Bio

An Academy Award nominated actress and Emmy nominated choreographer, Rosie Perez continues to shine in her varied roles in front of the camera and behind.

Perez starred in the recent features Won’t Back Down, opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis, and Gods Behaving Badly, opposite Alicia Silverstone and Christopher Walken.  She had a memorable role in David Gordon Green’s Pineapple Express opposite Seth Rogen and James Franco, and Brad Furman’s The Take opposite John Leguizamo, Tyrese Gibson, and Bobby Cannavale.  She also can be seen in a supporting role in Ridley Scott’s The Counselor opposite Michael Fassbender.

She received rave reviews for her performance in The Ritz on Broadway opposite Kevin Chamberlain. Perez played Googie Gomez, the fiery nightclub entertainer at The Ritz, who is desperate to make it into show business and will stop at nothing to make that dream come true. The Ritz was written by Terrence McNally and directed by Joe Mantello.

Perez received critical acclaim for her directorial debut, Yo Soy Boricua Pa‘que Tu Lo Sepas!, a documentary which celebrates Puerto Rican pride.  Narrated by Jimmy Smits, the film uncovers the complex and controversial history between Puerto Rico and the United States.  The documentary premiered at the Miami International Film Festival and was featured at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. Yo Soy Boricua Pa‘que Tu Lo Sepas! was the highest attended film at Tribeca.  The film was produced by Moxie Firecracker Films in association with Perez’s own Ten In a Car Productions.  Perez also served as executive producer on the project.

She also starred in George Wolfe’s critically acclaimed film, Lackawanna Blues.  The film plays homage to an era gone by, taking an affectionate look at the ties that bind an African-American community in the period just before desegregation.  The film co-starred S. Epatha Merkerson, Macy Gray, Jeffrey Wright, Delroy Lindo, Carmen Ejogo, Louis Gossett Jr, Terrence Howard, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and Liev Schreiber.  Perez’s performance garnered her a 2006 NAACP Image Award Nomination for “Outstanding Actress in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special.”  The film won “Best Film or Mini-Series Made for Cable TV” from the National Board of Review and has been nominated for an Eddie, DGA, WGA, Humanitas, NAACP Image, and Independent Spirit Award.  Lackawanna Blues debuted on HBO.

On the big screen, Perez has starred in comedic and dramatic roles with both ease and acclaim.  Her performance in Peter Weir’s Fearless garnered her a Golden Globe and Academy Award nomination.  Perez’s other film credits include Michel Gondry’s Human Nature opposite Tim Robbins and Patricia Arquette, Penny Marshall’s Riding In Cars With Boys with Drew Barrymore, Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing,  Jim Jarmusch’s Night On Earth, Ron Shelton’s White Men Can’t Jump with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson, Tony Bill’s Untamed Heart, Andrew Bergman’s It Could Happen To You opposite Nicolas Cage, Seth Zvi Rosenfeld’s A Brother’s Kiss and King Of The Jungle and Alexandre Rockwell’s Somebody to Love. She also starred in and produced Nancy Savoca’s The 24-Hour Woman and lent her voice to Dreamworks’ animated film,The Road To El Dorado with Kenneth Branagh and Kevin Kline. 

As a producer, Perez’s credits include Nancy Savoca’s 24-Hour Woman for The Shooting Gallery and HBO’s “Rosie Perez Presents Society’s Ride,” which ran as three parts and “Subway Stories,” an anthology of short films that she created.

Perez made her Broadway debut in the hit revival of Terence McNally’s Frankie & Johnnie in the Claire de Lune opposite Joe Pantoliano.  She went on to star in Craig Lucas’ Reckless opposite Mary Louise Parker at The Biltmore Theater in Fall 2004.  Previously, Rosie performed on stage in Eve Ensler’s critically acclaimed The Vagina Monologues in the New York, Los Angeles and Boston productions and Jose Rivera’s highly acclaimed References To Salvidor Dali Make Me Hot at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre for which she won a Theatre World Award.  Perez has also performed in the LA Philharmonic’sA Midsummer Night’s Dream and a staged reading of Borrowed Light at Alice Tully Hall, which was a series of monologues on the evolution of life behind bars written by female inmates.

On television, Perez guest starred on the May 4th, 2004 episode of NBC’s critically acclaimed comedy, “Fraiser.” Additionally, she appeared in a 2012 episode of Showtime’s hit series “Nurse Jackie.” 

Perez began her career as a choreographer for such artists as Bobby Brown, LL Cool J and Diana Ross. She also choreographed and directed the “Fly Girls” on Fox Television’s “In Living Color,” for which she received an Emmy nomination.

Throughout her career, Perez has been a vocal activist for a number of causes, especially those related to AIDS and inner city youth.  She has spoken at several AIDS conferences (including Harvard AIDS Institute) and hosted numerous AIDS fund-raisers.  Organizations such as AIDS Action Foundation, Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC) and the Latino Commission on AIDS have honored her with awards.  In 1999, Perez also received a special commendation from the New York City Comptroller, Alan Hevesi for her advocacy and activism on behalf of the people with HIV and AIDS.  Perez is also head of the Artistic Board for the Union Arts Partnership, formerly known as Working Playground, which is an arts education organization that brings dance, theater, film, poetry, and fine arts to students in Harlem, the Bronx and the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

Perez served as the National Spokesperson for Comite Noviembre Puerto Rican Heritage and was honored in New York during Puerto Rican and Hispanic Heritage Month.  She joins the Women for Peace & Justice in Vieques, Puerto Rico in demanding the removal of the US Navy from Vieques and the end of the Navy’s use of that island as a test bombing site.  In addition, Perez was honored in the Puerto Rican Day Parade in June 2000.  Perez was honored at the 2002 San Juan Cinemafest, where she received the Raul Julia Award for her support to the Puerto Rican, Caribbean and international film communities.

Currently, Perez is beginning to film her ABC pilot “The English Teacher.” She has also recently finished her memoir,Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling (With Great Hair) to be published on February 25, 2014, by Crown Publishers, a division of Random House.

Learn more at: http://www.whosay.com/rosieperez