After 17 years on the air, ABC has finally cast its first Latina to its talk ensemble “The View.” Actress Rosie Perez debuts as one of the new co-hosts in season 18 of the show, which starts Monday, September 15 at 11 am.
She joins another new hire – republican political analyst Nicholle Wallace, George W. Bush’s former communications chief. Both will team up with returning co-hosts Rosie O’Donnell and Whoopi Goldberg on the one-hour daytime talk show.
In the past few years, ABC had invited a handful of Latina guest-hosts, mostly for a one-day visit, including Alicia Menéndez, Ana Belaval and Nely Galán.
Born in New York to Puerto Rican parents, Rosie Perez’s career has ranged from actress, dancer, and choreographer to director and author.
She’s best known for her acting roles in “Do the Right Thing,” “White Men Can’t Jump,” and “Fearless” for which she received an Oscar nomination. She was a choreographer for multiple music videos for celebrities like Janet Jackson, Bobby Brown and LL Cool J, as well as for the Fly Girls for the TV comedy show “In Living Color,” where Jennifer Lopez was one of the dancers.
In February of this year, she published her autobiography “Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling (with Great Hair).”
A known activist for Puerto Rican rights and the fight against AIDS, she is set to star in the Broadway play “Fish in the Dark” in March of 2015.