Actress Rosario Dawson was recently the recipient of a custom World War II book narration by New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and presidential candidate, her boyfriend of one year.
Booker, 50, and Dawson, 40, have officially been a couple since October of 2018 and have recently been spotted together on the campaign trail as Booker tries to remain relevant in the large field of 2020 Democratic candidates.
Dawson’s presence, until a July campaign stop in Nevada and the most recent Democratic debate in Ohio, had been limited due to her demanding filming schedule. She just wrapped up the first season of Briarpatch, which filmed primarily in New Mexico. Dawson is also the mother of a teenage daughter, Isa, whom she adopted in 2014.
“I laugh because it’s like, ‘Okay, you’re flying and connecting through here,'” Dawson said of the couples’ strenuous travel schedules. “Maybe we can meet at the airport hotel.'”
Booker echoed Dawson’s upbeat take on the unique nature of their relationship.
“It has made for great adventures of, you know, making seven hours together be magical,” he said. Booker, who made a name for himself in the Senate Judiciary hearings for Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh for declaring “I am Spartacus” during questioning, has struggled to gain ground in his bid for president. He is currently averaging just 1.6% in national polls.
In addition to being a successful actress who has worked for years and appeared in hit films like Rent and Sin City, Dawson is a political activist in her own right. In 2004, she was even arrested for her participation in a protest against then-President George W. Bush. She was arrested again during a demonstration in 2016 with other members of liberal group Democracy Spring.
More recently, Dawson has advocated for increased voter registration among Latinos through VotoLatino and is currently producing several political documentaries.
Dawson, who lives in Los Angeles, said in a recent profile that she and Booker make their long-distance relationship work by talking multiple times a day on the phone and making ample use of FaceTime.
“He’s my anchor,” Dawson said of Booker. “He’s my guy, you know. He’s very presumptuous. My initials are R-I-D. But he calls me RIB.”
Dawson also mused about a recent instance in which Booker read an entire World War II book, City of Thieves, to her over the phone. Booker echoed Dawson’s gushing review of their relationship.
“Look, both of us, you know, we’ve had relationships,” he said. “But I’m not sure if I’ve ever fully given myself over to a relationship as much as I have with her and allowed myself to be as vulnerable.”
