Rosario Dawson

Rosario Dawson
(Photo: amfAR)

Rosario Dawson has garnered praise not only for her numerous leading roles, but also for her work with a range of influential social, humanitarian and environmental organizations. As an active board member of V-Day, an organization founded by Eve Ensler, she travels worldwide working to stop violence against women. Most recently, Dawson co-founded STUDIO 189, a social enterprise that consists of creative individuals seeking to provide a platform to help promote and curate African and African-inspired content through an ecommerce shopping site, a supporting agency and an artisan-produced Fashion Rising Collection, which was launched in support of V-Day’s One Billion Rising campaign. STUDIO 189 focuses on creating opportunities for empowerment, education and employment of artisans and creative individuals.

In 2004, Dawson co-founded Voto Latino, a nonpartisan organization that empowers Latino Millennials to claim a better future for themselves and their communities. Dawson also serves on the board of the Lower Eastside Girls Club in Manhattan and is an ardent environmentalist doing work with a variety of organizations including the Environmental Media Association and Global Green. She is a longtime supporter of amfAR, generously donating her time and lending her presence to events such as amfAR Milano, Cinema Against AIDS, and the amfAR New York Gala.

Dawson made her film debut in the 1995 movie Kids and has since been seen in Men in Black II, The 25th Hour, Sin City, Rent, Seven Pounds, Unstoppable, Gimme Shelter, and the Danny Boyle thriller Trance. In 2014, Dawson starred in the critically acclaimed comedy Top Five, written and directed by Chris Rock, for which she received a Critics’ Choice Awards Nomination. Dawson next costarred in the Netflix series Daredevil, based on the Marvel comic series of the same name.