History Creator / MichelleRodriguez

* DoingItForTheArt:[[invoked]] She didn't know how to drive when she was cast in ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'', and learned during production for the sake of a scene.

* ActionGirl: She has stated that she won't work in Latin American cinema because of their reductive views on female characters. She also turns down any submissive roles that get offered to her in the U.S. She usually does her own stunts, too, as seen in movies including ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'', ''Film/BlueCrush'', ''Film/{{Girlfight}}''.

* MsFanservice: Try to find a movie where she's not either in revealing clothing or even topless.

Mayte Michelle Rodriguez (born July 12, 1978) is a Latina American (mother Dominican, father Puerto Rican) actress, best known for playing badass characters (that are often in the army or a police officer) in movies such as ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'', ''Film/ResidentEvil2002'', ''Film/{{Avatar}}'', and ''Film/{{Machete}}''. She also made a brief foray into television by playing--you guessed it--a badass cop character that dies in ''Series/{{Lost}}''. [[ChronicallyKilledActor Tends to die in movies]], [[VasquezAlwaysDies but at least in a badass way]].

She came out as bisexual in 2013 casually during an interview, and has supported LGBT+ causes, though she's unwilling to discuss her personal life further, disliking that the news media focus on her sexuality.

Rodriguez has said she was a comic book nerd growing up, reading many and collecting cards. She really loved to draw superheroes, and still draws a lot. Later, she also frequently played ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. Definitely JustForFun/OneOfUs.

!! Tropes commonly used in her roles
* ActionGirl: She has stated that she won't work in Latin American cinema because of their reductive views on female characters. She also turns down any submissive roles that get offered to her in the U.S. She usually does her own stunts too, as seen in ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'', ''Film/BlueCrush'', ''Film/{{Girlfight}}'' etc.
* ActorInspiredElement: When approached to star in ''{{Series/Lost}}'' she requested to only be around for a season, so her character is killed off at the end of Season 2.

* MsFanservice: Try to find a movie where she's not, with her frequently being in revealing clothing and occasionally topless too.
* PerpetualFrowner: Her characters tend to be stoic and serious, with very little in the way of warmth. Thus it can be a shock to see her [[WhenSheSmiles smiling and laughing in interviews]].

* SpicyLatina: She provided the page image from ''Film/SWAT2003'', due to playing lots of characters who fit this, with the standard looks, quick tempers, highly attractive and tough from harsh backgrounds.

She came out as bisexual in 2013 casually during an interview, and has supported LGBT+ causes, though she's unwilling to discuss her personal life further, disliking that the news media focus on her sexuality. In 2014 she was spotted widely along with Creator/CaraDelevingne. This included photos taken of them kissing while in Mexico together. However, neither publicly commented on their relationship (outside tabloid claims), and it appears they broke up soon after since they were not seen together again subsequently.

* MsFanservice: Try to find a movie where she's not, with her frequently being in revealing clothing and occasionally topless too. However, she is very vocal about her private life having no bearing on her work, and resents having her bisexuality brought up all the time.

** ''Film/{{The Fast and the Furious|2001}}'' (2001)

* ''Film/ResidentEvil2002'' (2002) as Rain Ocampos

* ''Film/{{SWAT}}'' (2003) as Christina "Chris" Sanchez

* ''Film/{{The Assignment|2016}}'' (2016) as Frank Kitchen

** Averted in ''Film/{{SWAT}}'', where she plays an LAPD officer in a SWAT team. She takes a bullet in the arm in the final battle but survives.

* SpicyLatina: She provided the page image from ''Film/{{SWAT}}'', due to playing lots of characters who fit this, with the standard looks, quick tempers, highly attractive and tough from harsh backgrounds.

* Subverted in ''Film/DungeonsAndDragonsHonorAmongThieves'': [[spoiler:Her character dies in the final fight, but is resurrected pretty much immediately]].

->''1. Michelle Rodriguez's closet is filled wall to wall with nothing but black tank tops.''
->''2. Michelle Rodriguez is always a cop. Except when she's a Marine.''
->''3. Michelle Rodriguez has a nasty habit of getting herself killed all the time.''

** In ''Film/ResidentEvil2002'' the [=SWAT=] team member Rain Ocampo becomes a ZombieInfectee a third of the way through, survives almost all the way through the rest of the film, and then dies on a tram a few minutes away from a cure. Blonde, minidress-wearing Alice becomes the FinalGirl. The franchise lasted long enough that they brought her back via cloning for the fifth film. [[spoiler:And both clones die.]]
** Averted in ''Film/{{SWAT}}'', where she plays an [=LAPD=] officer in a [=SWAT=] team. She takes a bullet in the arm in the final battle but survives.

** The ''[[WebAnimation/DorklyOriginals Dorkly]]'' article, “[[http://www.dorkly.com/post/60847/these-8-characters-are-definitely-going-to-die These Eight Characters are Definitely Going to Die]]”, includes her by name.
--->'''How They’re Going to Die''': [[FacingTheBulletsOneLiner Sneering into the camera]].
--->'''Why''': Because [[StoryBreakerPower she gets so much shit done, there’s nothing left for the protagonist to do]].

* HiddenDepths: She's said that one of the first things she spent money on when she started to "make it" as an actress was buying a whole bunch of books, with science being one of her favorite subjects, in part to make up for what she felt was poor schooling. She also claims that on the set of ''Avatar'' she spent hours talking to James Cameron about biology and technology between takes, just because it interests both of them.

* ''Film/DungeonsAndDragonsHonorAmongThieves'' (2023)

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/TheFastAndTheFurious https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/72185_170008_1.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Michelle Rodriguez can play Michelle Rodriguez with ease.]]

** ''Film/F9'' (2021)

** ''Film/F9TheFastSaga'' (2021)