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 attended Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood, Queens, New York and then enrolled in Los Angeles City College in Los Angeles, California. Rosie Perez, who was in her sophomore year of college she was planning to relocate to New York. Her friends had thrown her an occasion to celebrate her departure. Spike Lee offered her a part in his film Do The Right Thing (1989). She said yes. It was her first major acting gig. She was later cast in the supporting role of Carla Rodrigo in Peter Weir's Fearless (1993), for which she received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. (She was defeated by Anna Paquin for The Piano (1993). In my early days, my Latin community was responsible for most of the criticism I received. They would invite me to lunch and say, "Can I go and take lessons to improve my accent?" Or, "When you're on a talk show, can you not not be funny and loud?". People gave me so much crap about my voice, and I tried. Even though I tried changing my voice, it wasn't the way that I spoke. Thank God, my octaves fell as I got older. It's about pushing past your fears. It's about being tough. Floyd Mayweather could be punched. A straight punch right in his middle. Floyd Mayweather wouldn't blink. And I understand the way he's performing. [Who mentioned Don Cornelius watching her danceand commenting on her dance]: Don Cornelius did not want to know how I danced . I was dancing hip-hop, which was new to people in California. They knew only about locking and popping, which is why they were not keen on hip-hop dancing. Don was the kind of person who said "No, no. You're an attractive girl. I thought "What?" This is truly bizarre. It was really weird.