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'Mandalorian' actor Rosario Dawson reveals why she adopted an older child

She adopted her daughter Lola when she was 11 years old.
/ Source: TODAY

Rosario Dawson is reflecting on her relationship with her 17-year-old daughter Lola, whom she adopted in 2014 at age 11.

“I’m grateful for her development, our maturation, and our connection,” Dawson, 41, told Health magazine. “To have a young person move in with you and to have to really consciously work through triggers and that kind of stuff is a really different thing than being pregnant and having your baby grow up in front of you.”

Rosario Dawson with her adopted daughter, Lola, in 2019.
Rosario Dawson and her daughter, Lola, in 2019.Bruce Glikas / Bruce Glikas/WireImage

Dawson, who portrayed the character Ahsoka Tano on "The Mandalorian," was 5 years old when she learned that her father wasn’t her biological dad. She said the experience inspired her to adopt.

“At 5 it was a lot to take in, and I recall thinking, ‘What if my parents hadn’t met, and I was older, and no one wanted to marry my mom because she had an older kid?’” Dawson revealed. “It’s wild to think I manifested this when I was younger.”

Dawson said she and Lola are “getting closer and closer” with each passing year.

“We are a family, and it’s beautiful,” she said.

Dawson also opened up in the interview about her desire to seek help for her anxiety. She said the condition sometimes causes her heart to race.

“That’s one thing I’ve put off for years,” Dawson explained. “My daughter has had therapy most of her life through foster care and stuff. I’ve done weekly therapy with her ... I have had it in my life, but it hasn’t been specific to me and my personal needs. ... So that’s something I’m going to work on — getting a therapist.”

Preferably a therapist on the East coast. The New York native recently relocated from Los Angeles to New Jersey to be closer to her extended family and her boyfriend, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker.

“Being able to be home has been a silver lining,” she said. “I’m in a long-distance relationship, and suddenly not being able to travel made that difficult.”

Dawson and Booker started dating in late 2018, but didn’t confirm their relationship until 2019.

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