Rosie Perez

Rosie Perez was born in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City and was the daughter of Lydia Perez and Ismael Serrano an officer in the Merchant Marine. Rosie is Puerto Rican. Rosie attended Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood, Queens, New York as well as later, she enrolled at Los Angeles City College in Los Angeles, California. Rosie Perez was in her second year at college and was about to relocate back to New York from Los Angeles. Her friends had given her an excuse to go away party. She accepted Spike Lee's offer to be part of his film Do the Right Thing (1989). This was her first major role as an actor. She was then nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Carla Rodrigo (Peter Weir’s Fearless 1993). (She lost to Anna Paquin for The Piano (1993).) In my early days, my Latin community was the source of my most of the negative feedback I was subjected to. They would invite me to lunch and say to me, "Can you go and learn how to reduce your accent?". Or "Can you not be funny and loud during a talk-show?" My voice was always a critic. I attempted to alter the way I spoke. Although I tried to change my voice, it was not the way I spoke. As I got older, the octaves dropped Thank God. It's all about taking on your fears head-on. It's about staying strong. Floyd Mayweather could be punched with a straight shot in the middle of his body and he'd never hesitate. I know what he's doing. [Who talked about Don Cornelius watching her dance]: Don Cornelius did not want to see how I really danced . I was dancing hip-hop and it was unfamiliar to the people of California. They were ignorant of hip-hop dancing and only had a basic understanding of locking and popping. Don was as "No you don't. You're female. I thought, "What? This is truly weird. It was truly bizarre.