Rosie Perez didn’t have a typical start. At age 3, her mother placed her in a Catholic children’s home in Westchester, beginning years of her life spent in New York’s child-welfare system. Rosie later described the “campus-like” institution, strict punishments, and the loneliness kids feel when no one tucks them in or says “see you in the morning.” 

By 8, she was moved into church-run group homes where staff came and went. She witnessed harm and instability—and carried that weight. After nearly a decade in care, she returned to live with her aunt at 14. Counselors, a supportive nun, and family members helped her believe a different future was possible. 

A moment that cracked the walls open: a school trip to see The Wiz on Broadway when she was 12. Sitting in the dark, listening to “When I Think of Home,” Rosie broke down, and for the first time didn’t care what other kids thought. She felt something new: possibility. 

Finding Her Lane in the Arts

Rosie’s arts spark turned into a career: choreography, then a breakout performance in Do the Right Thing, and decades of memorable roles on stage and screen (including an Emmy-nominated turn in The Flight Attendant). She also wrote a powerful memoir, Handbook for an Unpredictable Life, sharing why telling her story...including PTSD, depression, and healing...felt necessary to help others. 

Giving Back: Art as a Lifeline

Co-founding Urban Arts Partnership, Rosie has spent 25+ years bringing arts education to students in underserved schools in NYC and LA. The goal: help young people express themselves, build skills, and be seen, because access to art can change lives. 

Full Circle: Portraying a Foster Parent

In recent years, Rosie chose a role as a foster parent in the Apple TV+ thriller Before. When asked why the character fosters, her line—“I just wanted to give someone all the things that I never had”—hit close to home and drew on her real childhood experiences. 

Rosie's Story Impact

Rosie is honest: many young people age out or go home without support and face real challenges afterward. Her call is for safer placements, fewer moves, more family-like homes, and faster paths to permanency, the very reforms Lived Experience advocates are pushing for across the U.S. 

For those in foster care, Rosie’s story says: your past is part of you, but it’s not the definition of you. You can find supporters, claim your voice, and build a future that fits you.