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Michelle Rodriguez

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Michelle Rodriguez
Rodriguez in February 2012
Born
Mayte Michelle Rodríguez

(1978-07-12) July 12, 1978 (age 46)
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active2000–present
Websitewww.michelle-rodriguez.com

Mayte Michelle Rodríguez[1] (born July 12, 1978)[2] is an American actress. Following her breakout role in Girlfight (2000), she has played tough girls and starred in Hollywood blockbusters such as The Fast and the Furious (2001), Resident Evil (2002), S.W.A.T. (2003), Avatar (2009), Fast & Furious (2009), Machete (2010), Battle: Los Angeles (2011), Resident Evil: Retribution (2012), Fast and Furious 6 (2013), and Machete Kills (2013). She is also known for her role as Ana Lucia Cortez in the second season of the television series Lost (2005–2010).

Early life

Rodriguez was born in San Antonio, Texas. Her mother, Carmen Milady (née Pared Espinal), is a native of the Dominican Republic, and her father, Rafael Rodriguez, is Puerto Rican and served in the United States Army.[3][4][5] She has a total of ten siblings and half-siblings. She was partly raised by her devoutly religious maternal grandmother and was brought up a Jehovah's Witness (her mother's religion), though she has since abandoned that faith.[6][7]

Rodriguez moved to the Dominican Republic with her mother when she was eight and lived there until the age of eleven, later settling in Jersey City, New Jersey. She dropped out of high school but later earned her GED;[8] in total she was expelled from five schools.[9] Rodriguez briefly attended business school before quitting to pursue a career in acting, with the ultimate goal of becoming a writer and director.[10]

Career

Rodriguez at the New York Fashion Week, spring 2006

Having run across an ad for an open casting call and attending her first audition, Rodriguez beat 350 other applicants to win her first role in the low-budget 2000 independent film Girlfight. With her performance as Diana Guzman, a troubled teen who decides to channel her aggression by training to become a boxer,[11] Rodriguez accumulated several awards and nominations for the role in independent circles, including major acting accolades from the National Board of Review, Deauville Film Festival,[12] Independent Spirit Awards,[13] Gotham Awards,[14] Las Vegas Film Critics Sierra Awards, and many others. The film itself took home a top prize at the Sundance[15] and won Award of the Youth at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2002, she had a cameo appearance in Ja Rule's music video for his song Always On Time.

Subsequently, she has had notable roles in other successful movies, including The Fast and the Furious, Resident Evil, Blue Crush, and S.W.A.T..[16] In 2004, Rodriguez lent her voice to the video game Halo 2, playing a Marine.[17] She also provided the voice of Liz Ricarro in the Cartoon Network series IGPX.[18] From 2005 to 2006, she played tough cop Ana Lucia Cortez[19] on the television series Lost during the show's second season (the character's first appearance was a flashback on season 1's finale, Exodus: Part 1), and returned for a cameo in the second episode of the show's fifth season The Lie in 2009 and again in the penultimate episode of the series What They Died For in 2010. In 2006, Rodriguez was featured in her own episode of G4's show Icons.[20]

In 2008, she appeared in Battle in Seattle alongside Charlize Theron.[21] Rodriguez next appeared in the fourth installment of the The Fast and the Furious franchise,[22] which was titled simply Fast & Furious and released to theaters on April 3, 2009.[23] Rodriguez starred in James Cameron's high-budget sci-fi adventure film Avatar, which was released to theaters on December 18, 2009. The film became the highest-grossing film in history and Rodriguez's most successful film to date. She has also expressed interest in returning for the film's two sequels.[24][25]

She starred in Trópico de Sangre, an independent film based on the Dominican Republic's historic Mirabal sisters who were assassinated in 1960 by the Dominican dictator Trujillo for opposing his rule, the same year.[26][27]

Michelle Rodriguez (left) and Aaron Eckhart (right), along with director Jonathan Liebesman at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International

In 2010, Rodriguez appeared in Robert Rodriguez's Machete, which also co-starred Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro and Steven Seagal. The film was opened to mostly positive reviews and earned $44 million in the box-office on a $10 million budget.[28] In 2011, she appeared with Aaron Eckhart in the science fiction film Battle: Los Angeles which grossed over $200 million in the worldwide box office.

