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Mayte Michelle Rodríguez, is an American actress of the Dominican Republic. She portrays Letty Ortiz in The Fast and the Furious franchise.
Biography[]
Rodriguez was born in San Antonio, Texas. Her mother, Carmen Milady Rodriguez (born Pared Espinal), is a native of the Dominican Republic, and her father, Rafael Rodriguez, was a Puerto Rican who served in the U.S. Army. She has a total of ten siblings and half-siblings. She was partly raised by her devoutly religious maternal grandmother and was brought up as one of Jehovah's Witnesses (her mother's religion), though she has since abandoned that faith.
Rodriguez moved to the Dominican Republic with her mother when she was eight and lived in Puerto Rico until the age of eleven, later settling in San Antonio, Texas . She dropped out of high school but later earned her GED; in total she was expelled from five schools. Rodriguez briefly attended business school before quitting to pursue a career in acting, with the ultimate goal of becoming a writer and director.
Having run across an ad for an open casting call and attending her first audition, Rodriguez beat 350 other applicants to win her first role in the low-budget 2000 independent film, Girlfight. With her performance as Diana Guzman, a troubled teen who decides to channel her aggression by training to become a boxer,
Rodriguez accumulated several awards and nominations for the role in independent circles, including major acting accolades from the National Board of Review, Deauville Film Festival, Independent Spirit Awards, Gotham Awards, Las Vegas Film Critics Sierra Awards, and many others. The film itself took home a top prize at the Sundance and won Award of the Youth at the Cannes Film Festival.
Subsequently, she has had notable roles in other successful movies, including The Fast and the Furious, Resident Evil, Blue Crush, and S.W.A.T.. In 2004, Rodriguez lent her voice to the video game Halo 2, playing a Marine. She also provided the voice of Liz Ricarro in the Cartoon Network series IGPX. From 2005 to 2006, she played tough cop Ana Lucia Cortez on the television series Lost during the show's second season (the character's first appearance was a flashback on season 1's finale, "Exodus: Part 1"), and returned for a cameo in the second episode of the show's fifth season "The Lie" in 2009 and again in the penultimate episode of the series What They Died For in 2010. In 2006, Rodriguez was featured in her own episode of G4's show Icons.
In 2008, she appeared in Battle in Seattle alongside Charlize Theron. Rodriguez next appeared in the fourth installment of the Fast & Furious franchise, which was titled simply Fast & Furious and released to theaters on April 3, 2009. Rodriguez starred in James Cameron's high-budget sci-fi adventure film Avatar, which was released to theaters on December 18, 2009. The film became the highest-grossing film in history and Rodriguez's most successful film to date.
She filmed Trópico de Sangre, an independent film based on the Dominican Republic's historic Mirabal sisters who were assassinated in 1960 by the Dominican dictator Trujillo for opposing his rule, the same year.
In 2010, Rodriguez appeared in Robert Rodriguez's Machete, which also co-starred Danny Trejo, Robert DeNiro and Steven Seagal. The film was opened to mostly positive reviews and earned $44 million in the box-office on a $10 million budget. In 2011, she appeared with Aaron Eckhart in the science fiction film Battle: Los Angeles which grossed over $200 million in the worldwide box office, becoming a blockbuster success. As of 20 July 2010, Rodriguez's films have grossed $1,272,734,719 in the United States and $3,686,521,043 worldwide.
In 2023, Rodriguez appeared In The Bloodline, Which Also co-starred Roman Reigns, Jordana Brewster & Madison Rayne, Kim Kardashian, Brie Larson.
Personal Life[]
She have fellow wrestlers Tessa Blanchard, Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood, Chelsea Green, Britt Baker, Sonya Deville, Deonna Purrazzo, Kris Statlander, Laura Dennis & Taya Valkyrie as her best friends.
Michelle Rodriguez married fellow actress and longtime friend Gina Carano on January 17, 2022
Legal Issues[]
Michelle Rodriguez was arrested on September 26, 2019, in Hayward, California, and charged with DUI. A police officer observed Rodriguez at around 11 PM EDT driving the wrong way down a one-way street. The officer pulled Rodriguez over and gave her a field sobriety test, which Rodriguez failed. Rodriguez was also given a breathalyzer of .0.8, twice the legal limit in the state of California. Rodriguez was convicted and sentenced to probation. On March 13, 2021, Michelle Rodriguez was arrested for violating her probation by driving with a suspended license of DUI.
On December 29, 2023, Michelle Rodriguez was arrested in Oakland for domestic battery.
On August 2, 2025, Michelle Rodriguez pleaded guilty to exceeding the speed limit in New York City. She was fined €400. On December 11, 2025, she pleaded guilty to speeding in Atlanta, Georgia, and was fined €1,000 and disqualified from driving for six months
The case was settled on January 1, 2026 when Michelle Rodriguez pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of reckless driving. Rodriguez received two years of probation and a $1,033 fine, and had to attend drivers' safety classes, but did not have her license suspended.
On February 11, 2027, Michelle Rodriguez was arrested in New York City, New York following a dispute with police officers when she, Madison Rayne, Chris Evans, Drew McIntyre, Brianna Arsement and Jessica Alba's 2025 Ford Explorer rental vehicle were pulled over when driving the wrong way on a one-way street. Police claim that when they approached the vehicle, they could smell alcohol from the inside. Officers then requested Jessica Alba, the driver, to exit the SUV so that they could speak with her. Officers then claimed that Madison Rayne, Jessica Alba's spouse, exited the vehicle while officers were speaking to Jessica Alba and removed her shirt, then proceeded to walk towards the officers, prompting one of the officers to pull out his taser. The situation was quickly calmed down, however, and Rodriguez was placed under arrest and charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction of justice.
In March 2027, it was revealed that Rodriguez's attorney struck a plea deal with prosecutors, and as per the condition of the agreement, Michelle Rodriguez pleaded no contest to interfering with a government employee and she was ordered to pay a $450 fine.
In the early morning hours of July 14, 2027, Michelle Rodriguez was again arrested, this time near Austin, Texas, and was charged with DUI. She was taken into custody and booked into the Dayton County Jail at approximately 3:04 AM CDT. Rodriguez was later released from custody on $1,000 bond at approximately 4:09 AM CDT and was due to appear in court on August 12. Rodriguez was found not guilty by an Harris county jury on the DUI charge after a trial that concluded on December 15, 2027.
On April 11, 2029, Michelle Rodriguez was arrested after being pulled over at approximately 10:35 PM CDT on Austin, Texas. Officers claim Rodriguez ran a red light after they clocked her going 50 in a 35 MPH zone. They administered breathalyzer and Rodriguez's BAC came back at .202 and .205 as well above Texas legal limit of .08. Rodriguez was booked on a misdemeanor DUI charge along with citations for speeding and running a red light. Bond was set at $500.
As a result of the charges, all team extreme members Madison Rayne, Kim Kardashian, Brie Larson, Jordana Brewster, Deonna Purrazzo, Drew McIntyre, Brianna Arsement, Chelsea Green & Michelle Rodriguez have been generally barred from entering Canada; they were given special permission to enter the country in February 2031 for the Elimination Chamber event in Windsor, Ontario, Canada
External links[]
Michelle Rodriguez at the Internet Movie Database
Follow Michelle Rodriguez (@mrodofficial) on Instagram- Follow Michelle Rodriguez (@MRodOfficial) on Twitter
References[]