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. Then, she attended Los Angeles City College. Rosie Perez was in her second year of college and just about to move back to New York from Los Angeles. Her departure was a party by her fellow students. The moment Spike Lee proposed that she work in his movie Do the Right Thing (1989), she agreed. It was her first major role as an actor. She was later cast in the character Carla Rodrigo in Peter Weir's Fearless (1993) which was for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The Academy Award went to Anna Paquin, for The Piano (1993). In my early days, the Latin community was responsible for my most of the negative feedback I received. They would invite me to lunch and say, "Can I go and take some lessons to reduce my accent?" Also, "When you're on a talk show, could you not be less outrageous and loud?". People were so critical about my voice that they gave me a lot of snark. It was my voice I was not willing to alter. Thanks to God, my octaves diminished as I became older. Boxing is all about beating your fears. It's about fighting your own. Floyd Mayweather could be punched. A straight shot into his middle. He wouldn't blink. I know what he is doing. [Who mentioned Don Cornelius's fascination with her dancing] Don Cornelius was not interested in watching me perform. I was performing hip-hop and it was a foreign style to Californians. They only knew about popping and locking, so they didn't like hip-hop dancing. Don was the kind of person who said "No, no. You're a girl." I thought, "What? This is so strange. This is really weird.