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. She is of Puerto Rican descent. Rosie graduated from Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood in Queens, New York. Later, she enrolled at Los Angeles City College. Rosie Perez was just starting her second semester of college and about to return to New York. Her friends had invited her to an excuse to go away party. Spike Lee offered her a part in his film Do The Right Thing (1989). She said yes. It would be her first significant acting role. She would later play the supporting character of Carla Rodrigo in Peter Weir's Fearless (1993) and for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She lost to Anna Paquin, for The Piano (1993). In the early years of my career my Latin community was the source of most of the criticism I was subjected to. They used to go out for lunch and say, "Can you go and get some lessons to improve your accent?". Also, "When you're on a talk show, could you not be so outrageous and loud?". People gave me so much negativity about my voice and I even tried. I tried my best to make a change, but it was my voice that I used to speak. Thank Godthat my octaves decreased as grew older. Boxing is about conquering your fears. Boxing is more about fighting for your own rights. Floyd Mayweather could get punched - like clean shot down the middle of his face and he wouldn't flinch. It's a good thing I understand the way he's performing. (Who talked about Don Cornelius watching her dancingThen he said: Don Cornelius didn't want to see me dance - I was performing hip hop, which was new to Californians. They were accustomed to popping and locking. So hip-hop dance was not something they were looking to master. Don was thinking, "No. You're a girl. I was like "What?" It's so bizarre. It was truly bizarre.