Rosie Perez

Rosie Perez was born to Lydia Perez (a merchant marine) in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Rosie is Puerto Rican. Rosie attended Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood, Queens, New York She then went on to enroll in Los Angeles City College in Los Angeles, California. Rosie Perez was just starting her second year in college and was scheduled to return to New York. She was given a going-away party by her fellow students. The moment Spike Lee proposed that she be part of his film Do the Right Thing (1989), she agreed. This was her first major acting gig. In Peter Weir's Fearless (1993) the actress played the part of Carla Rodrigo, for which she was nominated to win an Academy Award for Best Supporting Artistress. (She lost to Anna Paquin for The Piano (1993). In the early years of my career my Latin community was the source of my most of the negative feedback I received. They would take me out to lunch and say, "Can I go and learn lessons to lessen my accent?" Also, "When you're on a talk show, will you not be so outrageous and loud?". People were so critical about my voice that they dealt me a lot of criticism. I tried to make a change however, it was just the way I spoke. My octaves slowed as I grew up, thank goodness. Today, I am enthralled when a teenager comes up and begins to imitate me.Boxing is about overcoming your fears. It's about being tough. Floyd Mayweather could be punched. A straight shot across the middle of his face. He wouldn't blink. And I'm aware of what he's doing. [Who spoke about Don Cornelius watching her dancing]: Don Cornelius didn't want to see me dance - I was performing hip hop that was unfamiliar to Californians. They were only comfortable with popping and locking. So hip-hop dance was not something they wanted to study. Don was saying, "No, no, no. You're a girl. I was like"What? This is really weird. This is really weird.