Rosie Perez

Rosie Perez was born to Lydia Perez (a merchant marine) in Bushwick, Brooklyn. She is of Puerto Rican descent. Rosie was educated at Grover Cleveland High School, Ridgewood, Queens, New York. She later attended Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, California. Rosie Perez, who was in her second year at college she was planning to relocate to New York. Her friends had invited her to an event to celebrate. She accepted the invitation from Spike Lee to be part of his 1989 film Do the Right Thing (1989). This was her first major acting role. Then, she was 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 responsible for my most of the negative feedback I received. I can remember people taking me out to lunch and saying to me "Can you take classes to tone down the accent?" Or "Can you not be funny and loud when you're on a talk show?" The people were so critical of my voice that they dealt me a lot of criticism. It was my speech that I didn't want to change. My octaves fell as I grew older, thanks to God. It's a matter of pushing past your fears. It's about being strong. Floyd Mayweather could be punched. A straight shot into his middle. Floyd Mayweather wouldn't blink. And I understand the way he's performing. (Who has mentioned Don Cornelius's fascination with her dancing]: Don Cornelius was not interested in watching me perform. I was dancing hip-hop and it was not a style that was familiar to Californians. They were ignorant of hip-hop dance, and only were aware of locking and popping. Don was as "No No, no. You're female. I thought, What? This is really weird. This is truly bizarre.