Rosie Perez fired an agent who encouraged her to look more caucasian early in her career.
"She told me that if I dyed my hair blonde and got a nose job, 'I can get you more jobs. Because you're not Black,'" the "Flight Attendant" star told Variety in a recent interview. "I couldn't believe it. I was like, 'Oh my goodness,' like, 'Thank you, fired.'"

For a while, Rosie's career suffered. She "had nobody" and "no money," she said.
Then she shared her plight with "Criminal Justice" co-star Jennifer Grey, who quickly called her own agent.
"Jennifer and I clicked instantly," Rosie said. "I haven't seen that woman in ages, but I just think she's phenomenal. She's like, 'I cannot believe how racist this industry is.' She picks up the phone and calls Jane Berliner at CAA and says, 'You need to represent this actress.'"
That phone call proved to be quite beneficial: Rosie soon landed her gig in "White Men Can't Jump" — a role that was originally written to be played by a white woman. She also got a job in 1993's "Fearless," for which she earned an Oscar nomination.

Ironically, Rosie told Variety in 2021 that she hasn't been invited back to the Academy Awards since then.
"Not even to sit in the audience, not to present, nothing — and I'm a member," she said. "I love the Academy Awards. I cheer on my peers, but it hurts. It's like when your home team doesn't ask you to come back into the stadium after you got up to bat and hit the home run."
In 2022, Rosie attended the show to present an award with her "White Men Can't Jump" co-stars Harrelson and Wesley Snipes.