Michelle Rodriguez facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Michelle Rodriguez
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![]() Rodriguez in 2018
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Born |
Mayte Michelle Rodríguez
July 12, 1978 San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
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Occupation |
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Years active | 1999–present |
Mayte Michelle Rodríguez (born July 12, 1978) is an American actress. She is well-known for her roles in many action and adventure films. Michelle started her acting career in 2000.
She is famous for playing Letty Ortiz in the popular Fast & Furious movie series. She also played Rain Ocampo in the Resident Evil films. Michelle has appeared in other big movies like James Cameron's science fiction hit Avatar (2009) and the action film Battle: Los Angeles (2011).
On television, Michelle played Ana Lucia Cortez in the drama series Lost. She has also lent her voice to animated movies and video games.
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Early Life and Background
Mayte Michelle Rodriguez was born on July 12, 1978, in San Antonio, Texas. Her mother is from the Dominican Republic, and her father was Puerto Rican. He served in the U.S. Army.
Michelle moved around a lot when she was younger. She lived in the Dominican Republic from age eight to eleven. Then, she lived in Puerto Rico until she was 17. Finally, her family settled in Jersey City, New Jersey. She has ten siblings and half-siblings. Michelle was partly raised by her grandmother.
Acting Career Highlights
Michelle Rodriguez got her first acting role after attending an open casting call. She was chosen from 350 other people for the 2000 independent film Girlfight. In this movie, she played Diana Guzman, a strong teenager who learns to become a boxer. Her performance earned her several awards and much praise. The film also won awards at major film festivals like Sundance and Cannes Film Festival.
Michelle has had many important roles in successful films. She played Letty in The Fast and the Furious (2001) and Rain Ocampo in Resident Evil (2002). She also appeared in Blue Crush and S.W.A.T..
In 2004, Michelle used her voice for the video game Halo 2, playing a Marine. She also voiced Liz Ricarro in the Cartoon Network animated series IGPX. From 2005 to 2006, she played a tough police officer named Ana Lucia Cortez in the TV series Lost.
In 2009, Michelle appeared in Fast & Furious, which was the fourth movie in the series. Later that year, she starred in James Cameron's science fiction adventure movie Avatar. This movie became one of the highest-grossing films in history.

In 2010, Michelle appeared in Machete. In 2011, she starred with Aaron Eckhart in the science fiction film Battle: Los Angeles. She returned to the Resident Evil series in 2012 for Resident Evil: Retribution. In 2013, she played Letty again in Fast & Furious 6 and Luz / Shé in Machete Kills. She also voiced a character in the animated movie Turbo.
Michelle continued her role as Letty in Furious 7 (2015) and The Fate of the Furious (2017). In 2017, she also voiced Smurf Storm in Smurfs: The Lost Village. In 2018, she starred with Viola Davis in Widows. In 2019, she worked with director James Cameron again on the film Alita: Battle Angel. Michelle also started her own production company called Cheshire Kat Productions. This company produced a documentary called Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story (2019).
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2000 | Girlfight | Diana Guzman | |
2001 | The Fast and the Furious | Letty Ortiz | |
3 A.M. | Salgado | ||
2002 | Resident Evil | Rain Ocampo | |
Blue Crush | Eden | ||
2003 | S.W.A.T. | Officer Christina "Chris" Sanchez | |
2004 | Control | Teresa | |
2005 | BloodRayne | Katarin | |
2006 | The Breed | Nicki | |
2007 | Battle in Seattle | Lou | |
2008 | Gardens of the Night | Lucy | |
Adventures in Voice Acting | Herself | Documentary | |
2009 | Fast & Furious | Letty Ortiz | |
Los Bandoleros | Short film | ||
Avatar | Captain Trudy Chacón | ||
2010 | Machete | Luz / Shé | |
Trópico de Sangre | Minerva Mirabal | ||
2011 | Battle: Los Angeles | Technical Sergeant Elana Santos | |
2012 | Resident Evil: Retribution | Rain Ocampo | |
2013 | InAPPropriate Comedy | Harriet | |
Fast & Furious 6 | Letty Ortiz | ||
Turbo | Paz (voice) | ||
Machete Kills | Luz / Shé | ||
2015 | Furious 7 | Letty Ortiz | |
2016 | The Assignment | Frank Kitchen / Tomboy | |
Milton's Secret | Ms. Ferguson | ||
