Side of Manhattan as members of a affordable housing plan. During that time Rosario and Clay would also grow up in Texas.[6] Dawson has cited this part of her history when explaining how she learned that, "If you wanted something better, you had to do it all yourself."[7]
Career
As a child, Dawson made a brief appearance on Sesame Street. At the age of 15, she was subsequently discovered on her front-porch step by photographer Larry Clark and Harmony Korine, where Korine lauded her 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.[8][9][10][11][12]
In 1998, Dawson teamed up with Prince for the re-release of his 1980s hit "1999".[13] 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.[14] The following year, she appeared in The Chemical Brothers' video for the song "Out of Control" from the album Surrender.[15] She is also featured on the track "She Lives In My Lap" from the second disc of the OutKast album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, in which she speaks the intro and a brief interlude towards the end.
In 2001, she appeared in the movie, Josie and the Pussycats as band member Valerie Brown.
Dawson starred as Naturelle Rivera, 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. 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.[16] It was her first appearance on stage.[17]
In the film adaptation of the popular musical Rent in 2005, she played the exotic dancer Mimi Marquez, replacing 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, portraying 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.
She starred as Becky in 2006's Clerks II, and mentioned in Back to the Well, the making-of documentary, that 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 and co-wrote the comic book miniseries Occult Crimes Taskforce.[18] She was at the 2007 San Diego 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 Grindhouse. She teamed up with friend Talia Lugacy, whom she met at the Lee Strasberg Academy, to produce and star in Descent.[19] 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 Eagle Eye, produced by Steven Spielberg. Beginning in August, she starred in Gemini Division, an online science fiction series. In the computer animated series Afterworld, she voiced the character Officer Delondre Baines.[20] On January 17, 2009, Dawson hosted Saturday Night Live. Later in the year, she voiced Artemis of Bana-Mighdall in the animated film Wonder Woman.[21]
In 2009, Dawson performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.[22] In 2009, Dawson also voiced the character of Velvet Von Black in Rob Zombie's animated feature, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto. For the Kasabian album West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum, she is featured singing on the track "West Ryder Silver Bullet".
In 2010, she starred in the movies Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, as Persephone, and Unstoppable, as railway yardmaster Connie. In 2013, she played Apple's mother in the independent film Gimme Shelter. The following year, she reprised her role as Gail in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. In 2015, she played Claire Temple in the Netflix web television series Daredevil, a role which she reprised in Jessica Jones and Luke Cage.[23] Dawson's likeness was also used in the Jessica Jones tie-in comic as her character on both shows. Dawson has continued this role in 2017 in Iron Fist and The Defenders. In 2018, she played the female lead role in the Netflix movie, Krystal. In 2020, she was cast as the Star Wars character Ahsoka Tano in the second season of The Mandalorian on Disney+.[24]
Personal life
Dawson is a self-professed Trekkie who mentioned both her and her brother's love of Star Trek in an interview with Conan O'Brien, and also demonstrated her knowledge of several Klingon words.[25]
Dawson adopted an 11-year-old girl in 2014.[26]
From 2016 to 2017, Dawson dated comedian and television host Eric Andre.[27]
In March 2019, Dawson confirmed that she is in a relationship with United States senator Cory Booker.[28]
In October 2019 Derek Finley, a trans man, filed a case in Los Angeles against Dawson and her family for alleged incidents involving discrimination, verbal abuse, misgendering and physical assault. Finley had been employed as a handyman, living with the family and had known them for decades. The Dawson family has not publicly commented.[29][30]
In February 2020, Dawson publicly came out as a member of the LGBT community.[31][32]
