Rosie Perez

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Rosie Perez
Birth name	Rosa Maria Perez
Born	September 6, 1964 (age 42) New York, New York, USA
Years active	1989 – present
Spouse(s)	Seth Zvi Rosenfeld (separated)

Rosa Maria Perez (born September 6, 1964) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress, dancer, choreographer and director.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Selected filmography 2.1 Actress 2.2 Producer 2.3 Choreographer 2.4 Director 3 Trivia 4 See also 5 External links

[edit] Biography

Perez was born in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick to Puerto Rican parents. She started her career as a dancer on Soul Train and has choreographed music videos by Bobby Brown, Diana Ross, LL Cool J and The Boys. She was the choreographer for the dancing group, the Fly Girls, who were featured on every performance of In Living Color, a 1990s television variety series.

Perez was noticed in a dance club by Spike Lee, who hired her for her first acting role in Lee's Do the Right Thing.

Perez is recognized for her nasal voice and thick Brooklyn accent, which often is emphasized in her films. Her normal speaking voice is much clearer, although her accent remains strong.

In 1999, Perez married filmmaker Seth Zvi Rosenfeld, but they separated in 2001. She made her Broadway debut in Terrence McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune and appeared opposite Jeff Bridges in Craig Lucas's 1994 film Fearless, for which Perez was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

She currently co-stars as "Click, the camera" on Nick Jr.'s Go, Diego, Go!.

Perez is a Puerto Rican activist who fights for Puerto Rican rights from America. Her 2006 film Yo Soy Boricua! Pa' Que Tu Lo Sepas! (I'm Boricua, Just So You Know!) is about this fight.

In Fall 2006, Perez starred in and directed the Spanish AIDS PSA campaign "Join the Fight" for Cable Positive and Kismet Films. The campaign featured actor Wilmer Valderrama, BET's Julissa Bermudez, Telenovela actor Erick Elias, singer/actress Lorena Rojas, 2006-2007 Miss Universe, and actress Judy Marte. An English-language campaign was directed by Liev Schreiber.

[edit] Selected filmography

[edit] Actress

• Do the Right Thing (1989) .... Tina
• Criminal Justice (1990) .... Denise Moore
• Night on Earth (1991) .... Angela
• White Men Can't Jump (1992) .... Gloria Clemente
• Untamed Heart (1993) .... Cindy
• Fearless (1993) .... Carla Rodrigo
• It Could Happen to You (1994) .... Muriel Lang
• Somebody to Love (1994) .... Mercedes
• A Brother's Kiss (1997) .... Debbie
• Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground (1997) .... Mystery Girl
• Perdita Durango (1997) .... Perdita Durango
• 24 Hour Woman, The (1999) .... Grace Santos
• The Road to El Dorado (2000) (voice) .... Chel
• Human Nature (2001) .... Louise
• Riding in Cars with Boys (2001) .... Shirley Perr
• King of the Jungle (2001) .... Joanne
• Widows (2002).... Linda
• From the 104th Floor (2003) (voice) .... Narrator
• Exactly (2004)
• Lackawanna Blues (2004)
• Just Like the Son (2006) .... Mrs. Ponders

[edit] Producer

• Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground (1997)
• The 24 Hour Woman (1999)

[edit] Choreographer

• Do the Right Thing (1989)
• In Living Color (1990-1992)

[edit] Director

• Yo Soy Boricua! Pa' Que Tu Lo Sepas! (I'm Boricua, Just So You Know!) (2005)

[edit] Trivia

• She helped nurture the career of another Latina "Fly Girl" who went on to become a superstar in her own right: Jennifer Lopez.
• She was impersonated by Amy Poehler on a pretaped sketch Saturday Night Live called "New York Stories."
• On the Family Guy episode Da Boom, Peter mentions that he gave elocution lessons to Rosie Perez as mayor of New Quahog. When he is told that "that's nothing to be proud of", Peter responds, imitating Perez: "Don' be stupid, she speak good an' everythin'".

• She practices Kung-Fu.

• Was arrested for disorderly conduct in Manhattan following a rally to protest US Navy bomb tests on Vieques, a small island off the coast of Puerto Rico. [6 January 2000]

• Perez has a twin sister named Carmin.

• She is referenced in rapper Jay-Z's song "Blueprint 2" ("And I'm sorry Miss Rosie Perez, I call a spade a spade, it just is what it is"). Perez says the line is a response to her "dissing" Jay-Z for talking about Nas's ex-girlfriend during their high-profile feud.

[edit] See also

• List of Puerto Ricans

[edit] External links

• Rosie Perez at the Internet Movie Database
• 2006-2007 Join the Fight PSA Campaign
• Watch: Rosie Perez interview about her Documentary "Yo Soy Boricua" on independentfilm.com