Rosario Dawson breaks silence after finding cousin dead in her home

Rosario Dawson has reevaluated her priorities in life after finding her cousin dead in her home.

Earlier this month (May17), it was reported that the Sin City actress walked downstairs in her home in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles to find her 26-year-old cousin Vaneza Ines Vasquez, who worked for her, lying unresponsive.

Emergency services were called to the scene and paramedics transported her to a hospital but she could not be resuscitated.

Now Rosario has broken her silence following the tragedy, admitting that her cousin's untimely death has made her embark on a new lease of life herself.

“My cousin just died, Vaneza, and I’m coming up on the six-year anniversary of my grandmother’s passing,” she mused. “And from 75 to 26, you just don’t know when your time is. I just don’t want to be in any kind of position where I’m looking back going, ‘Ah, I should’ve, could’ve, would’ve, didn’t, damn!’”

Rosario made the comments as she returned to work following her cousin's passing, attending a talk for the AOL BUILD Series in New York on Wednesday night.

The 38-year-old appeared to be in good spirits for the occasion, smiling widely as she posed for pictures while wearing a chic black halter jumpsuit.

The trauma of discovering her relative will undoubtedly still be having an impact on the actress though.

According to TMZ.com, Vasquez had recently been suffering from migraines and had hypertension, or abnormally high blood pressure, and no history of substance abuse.

Toxicology reports are still in the works but early autopsy results suggest her cause of death will likely be due to natural causes.

Luke Cage star Rosario was brought up by her mother and stepfather, Greg Dawson, after her dad Patrick left when she was a baby. In 2013, she revealed she had learned her biological father had died after speaking with a clairvoyant, so she subsequently hired an investigator to confirm the news.

"We think he died in 2001. If he passed, I'm sad about that, but in some ways I think I'm slightly relieved," she told The Guardian. "It's Pandora's box you're opening. And I think it would have been weird to have to feel like I need to create a relationship later."