Rose was born in New York, his mother is Puerto Rican and his father a Native American (Lakota Sioux), and raised in Brooklyn, where he displayed an interest in the arts during his childhood..

In 1970, when he was 16 years old, he won a scholarship to study dance with the Ballet de Puerto Rico, and graduated from Adelphi Business College.

He was discovered by producer Jacques Morali while performing in the New York gay nightclub scene in Greenwich Village, and was recruted for the disco group "The Village People", where he is the Indian.

Rose and Village People have raised millions of dollars for many charities. Among them are the Native American College Fund and various AIDS charities. Rose is a member of the Board of Directors of Sixuvus Ltd., Village People's corporate entity, he's a member of the Advisory Board of the Native American Music Association, a member of LARAS-Latin Grammy's and of the Winter Music Conference.

He is openly gay. In 2006, Rose appeared as a contestant on the revival of I've Got a Secret. He has relocated to Asbury Park, New Jersey.