Rosie Perez

Infobox actor


name = Rosie Pérez
imagesize = 150px
caption = Rosie Perez, 2007
birthname = Rosa María Pérez
birthdate = birth date and age|1964|9|6
birthplace = Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City flagicon|USA
deathdate =
deathplace =
othername = Rosie Pe'rez
yearsactive = 1989 – present
spouse = Seth Zvi Rosenfeld (divorced)
homepage =
academyawards =
emmyawards =
tonyawards =

Rosa María "Rosie" Pérez (born September 6, 1964) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress, dancer, choreographer and director. She is recognized for her nasal voice and thick Brooklyn accent.

Biography

Early life

Pérez was born and raised in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick to Puerto Rican parents Lydia Perez (née Fontanez), a singer, and Ismael Serrano, a sailor employed in the merchant- marine. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00EFDA153CF931A15750C0A962958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=2 Quake or No Quake, the Show Must Go On - New York Times ] ] [ [http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2000/07/08/2000-07-08_rosie_helped_mom__aids_group.html Rosie Helped Mom, Aids Groups Say ] ] At the time of her birth, her mother was married to Ventura Perez, and had an affair with Serrano. [ [http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2000/07/07/2000-07-07_rosie__her_mom___aids_activi.html ROSIE, HER MOM & AIDS Activist Perez shuns mom who's dying of the disease ] ] She started her career in the late 1980s 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.

Career

She was noticed in a dance club by Spike Lee in 1989, who hired her for her first major acting role in "Do the Right Thing". She made her Broadway debut in Terrence McNally's "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune". She had her third major role in the hit comedy "White Men Can't Jump" co-starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. She also co-starred opposite Jeff Bridges in Peter Weir's "Fearless" (for which she was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress). In 1997 she starred in "Perdita Durango", a controversial film in which many scenes of excessive violence, sex and nudity were edited out of the version released in the United States, but remained intact in the version released throughout Latin America.

She is a Puerto Rican activist who fights for Puerto Rican rights from America. Her film "Yo Soy Boricua! Pa' Que Tú Lo Sepas!" ("I'm Puerto Rican, Just So You Know!") is about this fight. She 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 Zuleyka Rivera, and actress Judy Marte. An English-language campaign was also directed by Liev Schreiber. She has more recently played corrupt female police officer Carol Brazier in the Judd Apatow-produced film "Pineapple Express" co-starring Seth Rogen and James Franco.

Personal life

She attended school in Los Angeles for a brief time. She married filmmaker Seth Zvi Rosenfeld in 1999 but they were divorced in 2001.

She was arrested on January 6, 2000 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. (see Navy-Vieques protests)

Filmography

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
*"" (1997) .... Mystery Girl
*"Perdita Durango" (1997) .... Perdita Durango
*"The 24 Hour Woman" (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) ....Angela
*"Lackawanna Blues" (2004) ....Bertha
*"Just Like the Son" (2006) .... Mrs. Ponders
*"The Take" (2008) ....Marina De La Pena
*"Pineapple Express" (2008) .... Officer Carol Brazier
*"Lipstick Jungle" (2008) ....Dahlia

Producer

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

Choreographer

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

Director

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

ee also

*List of Puerto Ricans
*List of Puerto Ricans in the Academy Awards

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0001609
* [http://www.kismetfilms.com/psa2006 2006-2007 Join the Fight PSA Campaign]
* [http://www.independentfilm.com/festivals/videogalleryfest/rosie-perez-yo-soy-boricua.shtml Watch: Rosie Perez interview about her Documentary "Yo Soy Boricua" on independentfilm.com]