Politics
Dawson was arrested in 2004, while protesting against president George W. Bush.[33]
Dawson endorsed Barack Obama for re-election in 2012,[34] and Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination in the 2016 Democratic Party primaries.[35] On April 15, 2016, Dawson was among the protesters arrested during Democracy Spring in Washington, D.C.[36]
In mid-2019, Dawson endorsed her boyfriend Cory Booker in the 2020 presidential election. Booker ended his campaign for president on January 13, 2020.[37][38] Had she become First Lady of the United States, Dawson said she would have advocated for solutions to youth homelessness.[39] On March 9, 2020, Dawson endorsed the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders, whom she had also previously endorsed in his 2016 bid.[40]
Philanthropy
Dawson is involved with the Lower East Side Girls Club[41] and supports other charities such as environmental group Global Cool, One Campaign, Operation USA, Oxfam, Amnesty International, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), the International Rescue Committee, Voto Latino,[42] and Stay Close.org, a poster and public service ad campaign for PFLAG where she is featured with her uncle[43] Frank Jump.[44] She has participated in the Vagina Monologues (she refers to her vagina as "The General")[45] and serves on the board for V-Day, a global non-profit movement that raises funds for women's anti-violence groups through benefits of this play.[46]
In October 2008, Dawson became a spokeswoman for TripAdvisor.com's philanthropy program, More Than Footprints, 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,[47] 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. In 2012, Dawson partnered with SodaStream International in launching the first annual Unbottle the World Day, a campaign conceived in an effort to raise awareness to the impact of cans and plastic bottles on the environment.[48] Dawson also sits on the Board of Directors of Scenarios USA, which works to support a generation of reflective, outspoken, and confident youth through filmmaking and uses film to educate students through a variety of programs.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | Kids | Ruby | |
1997 | Girls' Night Out | Girl | Short film |
1998 | He Got Game | Lala Bonilla | |
Side Streets | Marisol Hidalgo | ||
1999 | Light It Up | Stephanie Williams | |
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 | |
The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest | Alisa | ||
Men in Black II | Laura Vasquez | ||
The Adventures of Pluto Nash | Dina Lake | ||
Love in the Time of Money | Anna | ||
25th Hour | Naturelle Riviera | ||
2003 | V-Day: Until the Violence Stops | Herself | |
This Girl's Life | Martine | ||
Shattered Glass | Andy Fox | ||
The Rundown | Mariana | ||
2004 | Alexander | Roxana | |
2005 | This Revolution | Tina Santiago | |
Sin City | Gail | ||
Little Black Dress | Haley | Short film | |
Rent | Mimi Marquez | ||
2006 | Clerks II | Rebecca "Becky" Scott | |
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints | Laurie | ||
2007 | Death Proof (Grindhouse) | Abernathy Ross | |
Descent | Maya | Also producer | |
2008 | Explicit Ills | Babo's Mom | |
Eagle Eye | Zoe Perez | ||
Killshot | Donna | ||
Seven Pounds | Emily Posa | ||
2009 | Wonder Woman | Artemis (voice) | |
The Haunted World of El Superbeasto | Velvet Von Black (voice) | ||
The People Speak | Herself | ||
2010 | Awake | Robin | Short film |
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief | Persephone | ||
Unstoppable | Connie Hooper | ||
2011 | Miss Representation | Herself | |
Girl Walks into a Bar | June | ||
Zookeeper | Kate | ||
10 Years | Mary | ||
2012 | Fire with Fire | Talia Durham | |
Hotel Noir | Sevilla, the Maid | ||
2013 | Trance | Elizabeth Lamb | |
Gimme Shelter | June Bailey | ||
César Chávez | Dolores Huerta | ||
Parts per Billion | Mia | ||
Raze | Rachel | ||
2014 | Sin City: A Dame to Kill For | Gail | |
The Ever After | Herself | ||
The Captive | Nicole | ||
Top Five | Chelsea Brown | ||
2015 | Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast | Nyx (voice) | |
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis | Diana Prince / Wonder Woman (voice) | ||
Puerto Ricans in Paris | Vanessa | ||
2016 | Justice League vs. Teen Titans | Diana Prince / Wonder Woman (voice) | |
Ratchet & Clank | Elaris (voice) | ||
2017 | Justice League Dark | Diana Prince / Wonder Woman (voice) | |
