Biography
New York-born and bred actress Rosario Dawson made her screen debut in
Larry Clark's controversial
Kids (1995). Literally picked off the street to play Ruby, one of the film's titular teens, Dawson -- who is of Puerto Rican, Cuban, Black, Irish, and Native American heritage -- had never acted before being cast in the film. Following
Kids, she next appeared in
Spike Lee's
He Got Game (1998) and that same year starred in
Side Streets, a series of vignettes about life in New York's five boroughs. Faithful to her New York roots through and through, Dawson has continued to star in films set in her hometown, including
Light It Up (1999), a drama that cast the actress as an honors student caught up in a hostage situation, and
Down to You (2000), a romantic comedy in which she played a freewheeling stoner. After jamming with
Josie and the Pussycats (2001) and landing on the
Sidewalks of New York as a teacher dealing with a failed marriage. In 2002 Dawson had the distinction of appearing in two different science-fiction comedies that met dissimilar fates at the box office. She stepped into the female leading Men in Black 2 after
Linda Fiorentino decided to opt out of the successful sequel, but Dawson also appeared alongside
Eddie Murphy in the infamous bomb
The Adventures of Pluto Nash. She continued to move between big budget films like
The Rundown with more independently minded efforts like
Shattered Glass. In 2004 Dawson took on the part of the feisty woman who marries
Alexander. She showcased her versatility in 2005 by appearing in two very different films. She took on the part of HIV positive drug addict Mimi Marquez in the big-screen adaptation of
Rent, and played a hardened prostitute in
Robert Rodriguez'
Sin City. She also became involved in a legal dispute concerning her maintaining a rent-free dwelling in New York City. She continued working for interesting directors in 2006 playing in
Killshot for
John Madden, and being the most famous person cast in a major role, as the love interest for the directionless Dante Hicks, in
Kevin Smith's Clerks 2. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide