Rosie Perez

Rosie Perez was born in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City, to Lydia Perez and Ismael Serrano Merchant marine. Rosie is of Puerto Rican descent. Rosie was a student at 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 at college she was planning to relocate back to New York. Her friends had thrown her a going-away party. Spike Lee offered her a part in his film Do the Right Thing (1989). She accepted. This would be her first big acting role. In Peter Weir's Fearless (1993) She played the supporting role Carla Rodrigo, for which she was nominated to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Artist. (She was defeated by Anna Paquin for The Piano (1993). In my early days, my Latin community was responsible for much of the criticism I was subjected to. They would take me out for lunch and say, "Can I go and learn lessons to lessen my accent?" Also, "When you're on a talk show, can you not be funny and loud?". Some people were so critical of my voice that they gave me a lot of snark. Although I tried to change my voice, it was still not my way of speaking. Thank Godthat my octaves decreased as became older. It's all about conquering your fears. It's about fighting your own. Floyd Mayweather could get punched - like clean shot down the middle of his face and he'd not even flinch. And I'm sure of what he's doing. Who talked about Don Cornelius watching her dance" Don Cornelius did not want to know how I danced . I was performing hip-hop, and it was foreign to people out in California. They knew nothing about hip-hop dancing, and only knew about locking and popping. Don was thinking, "No. You're one of us. I thought"What? It's really bizarre. This is truly bizarre.