Michelle Rodriguez Biography

Michelle Rodriguez was born Mayte Michelle Rodriguez on July 12, 1978, in San Antonio, Texas, USA. Her mother Carmen Milady Rodriguez is a Dominican and her father Rafael Rodriguez, who served in the US Army, was a Puerto Rican. She has many siblings and half-siblings.

When she was eight, she moved to Dominican Republic with her mother, and stayed there until she turned 11. Her maternal grandmother raised her for some time. The elderly lady was quite religious and raised Michelle as a Jehovah's Witnesses. Michelle later abandoned the faith.

Much later in her life, she became part of a television program titled ‘Finding Your Roots,’ where a DNA test was conducted on her, according to which her ancestry is 72.4% European, 21.3% African, and 6.3% Native American. She stated that her father had a light complexion and her mother has a dark complexion, giving rise to some racial conflicts within the family.

A wild teenager, she was expelled from five schools due to her unruly behavior. She dropped out of high school mid-way, but later earned her GED.

She also attended a business school for a short period of time, before dropping out to pursue a career in acting. Her goal was to become an actress, screenwriter, and director.

Michelle Rodriguez landed her first role in a low-budget film titled ‘Girlfight’ in 2000. She landed the role after surpassing 350 other applicants. She had attended the audition after seeing an advertisement. She portrayed ‘Diana Guzman,’ an arrogant teen, who channels her aggression by training to become a boxer.

She played several important roles in successful movies over the ensuing years. One of them was the action crime film ‘The Fast and the Furious’ in 2001. Her portrayal of ‘Letty’ was highly appreciated.

In the science fiction action horror film ‘Resident Evil’ in 2002, she played the role of ‘Rain Ocampo.’ Next, she appeared in ‘Blue Crush,’ a sports film in 2002. In 2003, she was seen in the American action crime thriller film ‘S.W.A.T.’

In 2004, she voiced a character in the video game ‘Halo 2.’ She also voiced ‘Liz Ricarro’ in the Cartoon Network series ‘IGPX.’

She appeared in ‘Lost,’ a television series, from 2005 to 2006. She appeared in the second season of the show, in which she played a tough cop named ‘Ana Lucia Cortez.’ She also did a cameo in the second episode of the fifth season titled ‘The Lie’ in 2009. She appeared in another episode of the show titled ‘What They Died For’ in 2010.

Meanwhile in 2006, she appeared in an episode of G4's ‘Icons,’ a documentary TV show. In 2008, she appeared in ‘Battle in Seattle,’ a political drama film, alongside Charlize Theron and Woody Harrelson.

In 2009, she starred in the fourth installment of ‘The Fast and the Furious’ film series. That same year, she was also cast in the high-budget sci-fi movie ‘Avatar.’ She also featured in ‘Trópico de Sangre,’ an independent film based on the Mirabal sisters.

In 2010, she appeared in Robert Rodriguez's action film ‘Machete.’ The next year, she was seen alongside Aaron Eckhart in the science fiction film ‘Battle: Los Angeles.’

In 2012, she reprised her role as ‘Rain Ocampo’ in the science fiction action horror film ‘Resident Evil: Retribution.’ In 2013, she reprised her roles as ‘Letty’ and ‘Luz’ in ‘Fast & Furious 6’ and ‘Machete Kills’ respectively. The same year, she said that she is working as a scriptwriter for several projects.

In 2015, she starred in ‘Furious 7.’ In 2017, she voiced ‘Smurf Storm’ in ‘Smurfs: The Lost Village.’ The same year, she also starred in ‘The Fate of the Furious.’ In 2019, she played an uncredited cameo in the American cyberpunk action film ‘Alita: Battle Angel.

Her debut film ‘Girlfight’ became her first successful movie. It received several awards and nominations. ‘Avatar’ is her most commercially successful film to date. Her movie ‘Battle: Los Angeles’ collected over US $200 million worldwide. In 2015, ‘Furious 7’ collected over $1.5 billion worldwide. ‘The Fate of the Furious’ achieved a record-breaking collection for an opening day.

In 2001, Michelle Rodriguez won several awards for ‘Girlfight.’ These awards include ‘Deauville Film Festival Award’ under the ‘Best Female Performance’ category, ‘Independent Spirit Award’ under the ‘Best Debut Performance’ category, ‘National Board of Review Award’ under the ‘Best Breakthrough Performance by an Actress’ category, and ‘Gotham Award’ under the ‘Breakthrough Actor’ category.

In 2002, she earned an ‘Imagen Foundation Award’ for ‘S.W.A.T.’ In 2005, she won the prestigious ‘Screen Actors Guild Award’ for ‘Lost.’

After breaking off her engagement with a Muslim boyfriend in 2000, Michelle Rodriguez has dated several actors, including Olivier Martinez, Vin Diesel, Zac Efron, and Cara Delevingne.

In March 2002, she was arrested for assaulting her roommate, but the charges were dropped later as her roommate didn’t want to deal the matter in court.

In November 2003, she faced eight charges related to driving. The charges included a hit and run case and driving under the influence. In June 2004, she pleaded no contest to three of the charges—hit and run, driving under the influence, and driving with a wrong license.

Eventually, she went to prison for 48 hours, and performed community service at the morgues of two hospitals in New York. She also had to attend a three-month alcohol rehabilitation program, and was placed on probation for three years.

In 2005, Honolulu police arrested her for violating speed limits, and also for driving under the influence. In April 2006, she was found guilty of driving under the influence, and was bailed out with US $500 fine. She also had to serve a five-day sentence in prison.

For violating her probation in Los Angeles, she was sentenced to two months in prison. However, since the prison was overcrowded, she was released the same day. She also had to complete a 30-day alcohol rehabilitation program. She also did 30 days of community service.

In September 2007, she was sentenced to 180 days in prison for not completing her community service. However, she was released after 18 days as the prison was overcrowded.