Rosario Dawson Breaks Silence On Finding Cousin Dead In Her Home [VIDEO]

Roughly two weeks after the death of her cousin, Rosario Dawson broke her silence on the event Wednesday. The “Unforgettable” actress reportedly found 26-year-old Vaneza Ines Vasquez dead in Dawson’s home May 11. While promoting her work with the Lower East Side Girls Club on AOL’s Build series, Dawson took the opportunity to touch on the event.

“I’ve been dealing with a lot of loss lately and reconnecting with my family and my friends in a different way. I’m realizing how much I’ve pulled myself back, and I’ve been just really humbled by this opportunity tonight,” she said.

Fighting back tears, she added, “My cousin just died, Vaneza, and I’m coming up on the six-year anniversary of my grandmother’s passing. 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!’”

Read: Rosario Dawson’s Cousin Pronounced Dead After Being Found By Actress

Dawson, 38, reportedly found Vasquez unresponsive earlier this month after walking downstairs in her Venice, California home. The actress immediately called 911, but emergency responders were unable to resuscitate her at the scene. She was taken to St. John's Medical Center in Santa Monica and later pronounced dead.

Speaking with law enforcement sources in the days immediately following the event, TMZ reported that Vasquez had been experiencing migraines and hypertension. She had no known history of substance abuse.

People reported Thursday that a toxicology report is still pending and the autopsy has been deferred. According to Chief Coroner Ed Winter, it’s too soon to say whether Vasquez died of natural causes.

Read: 'Daredevil' Season 2 Spoilers: Rosario Dawson To Reprise Role As Nurse Claire Temple

“Tomorrow is not guaranteed, and you want to make sure the people that you love know that, and that you’re doing things with your time that you’re proud of, because it goes by so fast,” Dawson said. “I’m challenging myself now, still. I want to go back to school. I want to keep growing. I want to keep learning. I want to be a better person. I want to manage my time better. I want to be more organized. I don’t want to be lazy. I don’t want to take anything for granted.”

Representatives for Dawson have not returned International Business Times’ request for comment.