Born Michelle Marie Rodriguez, on Jul 12, 1978, in Bexar County, Texas, USA . Reportedly 5' 6".

Michelle Rodriguez may not properly be one of the most beautiful young actresses to grace the silver screen in the last few years — she’s cute, but not so cute that audiences were clamoring to see her in a bikini in Blue Crush — but she’s definitely one of the most fun to watch.

Whereas most actresses her age are best known for their (often topless) Hot Chick roles, Michelle is best known for her scowling Tough Chick roles — the muscled, scowling tough chick from Girlfight, the undead, scowling tough chick from Resident Evil, the leather pants-wearing, scowling tough chick from The Fast and the Furious, the roommate-pummeling, scowling tough chick from real life — and as such has done more to lend credibility to the archetype than any actress since the über-chicana “Vasquez” from Aliens.

Unfortunately, Michelle may not be nearly as fun or interesting to watch if she plays anything else, but at least she has a hook she can always fall back on, and one that doesn’t require her to take her top off to boot. And if she can just drop the on-set diva attitude she has reportedly already picked up, we can all look forward to many entertaining years of Michelle playing herself, one scowling Tough Chick role at a time.

Also sprach Golem.
(More recent commentary below)

The Fast and the Bi-Curious
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Well, well, well. Turns out those Bloodrayne rumors were true after all: babehound Kristanna Loken (Terminator 3, The “L” Word) recently told The Advocate that she and what she jokingly referred to as “the very hot housekeeper” (i.e., Michelle Rodriguez) are indeed an item.... Read more

Lost For Good
Friday, May 5, 2006
Well, it’s official: troubled actress Michelle Rodriguez is off the hit show Lost.... Read more

Another Day, Another DUI
Friday, December 2, 2005
Lost newcomers Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros posted bail yesterday morning after being arrested for driving under the influence.... Read more

Film

• Avatar (2009) .... Trudy Chacon
• Fast & Furious (2009) .... Letty Marciano
• Bloodrayne (2005) .... Katarin
• Sian Ka'an (2005) .... [voice]
• Control (2004)
• S.W.A.T. (2003) .... Chris Sanchez
• Blue Crush (2002) .... Eden
• Resident Evil (2002) .... Rain Ocampo
• 3 A.M. (2001) .... Salgado
• The Fast and the Furious (2001) .... Letty
• Girlfight (2000) .... Diana Guzman
• Cradle Will Rock (1999) .... Extra [uncredited]
• Summer of Sam (1999) .... Extra [uncredited]

• Punk'd (Mar 13, 2005) .... Herself
• Celebrity Poker Showdown: “Vegas, Baby, Vegas” (Dec 30, 2004) .... Herself
• Celebrities Uncensored (Mar 24, 2004) .... Herself [archive footage]
• HBO First Look: “S.W.A.T.” (2003) .... Herself

• Women of the Beach (2002) .... Herself
• ABC World Stunt Awards (2002) .... Herself [uncredited presenter]
• The 2001 IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards (2001) .... Herself

• Lost: “Exodus: Part 1” (May 18, 2005) .... Ana-Lucia
• Tinseltown TV (Aug 9, 2003) .... Herself
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (Aug 16, 2002) .... Herself
• The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (Jun 19, 2001) .... Herself

• Playing Dead: 'Resident Evil' From Game to Screen (2002) .... Herself
• Film-Fest DVD: Issue 5 - Cannes 2000 & SXSW (2000) .... Herself

• Exclusive: ‘Lost’ Resurrects Michelle Rodriguez!
  Entertainment Weekly (Aug 25, 2008)
  Michelle Rodriguez, arguably one of the more polarizing personalities to have ever gotten Lost, is returning to the show this season.
• Michelle Rodriguez out of jail
  Associated Press (Jan 10, 2008)
  Former ‘Lost’ star Michelle Rodriguez has found her way out of jail.
• Ex-‘Lost’ star Rodriguez gets 6 months
  Associated Press (Oct 11, 2007)
  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.
• Ex-‘Lost’ actress may face jail time
  Associated Press (Sep 29, 2007)
  Actress Michelle Rodriguez violated probation again in a drunken driving case by failing to complete her community service and not following an alcohol education program, prosecutors said.
• Kristanna Loken doesn’t want to keep quiet about her relationship with sexy star Michelle Rodriguez. Who would?
  The Advocate (Nov 15, 2006)
• ‘Lost’ Star’s First Post-jail Q&A
  TV Guide (May 10, 2006)
• ‘Lost’ Star Doing Jail Time for DUI
  Associated Press (Apr 26, 2006)
• Lost Stars Arraigned for DUIs
  Yahoo News (Dec 30, 2005)
  Forget the Others, the numbers and the hatch — a couple of Lost stars had more pressing issues to deal with Thursday.
• Lost Gets Fresh Blood
  E!Online (June 7, 2005)
  Jack, Sayid, Kate, etc. are getting some more company on mystery island.

Cyber Temples

• Michelle Rodriguez Celebrity Movie Reviews
  Mr. Skin
  Bio, filmography, and stills and clips from her films

Miscellaneous

• Michelle Rodriguez for The Sims 2
  An attempt at making Michelle into a Sim
• Michelle Rodriguez Filmography
  Internet Movie Database
  Always up-to-date filmography
• Michelle Rodriguez
  Wikipedia
  Michelle Rodriguez in wikireality