Rosie Perez

 Rosie Perez was born in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City She was the daughter of Lydia Perez and Ismael Serrano who was a merchant marine. Rosie is of Puerto Rican descent. Rosie was educated at Grover Cleveland High School, Ridgewood, Queens, New York. She then enrolled at Los Angeles City College, Los Angeles, California. Rosie Perez was in her second year at college and was about to relocate back to New York from Los Angeles. She was invited to a moving-away celebration by her classmates. The moment Spike Lee proposed that she take part in his movie Do the Right Thing (1989), she said yes. It would be her debut major acting role. In Peter Weir's Fearless (1993), she was the role of support Carla Rodrigo, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Artistess. (She was defeated by Anna Paquin for The Piano (1993). The most criticism I received in the beginning of my career was from the Latin community. I remember my parents taking me out for lunch and telling me "Can you take classes to reduce the accent?" or "Can you be loud and funny during a talk show?" People gave me so much crap about my voice, and I even tried. I really did try to alter my voice however it was my way of speaking. I am grateful that my octaves decreased as grew older. It's about conquering your fears. Boxing is more than just fighting for your self. Floyd Mayweather could get punched by a straight punch in the middle, right to his face - and he'd not even flinch. It's a good thing I understand the way he's performing. [Who mentioned Don Cornelius's fascination with her dancing]: Don Cornelius was not interested in watching me dance. I was dancing hip-hop and it was a different style for Californians. They only knew about locking and popping, so they weren't interested in hip-hop dancing. Don was as if, "No, no, no. You're one of us. I was like, What? This is a bit bizarre. It was really weird.