The Lego Batman Movie | Barbara Gordon / Batgirl (voice) | ||
Unforgettable | Julia Banks | ||
Krystal | Krystal Bryant | ||
2018 | The Death of Superman | Diana Prince / Wonder Woman (voice) | |
The Need to Grow | Narrator (voice) | Documentary | |
Sorry to Bother You | Voice in Elevator (voice) | ||
Henchmen | Jolene (voice) | ||
2019 | Someone Great | Hannah Davis | |
Jay and Silent Bob Reboot | Reggie Faulken | ||
Zombieland: Double Tap | Nevada | ||
Wonder Woman: Bloodlines | Diana Prince / Wonder Woman (voice) | ||
The Deported | Herself | Documentary | |
2020 | Justice League Dark: Apokolips War | Diana Prince / Wonder Woman (voice) | |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | Punk'd | Herself | Episode #1.8 |
2007 | Robot Chicken | Various (voice) | Episode: "More Blood, More Chocolate" |
2008 | Gemini Division | Anna Diaz | Web series; 50 episodes Also executive producer |
2009 | Saturday Night Live | Herself | Episode: "Rosario Dawson/Fleet Foxes" |
SpongeBob SquarePants | Episode: "Truth or Square" | ||
2011 | Five | Lili | Television film |
2015–2016 | Daredevil | Claire Temple | 8 episodes |
2015 | Jessica Jones | Episode: "AKA Smile" | |
2016–2018 | Luke Cage | 11 episodes | |
2017 | Iron Fist | 6 episodes | |
The Defenders | 6 episodes | ||
Waves for Water | Herself | Documentary | |
2018–2019 | Jane the Virgin | Jane "J.R." Ramos | 17 episodes |
2018 | Elena of Avalor | Daria (voice) | 2 episodes |
2019 | Weird City | Delt | Episode: "A Family" |
2019–present | The Last Kids on Earth | Rezzoch (voice) | [49] |
2020 | It's Pony | Ms. Ramiro (voice) | |
Briarpatch | Allegra "Pick" Dill | Main role |
Music video
Year | Title | Artist(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | "Out of Control" | The Chemical Brothers | |
2002 | "Miss You" | Aaliyah | Cameo |
2012 | "Supercool" | The Bullitts | |
2016 | "Where's the Love?" | The Black Eyed Peas featuring The World | |
2017 | "Family Feud" | Jay Z featuring Beyoncé | Promo video for Tidal |
2018 | "Earth Girls" | Jesse Boykins III | Cameo |
Video games
Year | Title | Voice role(s) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure | Tina | |
2012 | Syndicate | Lily Drawl | |
2016 | Ratchet & Clank | Elaris | |
Dishonored 2 | Meagan Foster / Billie Lurk | ||
Lego Dimensions | Barbara Gordon / Batgirl | Credited as "Rasario Dawson" | |
2017 | Wilson's Heart | Elsa Wolcott | |
Dishonored: Death of the Outsider | Billie Lurk | ||
2019 | NBA 2K20 | Isa | MyCAREER Story |
Awards and nominations
See also
References
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- Latina. Latina publications. 1998.
- "Rosario Dawson - Actress". Biography.com. A&E Networks. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
- "Isabel Celeste". Sur la Films. 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
- Hirschberg, Lynn (February 19, 2009). "The Kid Stays in the Pictures". The New York Times. New York City: New York Times Company. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
- Staff, PageSix com (August 7, 2010). "Rosario Dawson's mom fights squatters". Page Six.
- Hensley, Dennis (October 31, 2005). "Rosario Dawson: From Tenement to Tinseltown". Marie Claire. New York City: Hearst Publications. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- Adams, Jim (September 10, 2008). "New York community fosters show biz careers". Indian Country Today. Archived from the original on March 1, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
- Drumming, Neil (July 14, 2006). "Rosario Dawson talks about being a "hot geek"". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- Barlow, Helen (January 9, 2004). "Between The Rock and a hard place". The Age. Melbourne, Australia. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
- Hensley, Dennis. "Rosario Dawson: Actress Profile". Movies.go.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2007. Retrieved March 20, 2007.
- "Rent Party". NewYorkCool.com. November 2005. Archived from the original on February 23, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2007.
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- "Prince & The Revolution – The New Master Lyrics". DTT-Lyrics.com. Retrieved March 30, 2007.
- Tietjen, Alexa (April 5, 2017). "Rosario Dawson responds to Kendall Jenner's now-pulled Pepsi commercia". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
- Brantley, Ben (August 29, 2005). "Shakespeare in the Park Review; Enter 'Two Gentlemen' For a Sexy Sip of Sangría". The New York Times.
