Rosario Salazar

Infobox character
colour = yellow
name = Rosario Inez Consuelo Yolanda Salazar


caption =
first = "Object of my Rejection"
last = "Finale"
cause = End of Series
nickname = Rosie, Ro-Ro
gender = Female
age = 40's-50's
born =
occupation = Maid; Various other demeaning jobs
family = A Brother ("incarcerated")
spouse = Jack McFarland (ex-husband)
children = Elliot (ex-step-son)
Possible other children ("estranged")
episode = Most of series
portrayer = Shelley Morrison
creator = Max Mutchnick

Rosario Inez Consuelo Yolanda Salazar (also known as "Rosie" and "Ro-Ro") is a fictional character on the American television sitcom "Will & Grace". She is played by actress Shelley Morrison. She was originally considered to have only one appearance, but her popularity caused her to be a semi-regular character.

Early life

A native of El Salvador, Rosario was a school teacher who received a bachelor's degree in clinical psychology from the University of Texas, and almost got a master's degree (three credits short); she, at some point, also attended business school. She also fought in the resistance and was a sniper. At some point, she moved to the Bronx - presumably while studying business. While there, she also performed with a then-unknown Jennifer Lopez, including a production of "Tea for Two" at the Shalom Retirement Center. At one point, she was also paid to tape pornographic videos of Tommy Lee.

One of Rosario's brothers is a political prisoner, and remarks made by Karen suggests she has children, but they are possibly still in El Salvador.

Rosario and Karen

In 1985, Rosario met Karen Walker at a club, while working as a cigarette lady, and went to work for her as a maid, which was where she was working when the series began in 1998. Rosario and Karen are very close, but their relationship is love-hate. They are notorious for swapping insults back and forth. Rosario is just as feisty as Karen, and is one of the few people that manages to go toe to toe with her. In earlier episodes, they would often yell and argue at each other at the same time. For example :

Karen: "Why you ingrate - when I met you, you were boxing donkeys for money"
Rosario: (indignant) "You pulled me outta Business School you tipsy witch!"

Rosario: (sneaks up from behind and taps shoulder) "Miss Karen?"
Karen: *screams* "You scared the hell outta me! I thought you were the chupacabra! What are you doing here anyway?"
Rosario: (politely with anticipation) "Don't you remember what today is?"
Karen: "Yeah. It's "National Scrub Your Toilet Day" and I think you should get home and start celebratin'!!"

However, many of those fights ended with an emotional embrace or light-hearted exchange between the two. Which makes it clear that deep down, they really do care about each other. Examples of this include the season 3 episode, "My Uncle, The Car" where Karen becomes sad at almost losing Rosario in a bet to her rival Beverley Leslie, and the season 7 episode "Partners", where Karen ignores the plight of a very sick Rosario because she is afraid of losing her. Rosario also mentions in season 4's "The Third Wheel Gets The Grace" that, for their 15 year anniversary, all she wanted to do was spend time with Karen.

During the Series

Although she had been mentioned by Karen since the pilot episode, Rosario's first appearance was in the season-one finale, "Object Of My Rejection." Due to Karen's patronizing tone, we're made to think she doesn't speak English well. She speaks English fluently, but is an illegal alien. To keep her in the country, Karen had her marry Jack McFarland, her gay friend, to get her green card. The marriage was later terminated at the end of season two, when Rosario asked for a divorce to pursue other romantic interests. However, she maintained a close relationship with Jack after (often echoing hers with Karen) and claimed to think of him as family still.

Rosario was one of few people who Stan remained in contact with after he faked his death (in season five). When Karen learned that Rosario had kept this news from her (in season eight), she fired her. Rosario worked as a bar attendant until Karen ultimately took her back.

In the show's series finale, Rosario was shown to have lived with Karen and Jack in the years after the show ended, growing older with them and possibly still working for them despite being in a wheelchair (though she states that she is only in the wheelchair due to a sprained ankle).

Rosario typically is seen wearing a Members Only jacket on top of her maid's uniform. She has a particular fondness for sandwiches from Subway.

Morrison was a guest star in the first two seasons, but from season three until the show's end she was listed as a main cast member in the episodes she appeared in.