Full Name:
Michelle Rodriguez
Birthdate:
July 12, 1978
Birth Place:
Bexar County, TX
Height:
5? 6?
Career Start:
Cradle Will Rock (1999)
AA Ranking:
#31 most searched Celeb
Mayte Michelle Rodríguez[1] (born July 12, 1978), better known as Michelle Rodríguez, is an American actress, known for her
role in the television series Lost and films The Fast and the Furious, S.W.A.T., and Resident Evil.
Biography
Early life
Rodríguez was born in San Antonio, Texas to Carmen Milady (née Pared), a native of the Dominican Republic, and Rafael
Rodríguez, a Puerto Rican who served in the military.[2] 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.[3][4] 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.
Career
Rodríguez won her first role, in the low-budget independent film, Girlfight (2000), after attending her first audition,
having run across an ad for an open casting call. She beat 350 other applicants for the starring part of Diana Guzman, a
troubled teen who decides to channel her aggression by training to become a boxer. Rodríguez’s performance was recognized by
both critics and audiences. Despite major industry buzz of a possible Academy Award nomination, she did not receive the Oscar
nom. 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 Ciritics Sierra Awards and many others and 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”. 2002 also saw her play Eden in the surfer girlpower flick Blue Crush.
In 2004, Rodríguez gave her voice to the hit video game “Halo 2?, playing one of the Marines. She also currently provides 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).
Last year, Rodríguez was featured in her own episode of G4’s show Icons. Battle in Seattle, her latest film, is due for
release in December 2007, and it has recently been announced that she will costar in James Cameron’s upcoming scifi adventure
Avatar.[5]
Personal life
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. In 2001, Rodríguez then dated her The Fast and the Furious
co-star, Vin Diesel.[6] In 2006, she expressed a romantic interest in Irish actor and S.W.A.T. co-star, Colin Farrell.[7] In
July 2006, Rodriguez told UK’s Cosmopolitan magazine that she was not gay, but had “experimented with both sexes”.[8] 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.[9][10][11] 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.”[12]
Most recently, Rodriguez was linked by newspapers to Kylie Minogue’s ex Olivier Martinez after the two were seen dining at
Chateau Marmont. Eye witnesses claim Rodriguez spent the night at his hotel room. The two have been spotted together several
times over the course of the last 4 years, this being the most recent.[13]
Curve controversy
In June 2007 Curve ran a cover widely considered to be trailing an interview in which Rodriguez would out herself. In
reality, Rodriguez never actually did an interview with the magazine and therefore in response, used her blog to deny lesbian
rumors and accuse the magazine of attempting to “out” her[14]. On her official website she said the following: [15]
As far as rumors go of me coming out, I guess curve magazine took it upon themselves to out me on the premise of their own
suspicions. Whatever, I’m not insulted, I have a big lesbian following, and for whatever reasons they show me love I’m never
going to shun, disrespect or neglect anybody who shows me genuine non-psychotic Love. But I will Say this, to put words in
someone’s mouth and place people in categories affects them for sure, especially in this business. I don’t know what the
intent behind the curve magazine cover was. I wasn’t informed of it, I had no Idea they were planning on using my image to
sell magazines. By the way I only got kicked out of five schools not six…
Look, I guess what I’m trying to say ultimately is that, if I wanted people to know what I do with my Vagina I would have
released A sex video a long time ago. Yet i haven’t done that. You know why? Because extremists can rarely be mediators, mass
communicators, or chameleons for that matter. I have bin an extremist in my personal life, Yes. Yet I have never really over
stepped the boundaries consciously in the public eye. I have really focused on specific types of films for that very reason,
I don’t need to be limited by judgmental labels, especially in a society ruled mostly by an MTV A.D.D. mentality. See, I even
labeled, It’s almost second nature to the generation Y culture, and what about the popular culture groups that buy up all the
US Weekly’s, In Touch’s, Hello’s And the readers of sites like Perez Hilton.com.
If I were Ellen I may get away with: ‘ The I’m Gay’ level of exposure, but I’m not a comedian, I like men; (real ones anyway)
and I’ve only been in this business for 7 years, not 20. Years of recognition can give a person lots of leverage especially
if you have many years of positive recognition under your belt. There are certain things that can close doors between a
celebrity and certain audiences. Especially in a world where walls are constantly being put up by people seeking comfort and
groups to belong to. There is so much out there, over-saturation of music, media, Agenda News, war, political drama, high
school prom drama, image drama, religion drama, Bully drama. All this drama is caused by one thing, not understanding the
true meaning of communication and the real power behind it. It’s tough to learn, I’m working on it myself, but when people
come out of nowhere and put words in my mouth or call me Gay, they should really think for one second How they could truly
affect my life by doing such things. You don’t know what producer, director, would be husband or future audience member may
be influenced by these opinions and media content.
