Jimmy Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. Smits is perhaps best known for his roles on the 1980s
legal drama L.A. Law as
Richard Dysart's youngest uptight law partner, Victor Sifuentes, who was also the firm's pro-bono lawyer (a role he played from 1986 to 1991), and as
Dennis Franz's second partner, Det.
Bobby Simone, in
NYPD Blue (a role he played from 1994 to 1998), a police officer who was a widower, as well as his role on
The West Wing as congressman and presidential candidate
Matt Santos, opposite
Alan Alda,
Bradley Whitford, and
Martin Sheen. He appeared in a major role in the third season of
Dexter.
Early life
Smits was born in
Brooklyn, New York. His father, Cornelius Smits, was a
Surinamese immigrant of
Dutch descent who managed a
screen-printing factory. His mother, Emilina, was a
Puerto Rican who worked as a nurse.
[Jimmy Smits is still a big man on campus][Hispanic Magazine.com - March 2005 - Jimmy Smits] He has 2 sisters, Yvonne and Diana. He grew up in a devoutly
Catholic family
in a working-class neighborhood and spent time in Puerto Rico during his childhood.
[Jimmy Smits - Redbook][Gale - Free Resources - Hispanic Heritage - Biographies - Jimmy Smits] Smits earned a
bachelor's degree from
Brooklyn College in 1980 and an
MFA from
Cornell University in 1982. Though born in New York, Smits has deep Puerto Rican roots and frequently visits the island. He was arrested for his participation in
protests against
U.S. Navy bombing practices on the
Puerto Rican offshore island of
Vieques.