As of July 20, 2010, Rodriguez's films have grossed $1,272,734,719 in the United States and $3,686,521,043 worldwide.[29] In 2012, Rodriguez returned in Resident Evil: Retribution to play the good clone and bad clone of Rain Ocampo. In 2013, she will reprise her role as Leticia "Letty" Ortiz in Fast Six. In 2013, Rodriguez will appear in Robert Rodriguez's film Machete Kills.

Typecast

Following her debut in Girlfight, Rodriguez has consistently portrayed tough girl, tomboyish characters that operate in traditional male fields such as the police force or armed forces, and die during the course of the story. Rodriguez says that she does not mind the typecasting, and in fact, is somewhat responsible for it:[30]

Oh man, I was typecast the minute I did a film called Girlfight years ago. That has nothing to do with anything, it just has to do with… you allow yourself to be typecast. If I decided I didn't want to be typecast tomorrow I'd just go do an indie film where I play some poor girl who goes through some excruciating experience and win myself an award for crying or being raped [breaks into laughter] or playing someone with mental illness. But at the end of the day I'm not in it for the acting. If I were in it for the acting then I would be worried about people not giving me the opportunity to express my vast array of emotions on the screen.

I couldn't give two shits. I only wanna be someone I respect or someone that I consider interesting or fun. I'm here to entertain people and make a statement about female empowerment and strength and that's what I've done for the last 10 years, and people can call it typecast, but I pigeonholed myself and I put myself in that box for saying no to everything else that came on my plate. Saying no to the girlfriend, saying no to the girl that gets captured, no to this, no to that and eventually I just got left with the strong chick that's always being killed and there's nothing wrong with that.

Notable rankings

Several times over the course of her career, she has been ranked in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women In The World", Maxim's "100 Sexiest Women", and People en Español's "50 Más Bellos", and was ranked No.74 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2009".

Writing

Rodriguez is currently working on two screenplays. One is a family film based on a concept which she describes as "a 2012 story about purity and animals and children"[31] and the other is a revision of an American remake of the 1997 German film Bandits which she describes as a film "about four girls who break out of jail and get chased across the country by the feds and by this MTV-like representative".[32]

Personal life

A DNA test of Rodriguez, performed by the television program "Finding Your Roots", on PBS, stated that her ancestry is 72.4% European, 21.3% African, and 6.3% Native American.[33] She also stated on the program that there was some racial conflict between her families since her Puerto Rican father, Rafael, was light-skinned, and her Dominican mother, Carmen, had a dark complexion.

Relationships

Rodriguez in December 2009

In early 2000, Rodriguez broke off a near engagement to a Muslim boyfriend, citing opposition to religious requests he made of her.[34] She has since dated or reportedly been linked with her Fast and the Furious co-star Vin Diesel,[35] and SWAT co-star Olivier Martinez.[36][37]

In July 2006, Rodriguez told UK's Cosmopolitan magazine that she was not lesbian, but had "experimented with both sexes."[38] In November 2006, her openly bisexual Bloodrayne co-star Kristanna Loken's comments to The Advocate were widely interpreted and reported by the media as an admission that the two were in a relationship, though the relationship was never officially confirmed by either actress.[39]

In June 2007, the lesbian magazine Curve ran a cover story that claimed Rodriguez to be bisexual.[40] Rodriguez criticized the magazine for this, asserting that the magazine "put words in (her) mouth".[41] She again stated that she was not a lesbian in a November 2008 interview in the Dominican women's magazine Cayena.[42]

In March 2002, Rodriguez was arrested for assault after getting into a fight with her roommate.[43] The charges were later dropped after the roommate declined to press the allegations in court.[44]

