Childhood & Early Life
Dawn Orienne Olivieri was born on February 8, 1981, in St. Petersburg, Florida, US, to Salvatore A. Olivieri and Nancy Olivieri.
She was a member of her high-school band and played the bassoon.
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Career
Dawn's maiden TV appearance was in the reality TV program 'The Player' in 2004.
She was part of two shows in 2005: as a stripper in 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation' and as ‘Model#14’ in the American version of the Dutch game show 'Deal or No Deal.'
She made her big-screen debut as 'Jezebel' in the 2006 movie 'The Devil's Den.’
Between 2006 and 2010, she signed up for a lot of TV projects, such as 'Las Vegas,' 'Veronica Mars,' 'How I Met your Mother,' 'Stargate Atlantis,' 'Xtra Credit,' 'Hydra,' 'Cold Case,' 'Entourage,' 'Heroes,' 'True Blood,' and 'Rules of Engagement.'
Having gained experience in lending voice to the character 'Rose Largo' in the video game 'Need for Spee: Undercover' in 2008, she earned the voice role of 'Pepper Potts' in four episodes of 'The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes!,' between 2010 and 2012. She also lent her voice to the character 'NSA Lucy Kuo' in another video game, 'iFAMOUS2,' in 2011.
She played the lead role of ‘Gwen Russell,’ an ex-convict, in the low-budget monster movie ‘Hydra.’ The film was produced in 2009, for cable TV, and later internationally distributed on DVD.
In the final season of the American science drama 'Heroes,' which was aired in 2009–2010, she appeared in the recurring role of 'Lydia,' which brought her due recognition.
Following 2010, she garnered more fame by appearing as 'Andie Star' in the third season of 'The Vampire Diaries' and as 'Monica Talbot,' a main character, in the series 'House of Lies.' The former was telecast in 2011 and the latter from 2012 to 2016.
The years 2013 and 2014 kept her busy with a lot of films. She played 'Katherine Kingsmen' in 'Missionary,' 'Annie' in 'Plush,' 'Cosmo Girl' in 'American Hustle,' 'Doreen' in 'Supremacy,' and 'Anna' in 'To Whom it may Concern.'
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In 2015, she donned the role of 'Det. Felicia Sanchez' in the series 'Secrets and Lies' and reprised it in the following season next year.
She acted alongside some of Hollywood's biggest names, such as Will Smith, in the 2017 movie 'Bright' (as 'Sherri Ward'), and Gerard Butler, in the 2018 movie 'Den of Thieves' (as 'Debbie O'Brien).
She also appeared as 'Amy Nelson' in an episode of the military-drama series 'SEAL Team,' titled 'No Man's Land.' She also appeared as 'Cara' in the movie 'Traffik.'
Her upcoming movie 'Behind the Curtain of the Night,' which also stars Brendan Fraser of 'The Mummy' fame, is expected to release in 2020.
Family & Personal Life
Born to Salvatore and Nancy, Dawn has a sister named Bettina, who is also an actor. The sisters seem to share a close bond.
Her father runs a jewelry and pawnshop in Seminole, Florida.
She graduated from the ‘University of South Florida.’
She majored in chemistry in college, with the desire to be a vet.
Trivia
Dawn is believed to be an avid reader and has an extensive collection of books.
She was one of the models who held the briefcase in the show ‘Deal or No Deal.’
While training to be a model, she stayed in Milan, Italy, for 3 months.
Rumors claim Dawn is married. The rumor has neither been confirmed nor rejected by her. Some sources also believe she is dating humanitarian and filmmaker Bryn Moose. Others claim she is dating actor Don Cheadle. However, most reports claim she is single.
The non-profit organizations 'Believe in Dreams' and 'United Global Shift' and the non-govermental organization 'Greenpeace' have benefitted from Dawn's philanthropic support.
