Printable Biography of Michelle Rodriguez

Mayte Michelle Rodríguez (born July 12, 1978), better known as Michelle Rodríguez, is a American actress, known for her role in the television series Lost and action films Girlfight, The Fast and the Furious, Resident Evil and S.W.A.T..

Rodríguez was born in Bexar County, Texas, the daughter of Carmen Milady (née Pared), a native of the Dominican Republic, and Rafael Rodríguez, a Puerto Rican who served in the US military. She has a total of ten half-siblings or siblings. She was raised by her devoutly religious maternal grandmother and was brought up in her mother's Jehovah's Witnesses religion. Rodríguez moved to the Dominican Republic with her mother when she was eight and lived in Puerto Rico when she was 11, later settling in Jersey City, New Jersey. She dropped out of high school at age 17 and later earned her GED.

Having run across an ad for an open casting call and attending her first audition, Rodríguez beat 350 other applicants to win her first role in the low-budget 2000 independent film, Girlfight. Rodríguez's performance as Diana Guzman, a troubled teen who decides to channel her aggression by training to become a boxer, was recognized by both critics and audiences, but despite major industry buzz of a possible Academy Award nomination, she did not receive the Oscar nod. Rodríguez did however accumulate several other significant awards and nominations for the role in independent circles, including major acting accolades from the National Board of Review, Deauville Film Festival, Independent Spirit Awards, Gotham Awards, Las Vegas Film Critics Sierra Awards, and many others. The film itself took home top prizes at both the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals.

Subsequently, she has had notable roles in other successful movies, including S.W.A.T., The Fast and the Furious and Resident Evil. In 2002, she was ranked #77 in Stuff magazine’s “102 Sexiest Women In The World”, and #34 in Maxim’s "100 Sexiest Women". That same year, Rodríguez portrayed Eden in the surfer girlpower flick Blue Crush.

In 2004, Rodríguez lent her voice to the video game Halo 2, playing a Marine. She also provided the voice of Liz Ricarro in the Cartoon Network series IGPX. From 2005 to 2006, she played tough cop Ana Lucia Cortez 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).

In 2006, Rodríguez was featured in her own episode of G4's show Icons. Her latest film, Battle in Seattle, is released in the U.S. in March 2008. She recently wrapped filming in New Zealand for James Cameron's sci-fi adventure Avatar, due out in December 2009.

In early 2000, Rodríguez broke off a near engagement to a Muslim boyfriend, citing opposition to religious requirements he demanded of her, which included covering herself completely. At one time, Rodríguez dated her The Fast and the Furious co-star, Vin Diesel. In 2006, she "had her eye on" Irish actor and S.W.A.T. co-star, Colin Farrell. In July 2006, Rodriguez told UK's Cosmopolitan magazine that she was not gay, but had "experimented with both sexes". In November of 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. Asked about the relationship in April 2007, Kristanna Loken said, "We're great friends. She'll always remain a great, close friend of mine. I'll always love Michelle".

In June 2007, Curve ran a cover describing her as a "bad bi girl" and considered by many to be trailing an interview in which Rodríguez would out herself. Rodríguez never even did an interview with the magazine however, and therefore in response used her blog to express her feelings on the issue. In the July/August 2007 issue of Curve, editors responded to her criticism by stating: "If you read the article, you will see that the author did not, in fact, 'out' Rodríguez; rather, the article stated both that 'Rodríguez has never publicly come out' and 'Rodríguez has said she is not a lesbian." The editors stated that the misunderstanding arose when the Perez Hilton blog posted that she had come out in Curve after seeing her on the cover and assuming it was a coming out story.

In early 2007, Rodriguez was seen having dinner with Kylie Minogue's ex Olivier Martinez at Chateau Marmont Hotel. Rodríguez reportedly spent the night at the hotel. The two had been spotted together two years earlier.