In November 2003, Rodriguez went to court to face eight misdemeanor charges based on two driving incidents including a hit and run and DUI.[45] In June 2004, Rodriguez pleaded no contest in Los Angeles to three of the charges: hit and run, drunken driving, and driving with a suspended license.[46] She went to jail for 48 hours, performed community service at the morgues of two New York hospitals, completed a three-month alcohol program, and was placed on probation for three years.[47]

In 2005, while filming Lost in Hawaii, Rodriguez was pulled over by Honolulu police multiple times; she was cited for driving at 83 mph (134 km/h) in a 55 mph (89 km/h) zone on Oahu on November 1, and was fined $357, paid a $300 fine for driving 90 mph (140 km/h) in a 35 mph (56 km/h) zone on October 20, was fined $197 for going 80 mph (130 km/h) in a 50 mph (80 km/h) zone on August 24.[48]

On December 1, 2005, Rodriguez was pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence.[49] Rodriguez pleaded not guilty when arraigned,[50] but on the day of her trial in April 2006, she pleaded guilty to one charge of driving under the influence. She chose to pay a $500 fine and spend five days in jail instead of doing 240 hours of community service.[46] Rodriguez cited her high doses of allergy-relieving steroids as part of the reason for her erratic behavior.[51] Because the Kailua incident was a violation of her Los Angeles probation, Rodriguez was sentenced to 60 days in jail, a 30 day alcohol rehabilitation program and another 30 days of community service, including work for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, by a judge in Los Angeles on May 1, 2006.[52] Because of overcrowding, she was released from jail on the same day she entered. She wrote about the experience on her blog.[53]

In September 2007, Rodriguez allegedly violated her probation by not completing her community service and not following an alcohol education program. It was reported that Rodriguez originally submitted a document stating she performed community service on September 5, 2006, but it was later confirmed she was actually in New York City that day. Her lawyer claimed it was a clerical error.[54] On October 10, 2007, following a hearing, she was sentenced to 180 days jail time after agreeing to admit to violating her probation. She was expected to spend the full 180-day term in jail, as she had been deemed ineligible for work furloughs and house arrest.[55] However, after turning herself in to begin the jail term at the Century Regional Detention Facility located in Lynwood, California, on December 23, 2007,[56] Rodriguez was released eighteen days later on January 9, 2008, due to overcrowding.[57]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Girlfight Diana Guzman Deauville Film Festival Prize for Best Female Performance
Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance
National Board of Review Award for Best Breakthrough Performance by an Actress
Gotham Award for Breakthrough Performance
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Female Newcomer
Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Newcomer
Nominated – Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
Nominated – Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cinematic Debut/Breakthrough
Nominated – Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress
Nominated – Black Reel Award: Best Actress
Nominated – ALMA Award for Outstanding Latino Cast in a Feature Film
2001 The Fast and the Furious Leticia "Letty" Ortiz Nominated – ALMA Award for Best Actress in Film
2001 3 A.M. Salgado Nominated – ALMA Award for Outstanding Actor/Actress in a Made for Television Movie or Miniseries
2002 Blue Crush Eden Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Team (with Kate Bosworth and Sanoe Lake)
2002 Resident Evil Rain Ocampo
2003 S.W.A.T. Officer Chris Sanchez Imagen Foundation Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Film
2004 Control Teresa
2005 BloodRayne Katarin
2006 The Breed Nicki
2007 Battle in Seattle Lou
2008 Cats: The Movie Jujube Voice
2008 Gardens of the Night Lucy
2009 Fast & Furious Leticia "Letty" Ortiz Nominated – ALMA Award for Actress in a Film
2009 Trópico de Sangre Minerva Mirabal
2009 Avatar Captain Trudy Chacon
2010 Machete Luz / Shé
2011 Battle: Los Angeles Technical Sergeant Elana Santos Nominated – ALMA Award for Favorite Movie Actress-Drama/Adventure
2011 Citizen Jane Charlotte Jane Foster
2011 Fast Five Leticia "Letty" Ortiz Cameo, Picture only
2012 Resident Evil: Retribution Rain Ocampo[58]
2013 InAPPropriate Comedy Harriet
2013 Fast & Furious 6 Leticia "Letty" Ortiz
2013 Machete Kills Luz / Shé
2013 Turbo
2013 Unity

