Rosie Perez

Rosie Perez was born to Lydia Perez (a merchant marine) in Bushwick, Brooklyn. She is Puerto Rican. Rosie was a student at Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood, Queens, New York and then enrolled at Los Angeles City College in Los Angeles, California. Rosie Perez was in her second year at college and about to move back to New York from Los Angeles. She was invited to a leaving party by her fellow students. Spike Lee offered her a part in his film Do The Right Thing (1989). She agreed. It was her first significant acting role. She would later play the supporting role of Carla Rodrigo in Peter Weir's Fearless (1993) which was for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The Academy Award went to Anna Paquin, for The Piano (1993). The most criticism I received in the beginning of my career was coming from the Latin community. They would invite me to lunch and say, "Can I go and take some lessons to reduce my accent?" Or "Can you not be loud and funny when you're on a talk show?" My voice was a constant critic. I tried to alter the way I spoke. I really did try to change however, it was just the way I spoke. My octaves fell as I grew older, I am grateful for that. Boxing is about beating your fears. It's more about fighting for your rights. Floyd Mayweather could be punched. A straight punch in the middle of his face. He's not blinking. I know what he is doing. [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, and it seemed unheard of by people living in California. They were only aware of locking and popping, which is why they didn't like hip-hop dancing. Don was saying, "No, no, no. You're one of us. I thought, "What? This is just so weird. This is really weird.