Rosario Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress and singer perhaps best known for her roles in the films Men in Black II, Clerks II, The Rundown, Sin City, Rent, Death Proof, Eagle Eye and Seven Pounds.

Dawson was born in New York City, the daughter of Isabel, a plumber of Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban descent, and Greg Dawson, a construction worker of Native American and Irish descent. Isabel was 17 when she had Rosario, and 18 when she married. When Isabel was 21, she broke into an abandoned building on the Lower East Side of Manhattan where she and her husband installed plumbing and electrical wiring, in order to turn the building into a squat in which Rosario would grow up. Dawson cites this when explaining how she learned "if you wanted something better, you had to do it yourself." She grew up surrounded by friends and family members who were HIV-positive. Her parents are now divorced.

As a child, Rosario made a brief appearance on Sesame Street. She was subsequently "discovered" on her front porch step by photographer Larry Clark and Harmony Korine, where Harmony lauded her with praise as being perfect for a part he had written in his screenplay that would become the controversial 1995 film Kids. Since then 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 Rent, He Got Game and Men in Black II. 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.