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Punk'd Herself 1 episode
2005 Immortal Grand Prix Liz Ricarro 26 episodes
2005–10 Lost Ana Lucia Cortez 26 episodes
ALMA Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Television Series
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television
2007 Adventures in Voice Acting Herself 1 episode
2010 Top Gear Herself 1 episode
2011 Curiosity Herself 1 episode: Alien Invasion, Are We Ready?
2013 SpongeBob SquarePants
2013 American Dad Jenny Smith

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2003 True Crime: Streets of LA Rosie Velasco
2003 Driv3r Calita
2004 Halo 2 Marine
2009 James Cameron's Avatar: The Game Captain Trudy Chacon
2012 Call of Duty: Black Ops II Strike Force Soldier

References

  1. ^ "Official Site Biography". Michelle-Rodriguez.com. Retrieved February 7, 2007.
  2. ^ Rebecca Flint Marx (2008). "Michelle Rodriguez:Biography". MSN. Retrieved August 27, 2008.
  3. ^ Angie Romero (April 15, 2009). "Michelle Rodriguez: "I Feel Like I'm Being Born Again"". Latina. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  4. ^ "Michelle Rodriguez Biography (1978–)". Film Reference. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  5. ^ Stated on Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., May 20, 2012, PBS
  6. ^ "Michelle Rodriguez: in role after role, she has kicked the stereotype of the token female in the teeth, leaving an imprint all her own". 2003. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved December 25, 2007. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "The Religious Affiliation of Actress Michelle Rodriguez". World Religions. August 11, 2005. Retrieved December 25, 2007.
  8. ^ "Michelle Rodriguez- Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  9. ^ Raphael, Amy (April 11, 2009). "Amy Raphael interviews Michelle Rodriguez". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved November 13, 2010.
  10. ^ "Michelle Rodriguez Official Biography". Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved June 6, 2008.
  11. ^ "A Conversation About "Girlfight"; October 27, 2000". Charlierose.com. October 27, 2000. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  12. ^ FilmFestivals.com. ""Girlfight" a Winner". Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  13. ^ FilmFestivals.com. ""Girlfight" a Winner". Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  14. ^ IFP Gotham Independent Film Awards. "Gothan Awards Recipients" (PDF). Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  15. ^ Los Angeles Times (January 30, 2000). "'Girlfight,' 'Count on Me' Tie at Sundance". Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  16. ^ "S.W.A.T." TV Guide. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  17. ^ "Interview: Michelle Rodriguez in Halo 2". Gamestar. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  18. ^ "The Ghost Cast & Crew List". The Big Cartoon Database. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  19. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (November 15, 2005). "She loves acting tough on 'Lost'". Daily News. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  20. ^ "ICONS: Michelle Rodriguez Episode #6004". G4 Media. June 24, 2006. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  21. ^ "Battle in Seattle". Miami Herald Media. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  22. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (March 26, 2009). "What a Stunt! Can They Do It Again?". New York Times. Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  23. ^ ""Universal Shuffles 2009 Schedule"; December 10, 2008". Sfluxe.com. December 10, 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  24. ^ Alasdair Wilkins (December 28, 2010). "Michelle Rodriguez wants to return for Avatar 2". io9.com.
  25. ^ "Michelle Rodriguez Talks Avatar 2". Eonline.com.
  26. ^ IMDB. "Tropico de Sangre". Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  27. ^ El Tiempo. "La historia de las hermanas Mirabal" (in Spanish). Retrieved December 23, 2010.
