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Dawson was born in New York City to
Isabel, a Bronx-born professional vocalist, and Greg Dawson, a
construction worker. The two are now divorced. Her father is of Irish and
Native American ancestry, and her mother is of Afro-Cuban ancestry.
Dawson grew up on Manhattan's Lower East Side and has a brother named
Clay. She and her family squatted in an abandoned building during most of
her childhood. While attending school, she had aspirations of becoming a
marine biologist.
Dawson's acting career began when filmmaker Larry Clark saw her on a
Manhattan stoop and asked her to be in his film Kids. Dawson's performance
was critically praised, and as a result she decided to pursue a career in
acting. She attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. Dawson
has worked steadily since her debut, with a mixed amount of commercial and
critical success. As of 2007, she has worked with such notable directors
as Oliver Stone, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith, and
Spike Lee, and costarred with the likes of Will Smith, Edward Norton, Taye
Diggs, Clive Owen, and Colin Farrell.
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 The
Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.
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.
In 2005 Dawson appeared in a graphically violent scene in the Rob Zombie
film The Devil's Rejects. Though the scene was cut from the final film, it
is available in the deleted scenes on the DVD release.
In 2006's Clerks II, Dawson starred as Becky, the crush-turned-wife of
Dante Hicks. As she mentioned in the making of documentary, Back to the
Well, the donkey show sequence was what made her decide to appear in the
movie. In May of the same year, Dawson, an avid comic book fan, co-created
the comic book miniseries Occult Crimes Taskforce. She was at the 2007
Comic-Con to promote her new comic book miniseries.
In 2007, Dawson teamed up with friend Talia Lugacy, whom she met at the
Lee Strasberg Academy, to produce and star in Descent. On July 7, 2007
Dawson presented at the American leg of Live Earth.
Dawson dated former Sex and the City star Jason Lewis for two years. They
lived together in Los Angeles until they separated in November 2006. She
is currently reported to be dating another Sex and the City cast member,
Andrea Boccaletti. She has also been rumored to have dated Dawson's Creek
star Joshua Jackson, and Jay-Z. She is rumored to be the subject of the
latter's song, "Lost One."
For her 27th birthday party, she asked Guns N' Roses to perform. At the
event, Axl Rose and Tommy Hilfiger got into a physical altercation which
garnered some press attention.
Dawson is involved with the Lower East Side Girls Club and supports other
charities such as environmental group Global Cool, the ONE Campaign,
Oxfam, Amnesty International, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians
and Gays, Stay Close.org (a poster and public service ad campaign for
PFLAG where she is featured with her uncle Frank Jump)International Rescue
Committee, Voto Latino, and she participated in the Vagina Monologues.
Dawson is a big Boston Red Sox fan. She is also a Trekkie and speaks a
little Klingon. |
