[1] She also made a cameo appearance in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

Dawson was born in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory and attended the Canberra Girls' Grammar School,[2] Radford College, and Screenwise Film & TV School.

She landed a role in All Saints as Tully McIntyre; where she made her television debut in the episode, "The Blink of an Eye".

Dawson made another television appearance in Out of Blue as a guest role, and in Swift and Shift Couriers as Kylie Brown in the episode "The Polar Bear Suit".

Dawson then landed her first lead in an Australian feature film playing Leah Thompson, in Wrath.