  28. ^ "Get Your Grindhouse Fix With a New Poster from Robert Rodriguez's Machete". BloodyDisgusting.
  29. ^ "Michelle Rodriguez – Box Office Data Movie Star". The-numbers.com. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  30. ^ "Michelle Rodriquez Responds". Hollywoodnews.com. July 26, 2010.
  31. ^ "Michelle Rodriguez Writing Kids Film"; September 18, 2008
  32. ^ Rodriguez Talks Modern Warfare and Dodging Earthquakes"; December 14, 2009[dead link]
  33. ^ "Adrian Grenier, Michelle Rodriguez, and Linda Chavez (@ the 47:30 mark)". PBS. March 22, 2012.
  34. ^ "Rodriguez Turned Down Muslim Marriage". June 6, 2008.
  35. ^ Wloszczyna, Susan (August 6, 2002). "Vin Diesel, in high gear". Gannett. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  36. ^ "Minogue's Martinez linked to Rodriguez". Contact Music. May 2, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2005.
  37. ^ Kent, Paul (May 2, 2008). "Kylie and Oli on rocks again". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved January 29, 2005.
  38. ^ "LOST girl" (reprint). Cosmopolitan. April 16, 2006. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  39. ^ Kort, Michele (November 15, 2006). "Michelle & Kristanna in love!". The Advocate. PlanetOut Inc. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  40. ^ Michelle Rodriguez 'Curve' cover controversial Retrieved May 2, 2008.
  41. ^ "Michelle Rodriguez Blogs About Curve Article". 2007. Retrieved July 4, 2009. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  42. ^ "Michelle Rodríguez: "RD no debería tener esa mentalidad tan gubernamental"". Cayena. Retrieved November 22, 2008.
  43. ^ Grossberg, Josh (March 20, 2002). ""Girlfight" Star Busted for Girl Fight". E!. Comcast. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  44. ^ Grossberg, Josh (April 8, 2002). ""Girlfight" Star Off the Hook". E!. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  45. ^ Haberman, Lia (November 20, 2003). "Rodriguez: Way 2 Fast 2 Furious". E!. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  46. ^ a b ""Lost" actress chooses jail over service". Associated Press. April 26, 2006. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved July 21, 2006.
  47. ^ Hall, Sarah (December 14, 2005). "Rodriguez: Fast and Furious Driver". E!. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  48. ^ "Michelle Rodriguez settles two traffic cases". Associated Press. December 14, 2005. Retrieved July 21, 2006.
  49. ^ "Two 'Lost' stars charged with drunken driving". Associated Press. December 2, 2005. Retrieved July 21, 2006.
  50. ^ Errico, Marcus (December 29, 2005). ""Lost" Stars Arraigned for DUIs". E!. Retrieved July 21, 2006.
  51. ^ Finn, Natalie (May 22, 2006). "More Jail Time for Michelle Rodriguez". E!. Retrieved July 29, 2006.
  52. ^ Lee, Ken and Silverman, Stephen p. (May 22, 2006). "Michelle Rodriguez Gets 60 Days in Jail". Retrieved February 4, 2007.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  53. ^ ""Michelle Rodriguez Blogs About Arrest and Conviction"; February 16, 2007". Michelle-rodriguez.com. Retrieved March 8, 2010.
  54. ^ Lee, Ken (October 27, 2007). "Michelle Rodriguez Sentenced to Six Months in Jail wow". Retrieved February 10, 2008.
  55. ^ Finn, Natalie (October 10, 2007). "Slammer Time for Michelle Rodriguez". eonline.com.
  56. ^ "Former 'Lost' star Michelle Rodriguez reports for 6-month jail term in California". Associated Press. December 24, 2007. Retrieved December 25, 2007. [dead link]
  57. ^ "Michelle Rodriguez out of jail after 18 days". MSNBC. January 10, 2008. Retrieved February 1, 2008.
  58. ^ Miska, Brad (September 22, 2011). "Michelle Rodriguez Returning for Some 'Retribution'!". Bloody Disgusting. The Collective. Archived from the original on September 23, 2011. Retrieved September 23, 2011. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate=, |date=, and |archivedate= (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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