Famous For: At age 15, Dawson was discovered by filmmaker Larry Clark as she sat on her New York City stoop. After making her film debut that year in his controversial film Kids, she launched a career that has included roles in Men In Black II, The 25th Hour, Sin City, Rent, Grindhouse, and Seven Pounds. She has also formed a production company, co-created a comic book, starred in a web series, and founded Voto Latino, a non-profit organization with a mission to increase American Latino youth civic participation. A list of accomplishments that makes it pretty clear that these days Dawson isn’t spending a whole lot of time sitting on stoops.

Cause Célèbre: One of Hollywood’s most socially conscious young actresses, Dawson is an ardent eco-activist. An Environmental Media Association spokesperson, she has appeared in several public service announcements centered on eco-awareness, attended a UN conference in support of the Poverty-Environment Partnership, and partnered with Global Cool on campaigns to promote responsiveness to climate change. The enthusiastic conservationist is so committed to the cause that she has even admitted that she would probably have trouble dating anyone who wasn’t as environmentally savvy. Which, to her thousands of admiring fans, is probably a pretty powerful motivator to go green!

Green Link: www.globalcool.org