Her breakthrough came at age 24 with her portrayal of Tina in the film Do the Right Thing (1989), followed by White Men Can't Jump (1992).

Her starring film roles since include It Could Happen to You (1994), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Pineapple Express (2008), and Birds of Prey (2020).

She has performed in stage plays on Broadway such as The Ritz, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, and Fish in the Dark.

Perez was born on September 6, 1964, in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, to Lydia Pérez and Ismael Serrano, a merchant marine seaman.

As a student at Los Angeles City College,[citation needed] with plans to major in biochemistry,[13] she said she relieved stress by going to nightclubs for ladies' night.

[6] In 1988, when she was 23 years old, Perez was noticed at the dance club Funky Reggae[14] by Spike Lee, who hired her for her first major acting role in Do the Right Thing (1989).

[15] Perez later choreographed music videos by Janet Jackson, Bobby Brown, Diana Ross, LL Cool J and The Boys.

[9] She was the choreographer for the dancing group the Fly Girls, who were featured on the Fox television comedy program In Living Color, and also worked as a segment producer.

[17] Perez had her third major role in the hit comedy White Men Can't Jump (1992) co-starring Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson.

She played corrupt police officer Carol Brazier in the Judd Apatow-produced film Pineapple Express (2008), co-starring Seth Rogen and James Franco.

Executive producer Neal Baer said the writers had Perez in mind when they wrote the role of a young sexual abuse victim's mother.

[23] In May 2011, Perez filed a lawsuit against the producers of the show, saying the injury she incurred was the result of being "recklessly pulled, grabbed, yanked, wrenched and manhandled" during filming.

[25] In February 2014, Perez published an autobiography titled Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling... She is also the reader of the audio CD of this book.

"[6] She decided to join the cast when she learned that Bill Wolff, whom she knew from The Rachel Maddow Show, was going to be the new executive producer.