'The View's' Rosie Perez Opens Up About Her Humble Beginnings
And the late mentor who "shaped me as a person."
— -- Rosie Perez is a movie star, author and one of the newest hosts on "The View," but when she was young, the Brooklyn native came from humble beginnings and she needed her Aunt Ana's guidance to make her the successful woman she is today.
"My mentor in my life was my aunt and she mentored my heart about opening up and letting someone love me, and teaching me how to love," Perez, 50, told ABC News. "That really shaped me as a person."
Perez admitted that as a young girl, she often would be jealous of others that were more fortunate. Her Aunt, who passed in 2001, noticed and immediately made a difference in her life.
"She taught me everybody’s hell is relative," she added. "That you can't think your situation is the world's and you can’t be jealous of someone because you think they have so much. You just have to see people for who they are and not pass judgement."
She continued, "Instead of pitying yourself, do everything to empower yourself and change situation. That helped me a lot. as little girl, I would be envious of other kids that had what I perceived a better life than me, because they had parents at home and their own bed and fattening foods, stuff like that. It made me appreciate what I did have."
Perez said that when she started opening up, she realized other kids her own age had their own problems.
Now, the actress is trying to "pay it forward" and give back to other women, teaming up with Pine-Sol to launch the "When Life Stinks, Women Rise Above It,” campaign that tries to connect women to other women as mentors. It's a free, online mentorship platform from Women Empowered. There will even be prizes through the campaign, including $5,000 or a year of housecleaning services.
"There’s a great need for people to find a platform to pay it forward," Perez said. "Just having somebody, female to female, who wants to hear you ... Sometimes it's better to talk to complete stranger than somebody they know."
Related Stories
ABC News Live