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 of Puerto Rican descent. Rosie graduated from Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood in Queens, New York. She then enrolled at Los Angeles City College. Rosie Perez was in her second year at college and was about to relocate back to New York from Los Angeles. Her friends had brought her an excuse to go away party. When Spike Lee proposed that she take part in his film Do the Right Thing (1989), she said yes. It was her first significant acting role. In Peter Weir's Fearless (1993), she played the supporting role Carla Rodrigo, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Artistress. (She was defeated by Anna Paquin for The Piano (1993). The most criticism I got early in my career came coming from the Latin community. They would take me out to lunch and say, "Can I go and take lessons to improve my accent?" Or, "When it's a talk show, how are you going to not be so funny? My voice was always a source of criticism. I tried to alter it. While I tried to alter my voice, it was still not the way I spoke. Thank God, my octaves diminished as I became older. Boxing is all about beating your fears. It's about being confident. Floyd Mayweather could be punched, like a clean shot across his middle, and he wouldn’t hesitate. I can understand what he is doing. (Who spoke about Don Cornelius watching her dancein the dance]: Don Cornelius did not want to know how I performed - I was dancing hip-hop, and it was unfamiliar to the people of California. They knew nothing about hip-hop dance, and only had a basic understanding of locking and popping. Don was like, "No. You're an attractive girl." I was like "What?" This is really bizarre. Then I had to dance in high heels. I've never danced in high heels before. I was wearing the tiniest short dressthat's going up my stomach and I'm thinking, Oh my God!