American Woman Motorscene

Sherrie Rose: A Budding Career for a REEL Woman

By: Steve Siler

Beautiful blonde actresses are not hard to come by in Hollywood, and many strive to find a way to stand taller than the crowd. But one particular Hollywood blonde has found uniqueness not through effort, but simply through her love of cars and motorcycles. She--and her motorcycle have been found on many screens, and Rose has received excellent reviews, not just as an actress, but also as a person. And after spending a great deal of time with her, it's easy to see why she's been called "the coolest chick at the bash."

Sherrie Rose is, first and foremost, her own leader. Not born into money, she grew up in trailer parks, first in Connecticut and later in Florida. She moved to California a decade ago, after attending the University of South Florida, where she switched from her engineering major to theater arts. Additionally, she studied theater in New York, Los Angeles and even in Europe. Her current acting resume is as long as this article, and if you add in her modeling experience, it's clear who she had the starring role on HBO's "Tales From the Crypt" series and co-starred on CBS' "Jake and the Fat Man." You also may recognize her as the back-seat hooker that played opposite Ray Liotta in "Unlawful Entry", or from a host of roles in other movies. No matter how you look at it, she's made herself into a formidable presence in Hollywood.

But she hasn't abandoned her roots. She looks back fondly at a strength-building childhood, one that fostered a love of automobiles and motorcycles that truly sets her above the crowd. "I guess I've always had a passion for motorcycles and cars," she remarks. "My dad rides a motorcycle so I was introduced to it at a young age. He used to take me to school on the back of his bike. There I was, seven years old, riding to school on the back of a motorcycle--in the rain. He didn't care if it rained or snowed."

In addition to her two cars and an RV, Rose now has two bikes of her own: a Honda 125 that's attached to the RV so it's easy to get around when she's on a road trip, and her beloved black '89 Harley-Davidson XL883 Sportster, which has been customized with a police-special bob tank.

A motorcycle propelled her from one audition to the next during her early years in Los Angeles. "My first three years, I went to every audition on my motorcycle," she said. "I would get to the audition, go into the lobby in full gear--leathers, boots, jacket, my hair up and no makeup on--and sign in. Then I'd go to the bathroom, change into a dress, curl my hair, put on makeup, put on shoes and walk out. They wouldn't even recognize me!"

While Rose doesn't attribute many roles to her ability to transform herself in a bathroom, the fact that she rides a motorcycle has helped her get a few. She lists it on her resume, along with the fact that she owns a Harley-Davidson. In fact, sometimes she has parts that her her as well as her motorcycle which, in effect, pays her twice.

Her riding ability gives a production added authenticity. Rose said, by eliminating the need for stunt people to ride for her. "I do my own stunts whenever I can, whether driving a car or a riding a motorcycle, because they [the film crew] can do it in one continuous motion without having to cut the camera and replace a stunt driver with me. It's much more believable. I just did a television show with Richard Greco called "Marker" in Hawaii, and they had me ride a Harley-Davidson Heritage Softtail. We got to do a continuous shot of us riding through the mountains, through the island and then pulling up to a restaurant, getting off, and walking in. It was all one shot, much more believable."

Her passion for riding through the open wind, however, hasn't overshadowed her long-time love of cars. She owns an '86 Ford Mustang convertible as well as a white Lexus SC400. A muscle-car buff since she was old enough to drag race with her friends outside the Florida trailer park, the Lexus is a departure for her. "I like the V-8, and the pickup and handling are great. But I love the lines. They're rounded and feminine. I love luxury, speed and power put together."

But luxury, speed and power certainly don't characterize her '72 Winnebago Brave motorhome, yet it represents one of the most interesting chapters of her life, which has yet to be completed. "I have always wanted to take a Winnebago across America. When I finally bought one, my friends thought I was out of my mind. My growing up in a trailer park, they thought that I'm going to feel as if I'm back where I came from. But I think it's all progressive. I've been all over the world doing action films, I've been to Haiti, Peru and Thailand, and now I want to see what Missouri looks like."

At this moment, Rose plans to trek across the Southern states for a month all by herself. She'll travel the Northern states during the summer, documenting the trip in a photo essay highlighting people across America who are 100 years old. Finding these people won't be hard, she believes, whether she finds them through friends, locals or just plain luck. She even is contemplating its publication near the turn of the century, entitling it "Centurions." "I'm going into it as a hobby, not a job; as an ends to a means to get across America," she said. "It gives me a purpose, and so I won't get lost."

Between trips, she will begin production on her own motion picture, Nothing Else Matters, a semi-autobiographical story of a girl growing up in a trailer park, trying to fit into mainstream society. It's a film that deals with the dismal topics of drugs and alcohol abuse, relationship problems and others, but also promises to be full of significance, as well. "It's all about prejudice, but within the same race. It's not about racial prejudice, but about social prejudice, and this girl's struggle to fit in." Rose plans to donate 50 percent of the proceeds from this film to the Children of the Night charity, one that provides shelter, rehabilitation, education, job training and counseling to girls and boys who live on the streets. She hopes that her personal help, as well as the money raised, will help some of these youths "become beneficial members of society." Though we've seen a lot of Rose already, this car-Ioving actress and producer promises that her best is yet to come. Budding beautifully for years now, it's time for this Rose to bloom.