Michelle Rodriguez

Born: 12th July 1978
Where: Bexar County, Texas

Michelle became an overnight star as Diana Guzman, a troubled high school senior who builds self-esteem and discovers her calling as a boxer in the Sundance entry Girlfight.

She moved around frequently in her childhood, moving from Texas to her mother's native Dominican Republic to her father's home of Puerto Rico, before finally settling in New Jersey.

Michelle dropped out of high school and passed her time landing extras work in movies filmed in NYC, like Cradle Will Rock and Summer of Sam.

Answering an ad for an open casting to play a woman boxer, she landed her breakthrough role, in Girlfight.

No longer relegated to extras work, she was courted for major roles, and followed up co-starring as a driver in The Fast and the Furious.

Next came the role of a feisty commando in the overlooked action thriller Resident Evil.

Her latest outing was the girl surfer flic Blue Crush as Kate Bosworth's buddy.