When proud New Yorker Rosie Perez moved to California, she had no intention of becoming famous. But she nevertheless went on to establish herself as a successful actress, choreographer, and TV personality, which is quite remarkable considering the odds she was up against. This is her tragic real-life story.

In her 2014 memoir, Handbook for an Unpredictable Life, Perez revealed that her mother Lydia briefly left her longtime husband for another man when she fell pregnant with his child. They moved into a Brooklyn apartment together, but things were over before Perez was even born, as her dad jumped out of the window when her mom allegedly pulled a gun on him and didn't look back. Perez's mom returned to her husband just before she was born, but there wasn't a place for young Rosie.

Fortunately, her Aunt Tia was happy to have her. She took her in when Rosie was still an infant, and the future actress spent the first three years of her life believing that her aunt was her mother. The arrangement worked for everyone, until Lydia showed up out of the blue and demanded that the child be turned over to her. With no legal right to keep hold of her, Tia reluctantly let her go, and then within a few days, Lydia did the same thing, abandoning Rosie at a Catholic children's home in Westchester County. In an interview with Aljazeera America, Perez admitted,

"From the day I could remember her, I felt rejected by her."

Keep watching to see Tragic Details About Rosie Perez.

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Mother aunt | 0:00

Sadistic nun | 1:20

Parental abuse | 2:36

Assaulted by her brother | 3:42

Schoolyard fighting | 4:49

Whitewashing | 5:45

PTSD | 6:58

Testifying against Harvey Weinstein | 7:51

Catching COVID-19 | 8:40

Mental health advocacy | 9:55