Rosie Perez, one of the most successful women in America, has had to overcome many obstacles in order to reach her career and personal goals. The talented actress hails from Bushwick in New York. Her childhood was very difficult and she had to deal with many more crises throughout her adult life.
Despite all that, nothing—including PTSD, anxiety, and dysthymia (a form of depression)—stopped Rosie from ascending to the pinnacle of her profession. She’s a former Soul TrainThree-time Emmy nominated choreographer and dancer who worked with stars like LL Cool J. Bobby Brown. Diana Ross and the Fly Girls. Living Color. Her role earned her Academy Award nominations and Golden Globe nominations. Fearless (1993).
Perez wrote her memoir with poignant clarity and brevity. “I have survived.”Rosie Perez was a victim of tragedy, hardships, and other difficult circumstances throughout her life. Because of her determination, courage, self-reliance and unquenchable spirit, she found her feet and has thrived ever since.
Here’s the remarkable inside story of how this petite powerhouse did it.
An unsteady mother made for a turbulent childhood
Perez’s parents cheated on their spouses with each other. Rosie’s mother was mentally ill and was eventually diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. After Perez’s birth, her father abandoned her and she pulled a gun against him.
Perez was raised in a world of violence, instability and turmoil. She had to be strong to make it through her teenage years. She felt like she was being rejected by her mother. Interview with Aljazeera AmericaTo discuss her memoir in May 2014 A Handbook for Unpredictable Lives, Perez said, “From the day I could remember her, I felt rejected by her.”
A loving aunt raised her for a while
There was a source of genuine caring and affection in Perez’s life, although it wasn’t her mother. It was her Aunt Tia, whom Perez loved from the moment she was born. She was also happy to care for her. Perez believed Tia was her mother for the first three years.
“I think that those three years with my aunt helped me understand that there is good love out there,”Perez’s memoir contains these words. “I was loved.”
Perez’s mother eventually showed up and demanded her back. A few days later, she dropped Perez off at a Catholic children’s home in Peekskill, New York. Perez, a young girl, realized she would be there forever among a group that seemed forbidding to her. “heart really started to break.”
Thus another chapter in Perez’s life began, one that, according to her, was often fraught with nightmarish cruelty.
Her Time At The Children’s Home Was Traumatic
Her mother abandoning her was difficult enough. Perez stated that some nuns were abusive and harsh. One nun, Sister Renata (names in Perez’s book were changed to safeguard people’s privacy), seemed to have it out for her. She regularly hit Perez in the face and once slammed Perez’s head into a metal locker.
Perez was unruly one time, so Sister Renata punished her by making Perez stand in front of the locker. “After a few minutes, which felt more like an hour, my eyes started to close shut,” Perez wrote. “… Bam! Sister Renata banged my head into the metal locker.”
Perez met Cindy, a four-year-old girl. Perez spoke of Cindy many years later. “She was my best friend, my confidante, my little angel.”
Perez’s time at the children’s home did not feel quite so alone with her pal Cindy around—yet she was understandably scared, confused, and eager to leave. “This just can’t be,”Perez stated that she thinks to herself. “Why is this happening to me? I want to go home!”
Perez and Cindy got into a nasty fight with Sister Renata one day. For punishment, they had a tormenting battle with Sister Renata. They had to get together and scrub the whole bathroom.
As irrepressible children they were, the girls found a cough syrup bottle and took a few sips from it to enjoy the alcohol content. The girls turned on a radio and horsed around to the songs of Gladys Knight and the Temptations.
Sister Renata marched into the room at that point. Outraged by the girls’ rule-breaking and giddy antics, she hit them both on the hands hard enough to draw blood. She also shoved a bar of soap in Perez’s mouth.
Her Mother was also physically abusive
Perez moved into a group home when she was eight years of age with her half siblings. Perez was able to visit her mom at home. However, she would often hit Perez. She once forced Perez to steal light bulbs at gunpoint. According to the Daily News.
Despite the mistreatment, Perez still yearned for her mother’s acceptance. Perez described her desire to feel a real connection with her mother. This connection was something she has longed for all her life.
“You want your parent to love you. You want your parent to want you. Then after a while, after they beat you down so much, you want them even more,” Perez said.
Perez had hoped for a mother-daughter relationship, but it never happened. Perez’s mother died later from AIDS-related complications.
During this troubled time, Perez’s flair for choreography bubbled to the top. Her path to prominence wasn’t easy, though.
She exhorted female choreographers/dancers in the industry to insist on being paid. Some people criticize her for this. “mean and greedy,” She shared her story Elle2014. She quickly refuted this and stated, “I’m being business.”
Perez once stated that women in dance were treated badly at the time by Perez. “The misogyny was disgusting. The way they perceived women, treated women was appalling, and probably is still appalling. But I refused to be denied.”
Perez found a clever way to use her knowledge to help herself. “I knew how to choreograph because I was part of the cheerleading squad in upstate New York,”She said.
That opened Perez’s door to entertainment. Perez would never be denied that opportunity again.
Rosie was sexually abused by her half-brother
Perez was awaiting more heartache and anguish from another family member. She was visiting her mother when her half-brother attacked her twice. Perez’s mother refused to believe her when she told her about it and said she wasn’t pretty enough for him to attack her.
“You think he would pick you out when you’re the ugliest,” Perez’s mother told her, According to the Daily News. “He can pick any of your sisters who are prettier than you.”
It must have been awful for Perez to receive that cruel, inhumane reaction from her mother, the woman who should have been she staunchest ally, protector and friend.