Asked about the Curve issue, Rodriguez told E Online,
“People are gonna say what they say. It’s like Eminem…I am whatever you say I am. Free press…it’s all good—the more, the
merrier. Just as long as it doesn’t mess up my flow if I ever want some shows, ya know? That would suck”.[16]
In the July/August 2007 issue of Curve, editors responded to this 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 Perez Hilton posted in his blog that she had come out in Curve after
seeing her on the cover and assuming it was a coming out story. The Curve website did describe her as a ‘bi bad girl’ on the
cover initially, but later removed their ‘bi’ label in reprints. Rodriguez has never denied being bisexual.
Legal troubles
In March 2002, Rodríguez was arrested for assault after getting into a fight with her roommate.[17] The charges were later
dropped after the roommate declined to press the allegations in court.[18]
In November 2003, Rodriguez went to court to face eight misdemeanor charges based on two driving incidents including a hit
and run and DUI.[19] In June 2004, Rodríguez pleaded no contest in Los Angeles to three of the charges: hit and run, drunken
driving, and driving with a suspended license.[20] 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.[21]
In 2005, while filming Lost in Hawaii, Rodríguez was pulled over by Honolulu police multiple times; she was cited for driving
83 mph in a 55 mph zone on Oahu on Nov. 1 and was fined $357, paid a $300 fine for driving 90 mph in a 35 mph zone on Oct.
20, was fined $197 for going 80 mph in a 50 mph zone on August 24.[22] On December 1, 2005, Rodríguez and her Lost co-star,
Cynthia Watros were separately pulled over and arrested for driving under the influence.[23] Rodríguez pleaded not guilty
when arraigned,[24] 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.[20]
Rodríguez cited her high doses of allergy-relieving steroids as part of the reason for her erratic behaviour.[25] The fact
that her and Watros’ characters were killed off (appropriately enough, in an episode titled Two for the Road) led some fans
to believe that it was a result of the arrests, however Rodriguez and producers said their exit from the show had been
planned before the season began and the arrests were just coincidental. Her hiatus from movie roles from 2003 to 2007 also
led fans to believe she was being temporarily blacklisted for her legal troubles.
Because the Kailua incident was a violation of her Los Angeles probation, Rodríguez 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.[26] Because of overcrowding, she was released from jail on the same day
she entered it. As of June 2006, she will still have to serve the community service.[27] She wrote about the experience on
her blog.[28]
In September 2007 however, 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 25, 2006, but later admitted she was actually in New York City that day. Her lawyer claimed it
was a clerical error. On October 10, 2007, following a hearing, she was sentenced to 180 days jail time after admitting to
violating her probation, stemming from those charges. The Judge in the case ordered that Rodriguez not be granted a work
furlough, early release or home confinement and must remain in jail for the entire 180 days. [29]
Filmography
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Michelle Rodriguez
Film
Girlfight (2000) - Diana Guzmán
The Fast and the Furious (2001) - Letty
3 A.M. (2001) - Salgado
Resident Evil (2002) - Rain Ocampo
Blue Crush (2002) - Eden
S.W.A.T. (2003) - Chris Sánchez
Control (2004) - Teresa
BloodRayne (2005) - Katarin
The Breed (2006) - Nicki
Battle in Seattle (2007) - Lou Castille
Avatar (2009) - Ex-Marine pilot, name TBA
TV
Lost - Ana Lucia Cortez
Video games
Driver 3 - Calita (voice)
Halo 2 - Marine (voice)
True Crime: Streets of LA - Rosie Velasco
Anime
Immortal Grand Prix - Liz Ricarro
Documentaries
Adventures in Voice Acting - Herself
Latest News:
Actress Michelle Rodriguez is seen after leaving court Friday Sept. 28, 2007 in Los Angeles. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has sentenced former “Lost” star Rodriguez to six months in jail for failing to complete the community service and alcohol monitoring required by her probation sentence.
Former “Lost” star Michelle Rodriguez was sentenced Wednesday to six months in jail for failing to complete community service and alcohol monitoring as part of her probation from a previous drunk driving incident.
Rodriguez appeared before Superior Court Judge Daviann L. Mitchell, who ordered her to report to the county jail on Christmas Eve, the city attorney’s office said.
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Rodriguez “admitted violation of her probation by failing to provide proof of community service and by consuming alcohol three times while wearing an alcohol monitoring device,” City Attorney spokesman Frank Mateljan said.
“She did file a document that said she completed community service on September 25th, but we obtained evidence that she was in New York that day,” Mateljan said.
The document was required as part of 30 days of community service Rodriguez was ordered to serve for violating probation in a 2003 drunken driving case.
Mitchell ordered Rodriguez to complete the community service cleaning streets and highways, and prohibited her from being granted early release for work furlough or electronic monitoring, Mateljan said.
Calls to Rodriguez’s attorney Wednesday were not immediately returned.
Rodriguez was on three years probation after pleading no contest to hit-and-run, driving on a suspended license and drunken driving in connection with two incidents in Hollywood in 2003.
She violated her probation when she was arrested in Hawaii on a drunken driving charge in 2005.
Rodriguez was ordered to spend 60 days in jail, but served less than a day because of jail overcrowding in May 2006. She was then ordered to perform community service and remain on probation until June 2009.
Rodriguez appeared in one season of ABC’s “Lost.” Her film credits include “The Fast and The Furious,” “Blue Crush” and “Girlfight.”