- "In Step With: Rosario Dawson". Parade. November 6, 2005. Archived from the original on June 27, 2006.
- "Speakeasy Teams Up With Actress Rosario Dawson For New Comic". CBR. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
- Douglas, Edward (August 11, 2007). "Rosario Dawson & Talia Lugacy on Descent". ComingSoon.net. Archived from the original on January 7, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2017.
- "Welcome to GD Files". GeminiDivisionFiles.com. March 18, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2009.
- Allstetter, Rob (June 26, 2008). "Comics Continuum by Rob Allstetter". ComicsContinuum.com. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
- "Bringing History to Life | Voices of a People's History in the US". peopleshistory.us. Archived from the original on May 13, 2010.
- "IMDb: Daredevil (TV Series 2015–)". IMDb. April 10, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
- "Star Wars Exclusive: 'The Mandalorian' Season 2 Casts Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano". Slashfilm. March 20, 2020. Retrieved March 20, 2020.
- Rosario Dawson Speaks Klingon on YouTube
- Marquina, Sierra (December 2, 2014). "Rosario Dawson Adopts 12-Year-Old Daughter". Us Weekly. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
- "Rosario Dawson and Eric Andre, a Real Couple, Break Up". W Magazine | Women's Fashion & Celebrity News. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
- Morin, Rebecca (December 2, 2014). "Actress Rosario Dawson confirms relationship with Cory Before that she was in a relationship with director Dany Boyle, who directed her movie "Trance" in 2013 Booker". Politico. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- Fitzsimons, Tim (October 21, 2019). "Rosario Dawson and Her Family Sued Over Alleged Transphobic Assault". NBC News. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
- "Trans Man Details Abuse Allegations Against Rosario Dawson". www.out.com. November 4, 2019.
- Gilchrist, Tracy E. (February 18, 2020). "Rosario Dawson Comes Out as LGBTQ While Explaining She Hadn't Before". Advocate. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- Maurice, Emma Powys (February 18, 2020). "Marvel star Rosario Dawson just came out while making an important point about bi-erasure". PinkNews. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- Silverman, Stephen M. (August 30, 2004). "Rosario Dawson Arrested in NY Bush Protest". People. Retrieved February 13, 2018.
- Smialek, Jeanna (September 5, 2012). "Democrats use DNC to woo Latino vote". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
- Kahn, Mattie (March 25, 2016). "Rosario Dawson Supports Bernie Sanders in Powerful Open Letter". Elle. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
- Deerwester, Jayme. "Rosario Dawson arrested in Capitol Hill protest". USA TODAY.
- O'KANE, CAITLIN. "Rosario Dawson confirms she is dating presidential hopeful Senator Cory Booker". CBSNEWS. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
- Turman, Jack (January 13, 2020). "Cory Booker announces that he's suspending his campaign". CBS News. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- Peña, Mirtle (November 20, 2019). "Rosario Dawson on what she would support if she were to become First Lady". Hola. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
- Belle, Elly (March 11, 2020). "Plot Twist: Rosario Dawson & Cory Booker Just Endorsed Different Candidates". Refinery29. Retrieved March 18, 2020.
- "GirlsClub.org". Archived from the original on August 22, 2007.
- "Rosario Dawson's Charity Work". LooktotheStars.org. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
- "Home - Scenarios USAScenarios USA". ScenariosUSA.org. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
- "Pflag". StayClose.org. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
- Vineyard, Jennifer (April 3, 2013). "Rosario Dawson Calls Her Vagina 'the General'". New York. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
- Schnall, Marianne (January 30, 2008). "WMC Exclusive: From Superdome to SUPERLOVE – V-Day at 10". WomensMediaCenter.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2010.
- "Rosario Dawson joins the RESPECT! Campaign". Rosario-Dawson.net. April 26, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2010.
- Carrion, Kelly (July 20, 2012). "Rosario Dawson helps kickoff 'Unbottle the World Day'". NBC Latino. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
- Ramos, Dino-Ray (March 13, 2019). "'The Last Kids On Earth': Mark Hamill, Rosario Dawson, Catherine O'Hara and Others Set For Netflix Animated Series". Deadline. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
External links
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