As a way to cope with the violence she was subjected to, she learned how to box
Perez is tough, scrappy according to some comments she made in her book and interviews. Perez didn’t want to accept the undeserved hard knocks that she received. She wanted to take control of her situation and be assertive.
Perez learned how to box to be able to use her fists against anyone who tried to mess with her. Perez has continued to use these physical skills throughout her career. Do the Right Things(1989) Birds of Prey (2020).
Perez has his own philosophy on boxing. “Boxing is about pushing through your fears,” She said that according to IMDb. “It’s more about fighting yourself. Floyd Mayweather could get punched—like [a] clean shot down the middle to his face—and he wouldn’t flinch. And I understand what he’s doing.”
Perez also said that boxing was a sport. “is a metaphor for life. Boxing, the sweet science, is to hit and not get hit.” One analyst even dubbed her “the First Lady of Boxing”Because of her passion for the sport according to The New York Times.
After a Queens girl threatened to cut her head with a razor, she decided to move to California. The following is an extract from the Daily News, the other student tried to cut a dimple right off Perez’s face.
Perez had had enough. To find her future, Perez headed west to California.
Hollywood Studios tried to whitewash her
Concepts like diversity, equality, inclusion, and inclusivity are becoming societal norms in many workplaces, universities, as well as various professions throughout the country. However, these standards were not always respected or accepted in the past.
Industry professionals opposed diversity when Perez was a newcomer in show business. It was an ingrained barrier that they either knowingly or unwittingly maintained.
Perez was true to her word and refused to compromise her authenticity. She was furious at being stereotyped for her ethnicity and hoped other Latino actors would be the same.
She said People In 2018, “I think it’s really really important for Latin actors and actresses to go out for roles that are not specifically designed for a Latino character. Just go out there and let them know that we come in all different shapes and sizes….”
Perez refused roles that stereotype Latina women and even lost jobs. “Hollywood’s racist,” In 2014, she spoke out to CNN. “I knew something else would come along that I was OK with. Sometimes you pay a price by not working as much, but I felt good about myself in the morning.”
Perez’s part in the film White Men Can’t Jump1992 marked a turning point in her professional career. She almost didn’t get it.
Perez explained the concept in her book. “The studio, as I was told, had a problem that I was Puerto Rican; they were worried about the interracial aspect.” The movie’s producers were skittish about portraying an interracial relationship.
Woody Harrelson (and Wesley Snipes), were there to help her. She was grateful for their willingness to risk everything for her. “…[T]hat’s the only way things change—when everyone joins the fight and you’re not the only one rushing up the hill.”
She sustained injuries while filming an Episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Perez sustained nerve damage, along with severe neck and back injuries, after being shaken hard by an extra during an episode of the 2009 police drama. Perez had to have 2 operations and was forced to miss work.
Daily News It was reported thatPerez claimed that she was being unfairly treated in her complaint “grabbed, yanked, wrenched, and manhandled.” She filed a lawsuit against the show’s producers. It was settled in February 2012 for an undisclosed amount.
Her Friend Was Assaulted By Harvey Weinstein
Perez testified at Harvey Weinstein’s trial in 2020 that her friend, actress Annabella Sciorra, called her in 1993 to tell her that she had been raped by Weinstein. She didn’t say at that time who did it. Perez was later informed by Sciorra that Weinstein had harassed her.
Perez stated that Sciorra was Sciorra. According to AP News, “Please go to the police.”She replied that Sciorra had answered her. “I can’t—he’d destroy me.”
Weinstein denied having “nonconsensual sex.” When questioned by his lawyer about why she did not report the alleged incident to law enforcement herself, Perez said that she “was being respectful”Sciorra
Therapy has helped her manage the PTSD from her tragic past
Perez told TIME2014After everything she’d been through, being diagnosed with PTSD “felt like a weight was lifted”From her. She said that she didn’t start therapy until she was an adult because of the stigma associated with mental health problems and treatment by some Latinos.
She saw through it. Perez said, “I’ve heard racist remarks that refer to getting psychotherapy help as ‘being white’…Therapy is not a ‘white thing.’ It’s a clinical thing.”
Despite her positive outlook, Perez had to learn the hard way not to talk about mental illness. She shared her experience with ShondalandIn 2020, she confided to a producer her mental health problems.
“They went back and told everybody—it was humiliating. I was chastised for reacting, which made me look even more insane in their eyes.”
Rosie Has Become A Mental Health Advocate For People Of Color
Perez gave the example of Perez herself to show how much progress can be made when someone seeks help for a mental illness. She wanted to encourage people—especially people of color—to understand that there is absolutely no shame in seeking assistance from a therapist or other qualified mental health professional.
“As people of color, sometimes we don’t get the mental help we need,” Perez claimed that Perez was referring to Amsterdam News. “We might go to a church or something, but that’s not enough. I wanted to be the best me I could be, so I went and got help. That’s what it’s really about.”
She also wants people to know that it’s especially important to keep looking for the right therapist and not settle for someone who is not the best fit for them.
Rosie Perez isn’t embittered, she’s empowered. From an early age, she faced a lot of hardships but never gave up on her dreams. There were a few kind people in Rosie’s corner who never quit on her, either—her trusted Aunt Tia, her childhood buddy Cindy, and Grace, a nun who reassured her that she would make it.
She was a strong woman with determination, grit, and toughness. Perez was able to gain fame and respect in Hollywood, where many Latino actors still faced demeaning stereotypes.
She refused to let her guard down. She encouraged others to refuse to accept the status quo.
Just like the strongest steel is forged in the hottest flames, Perez’s character was shaped in part by many negative forces. She is a compassionate person who reaches out to those in pain. She is stronger than ever after all her trials.
.