Rosie Perez

Rosie Perez was born in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City and was the daughter of Lydia Perez and Ismael Serrano who was a merchant marine. She is of Puerto Rican descent. Rosie attended Grover Cleveland High School, Ridgewood, Queens, New York. She later was enrolled at Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, California. Rosie Perez was just starting her second year in college and about to return to New York. She was invited to a leaving party by her fellow students. The moment Spike Lee proposed that she be part of his film Do the Right Thing (1989), she said yes. It would be her first big acting job. She was later cast in the character of Carla Rodrigo in Peter Weir's Fearless (1993) in which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was defeated by Anna Paquin, for The Piano (1993). Early in my career, the Latin community was the one responsible for most of the criticism I received. They used to take me out for lunch and tell me, "Can you go and learn to lower the sound of your voice?". Or "Can you be funny and loud when you're on a talk-show?" Some people were so critical of my voice, they gave me a lot to be angry about. It was my voice I was not willing to alter. Thank God, my octaves fell as I became older. Today, I am enthralled if a sixteen-year-old comes up and mimics me.Boxing is about conquering your fears. Boxing is more about fighting for yourself. Floyd Mayweather could be punched or swung clean through his middle, and he wouldn’t hesitate. And 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 dancing hip-hop, which was a different style for Californians. They were only aware of locking and popping, which is why they were not interested in hip-hop dancing. Don was like, "No. You're an asian woman. I thought, What? This is really weird. It was really bizarre.