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 was educated at Grover Cleveland High School, Ridgewood, Queens, New York. She later began her studies at Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, California. Rosie Perez, who was in her sophomore year of college, was about to relocate back to New York. Her friends had thrown her a going-away party. Spike Lee offered her a role in his 1989 film Do the Right Thing (1989). She agreed. This would be her first big acting role. Then, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Carla Rodrigo (Peter Weir’s Fearless 1993). (She was defeated by Anna Paquin for The Piano (1993). Most of the critique I received early on in my career was coming from the Latin community. I can remember people taking me out to lunch and saying to me "Can you attend lessons to lessen the accent?" or "Can you be funny and loud when you're on a talk show?" Many people gave me criticism about my voice, and I even tried. I tried to make a change, but it was the way I spoke. As I grew older the octaves decreased Thank God. Today, I am enthralled that a young person of 16 years old comes up and begins to imitate me.Boxing is about overcoming your fears. It's about staying strong. Floyd Mayweather could be punched. Straight shot in his middle. Floyd Mayweather wouldn't blink. And I'm aware of what he's doing. (Who has mentioned Don Cornelius's fascination with her dancing] Don Cornelius was not interested in watching me dance. I was performing hip-hop, which was a different style for Californians. They were ignorant of hip-hop dance, and only were aware of locking and popping. Don was as if, "No. You're a girl." I was like, "What? This is a bit bizarre. It was really weird.