Rosario Dawson Biography

Rosario Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress.

Dawson was born and raised in New York City to a father of Native American and Irish descent and a mother of Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban ancestry. Her film career began unexpectedly when filmmaker Larry Clark saw her on a Manhattan street and asked her to be in a movie he was making. The movie, Kids, became a critical success and Dawson's performance was commended.

As a result, Dawson decided to pursue an acting career and attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. Dawson has worked steadily since her debut, with a mixed amount of commercial and critical success. With performances in films like Kids and Sin City have been critically praised, her performances in the films Josie and the Pussycats, Alexander and The Adventures of Pluto Nash have been ripped to shreds by critics and the public alike. (The latter has been listed by many notable critics as one of the worst films ever made.) . To date, she has worked with such critically acclaimed directors as Oliver Stone, Robert Rodriguez, Chris Columbus and Spike Lee, and costarred with the likes of Will Smith, Edward Norton, Adam Pascal and Clive Owen.

Recently, she is known for her role of the HIV-positive, heroin-addicted, gentle and loving Mimi Marquez in RENT, the Original Motion Picture. She took over the role from Daphne Rubin-Vega who played Mimi in the original RENT broadway show.

Dawson has been described by fans and staff as being extremely 'kind' and 'down to earth', and is noted for her friendly and sociable attitude during public apperances.