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Rosie Pérez
Birth name	Rosa María Pérez
Born	September 6, 1964 (1964-09-06) (age 43) Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City
Years active	1989 – present
Spouse(s)	Seth Zvi Rosenfeld (divorced)

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

Contents 1 Career choronology 1.1 Early life and career 1.2 Breakthrough 2 Selected filmography 2.1 Actress 2.2 Producer 2.3 Choreographer 2.4 Director 3 Trivia 4 See also 5 External links 6 References

Pérez was born in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick to Puerto Rican parents. 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, (and in one case three female members of the show's cast during a sketch that involved them taking over as the show's dance troupe after they had tied up, gagged, and thrown the real Fly Girls into a closet) who were featured on every performance of In Living Color, a 1990s television variety series.

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

Pérez 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, Pérez 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 Peter Weir's 1993 film Fearless, for which Pérez was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

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

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

In Fall 2006, Pérez 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 directed by Liev Schreiber.

She is currently starring in the revival of "The Ritz."

• 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
• 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)
• Lackawanna Blues (2004)
• Just Like the Son (2006) .... Mrs. Ponders
• The Pineapple Express (2007)....Corrupt Police Officer

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

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

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

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• 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'".[1]
• On the Veronica Mars episode "An Echolls Family Christmas", it is said that Logan Echolls was in love with Rosie Perez as a small child; at the request of his movie star father, Aaron Echolls, she came to his ninth birthday party, and having misheard his name as Lauren, brought him a purse.

• She practices Kung-Fu.

• 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)

• Perez has a twin sister named Carmen.

• 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.

• She attended school in Los Angeles for a brief time.

• She is referenced in rapper Kanye West's song "Good Morning" ("You got D's motherfucker, D's, Rosie Perez.")

• She has said Rakim is her first favorite rapper, 2nd Nas, and 3rd Jay Z

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

• 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