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 attended Grover Cleveland High School, Ridgewood, Queens, New York. She later attended Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, California. Rosie Perez was just starting her second year at college and was scheduled to return to New York. She was invited to a leaving party by her peers. The moment Spike Lee proposed that she take part in his film Do the Right Thing (1989), she agreed. This would be her first acting role in a major film. Then she was nominated to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Carla Rodrigo (Peter Weir’s Fearless, 1993). She was beaten by Anna Paquin, for The Piano (1993). The Latin community was the source of the majority of my criticism early in my career. They would take me out to lunch and say, "Can I go and take some lessons to reduce my accent?" Also, "When you're on a talk show, how can you not not be humorous and loud?". People were so critical about my voice, they gave me a lot to be angry about. My voice was something I was not willing to alter. My octaves fell when I got older, I am grateful for that. Nowadays, I find it pleasing if a sixteen-year-old comes up and imitates me.Boxing is about conquering your fears. Boxing is about fighting for yourself. Floyd Mayweather could get punched with a clean punch down the middle and to his face - and he'd never flinch. And I'm sure of what he's doing. The person who mentioned Don Cornelius's awe with her dancing] Don Cornelius was not interested in seeing me actually perform. I was doing hip-hop, which was a different style for Californians. They were accustomed to popping and locking, so hip-hop dancing wasn't something they wanted to study. Don was like "No, no. You're female. I was like, "What? It's so bizarre. It was really bizarre.