Rosario Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress and singer best known for playing Mimi Marquez in the film version of the Tony Award Winning Musical Rent, and most recently as a lead character in Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof.
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 He Got Game, 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) and the live-action film adaptation of Josie and the Pussycats.
In 1999, Dawson teamed up with Prince for the re-release of his 1980s hit "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. The same year she appeared in The Chemical Brothers' video for the song "Out of Control" from the album Surrender. 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. 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.[10]
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. 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.
