Rosie Perez

Rosie Perez was the daughter of Lydia Perez, a merchant marine, and Ismael Serano. She was born in Bushwick Brooklyn, New York City. Rosie is Puerto Rican. Rosie went to Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood, Queens, New York and then enrolled in Los Angeles City College in Los Angeles, California. Rosie Perez, who was in her second year of college was about to move to New York. Her friends had given her an event to celebrate. When Spike Lee proposed that she work in his movie Do the Right Thing (1989), she agreed. It would be her first big acting job. She was later cast in the supporting role of Carla Rodrigo in Peter Weir's Fearless (1993) which was for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was defeated by Anna Paquin, for The Piano (1993). In the early years of my career the Latin community was the one responsible for my most of the negative feedback I was subjected to. They would invite me to lunch and say, "Can I go and learn lessons to lessen my accent?" Or "Can you be loud and funny during a talk-show?" My voice was a constant source of criticism. I tried to improve the way I spoke. It was my speech that I was not willing to alter. I am grateful that my octaves diminished as I grew older. It's all about taking on your fears head-on. It's more about battling yourself. Floyd Mayweather could be punched. A straight shot in the middle of his face. He would not blink. And I'm sure of what he's doing. He mentioned that Don Cornelius was fascinated with her dancing] Don Cornelius was not interested in watching me dance. I was performing hip-hop and it was not a style that was familiar to Californians. They were ignorant of hip-hop dancing, and only knew about locking and popping. Don was like, "No. You're a woman. I was like"What? This is truly weird. It was really weird.