Rosie Perez

 Rosie Perez was born to Lydia Perez (a merchant marine) in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Rosie is of Puerto Rican descent. Rosie has graduated from Grover Cleveland High School in Ridgewood in Queens, New York. Then, she attended Los Angeles City College. Rosie Perez, who was in her sophomore year of college and was planning to move to New York. She was invited to a moving-away party by her fellow students. Spike Lee offered her a part in his film Do the Right Thing (1989). She accepted. This would be her first major acting part. In Peter Weir's Fearless (1993) she was the role of support 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). The most criticism I received in the beginning of my career was from the Latin community. They would take me out for lunch and ask, "Can I go and take lessons to improve my accent?" Or, "When it's a talk show, how are you going to not be funny? My voice was always a critic. I tried to change the way I spoke. Although I tried to change my voice, it was still not the way that I spoke. Thank Godthat my octaves diminished as I grew older. It's about pushing past your fears. It's more about battling yourself. Floyd Mayweather could be punched. A straight shot into his middle. Floyd Mayweather wouldn't blink. I know what he's doing. Who talked about Don Cornelius watching her dance" Don Cornelius did not want to see how I really danced - I was doing hip-hop and it was unfamiliar to the people of California. They were accustomed to popping and locking, and so hip-hop dancing wasn't something they were looking to master. Don was as "No you don't. You're a girl. I thought, "What? This is truly bizarre. Then I had to dance in high heels, and I have never danced in high heels before. I had the tiniest small dress, and it's going up my stomach and I'm like, Oh my God!