2017 | Smurfs: The Lost Village | Smurf Storm (voice) | |
The Fate of the Furious | Letty Ortiz | ||
2018 | Widows | Linda | |
2019 | Alita: Battle Angel | Gelda | Uncredited cameo |
2020 | She Dies Tomorrow | Sky | |
2021 | Crisis | Supervisor Garrett | |
F9 | Letty Ortiz | ||
2023 | Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves | Holga Kilgore | |
Fast X | Letty Ortiz |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2003 | Slavi's Show | Herself | TV show (1 episode) |
2005 | Punk'd | Herself | 1 episode |
2005–2006 | Immortal Grand Prix | Liz Ricarro | Voice role, anime TV series |
2005–2006 2009–2010 |
Lost | Ana Lucia Cortez | Guest (season 1) Main cast (season 2) Special guest star (seasons 5 & 6) |
2011 | CollegeHumor Original | Jessica | Episode: "Sorority Pillow Fight" |
Curiosity | Herself | Episode: "Alien Invasion: Are We Ready?" | |
2012 | Germany's Next Top Model | Herself | Episode: "A Dream Comes True: Hollywood is Waiting" |
2015 | Running Wild with Bear Grylls | Herself | Episode: "Michelle Rodriguez" |
Super Into | Herself | Episode: "Michelle Rodriguez is Super Into Superbikes" | |
2021 | Getaway Driver | Co-Host | |
2023 | Barmageddon | Herself | Episode: "Kelly Clarkson vs. Michelle Rodriguez" |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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2003 | True Crime: Streets of LA | Rosie Velasco | Voice |
2004 | Driver 3 | Calita Martinez | |
Halo 2 | Marine | ||
2009 | James Cameron's Avatar: The Game | Captain Trudy Chacon | |
2012 | Call of Duty: Black Ops II | Strike Force Soldier | |
2020 | Fast & Furious Crossroads | Letty Ortiz | Voice and motion capture |
Year | Title | Artist(s) |
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2000 | "I Can Do Too" | Cole featuring Queen Latifah |
2001 | "Always on Time" | Ja Rule and Ashanti |
2002 | "If I Could Fall in Love" | Lenny Kravitz |
2015 | "Confident" | Demi Lovato |
2018 | "Nice for What" | Drake |
Year | Title | Role |
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2015 | Fast & Furious: Supercharged | Letty |
Awards and Nominations
Michelle Rodriguez has won and been nominated for many awards throughout her career.
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
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2001 | Chicago Film Critics Association Award | Most Promising Newcomer | Girlfight | Nominated |
Deauville Film Festival | Best Female Performance | Won | ||
ALMA Award | Outstanding Latino Cast in a Feature Film | Nominated | ||
Black Reel Award | Best Actress | Nominated | ||
Independent Spirit Award | Best Debut Performance | Won | ||
National Board of Review Award | Best Breakthrough Performance by an Actress | Won | ||
Gotham Award | Breakthrough Actor | Won | ||
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award | Best Actress | Nominated | ||
Best Female Newcomer | Won | |||
Online Film Critics Society Award | Best Breakthrough Performance | Nominated | ||
2002 | ALMA Award | Best Actress in Film |
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Nominated |
Outstanding Actor/Actress in a Made for Television Movie or Miniseries |
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Nominated | ||
2002 | MTV Movie Award | Best On-Screen Team (with Kate Bosworth and Sanoe Lake) |
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Nominated |
Imagen Foundation Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Film |
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Won | |
2005 | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series |
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Won |
Saturn Award | Best Supporting Actress on Television | Nominated | ||
2006 | Golden Raspberry Award | Worst Supporting Actress |
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Nominated |
2009 | ALMA Award | Actress in a Film |
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Nominated |
2011 | ALMA Award | Favorite Movie Actress-Drama/Adventure |
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Nominated |
2013 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Summer Movie Star: Female |
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Nominated |
2015 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie Actress: Action | Furious 7 | Nominated |
People's Choice Award | Favorite Action Movie Actress | Nominated | ||
Chinese American Film Festival | Golden Angel for Best Leading Actress of the Year | Won | ||
2017 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Movie Actress: Action | The Fate of the Furious | Nominated |
See also
In Spanish: Michelle Rodriguez para niños