Michelle Rodriguez is an actress.
Mayte Michelle Rodriguez ( [ rɑːˈdriːgɛz ] born July 12 , 1978 ) is an American actress and screenwriter . Her breakout role was as a troubled boxer in the independent film Girlfight ( 2000 ) , which was met with critical acclaim and earned her several awards , including the Independent Spirit Award and Gotham Award for Best Debut Performance . During her career , Rodriguez has played in a number of successful action films , including Resident Evil , S.W.A.T. , and Avatar . With her films grossing over $ 5 billion ( U.S. ) collectively , a 2013 Entertainment Weekly article described Rodriguez as `` arguably the most iconic actress in the action genre , as well as one of the most visible Latinas in Hollywood '' .