Rosie Perez

Born Sept. 6, 1964, in Brooklyn, N.Y., actress Rosie Perez began her career as a featured dancer on the TV show "Soul Train" and as a choreographer for musical artists such as Bobby Brown and Diana Ross before yakking her way into audiences' hearts as the fast-talking girlfriend in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989).

In the early 1990s, Perez parlayed her motormouth persona into featured roles in a number of films, including White Man Can't Jump (opposite Woody Harrelson) and Jim Jarmusch's Night on Earth. Playing against type -- and earning an Oscar nomination for her efforts -- Perez next wowed audiences and critics alike with her portrayal of a tormented plane crash survivor in Peter Weir's Fearless (1993).

More recent films for Perez include Riding in Cars with Boys (opposite Drew Barrymore) and the 2005 HBO movie Lackawanna Blues.

Filmography