Jimmy Smits

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Jimmy Smits

Smits at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
Born July 9, 1955 (1955-07-09) (age 54)
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Spouse(s) Barbara Smits (1981–1987)
Domestic partner(s) Wanda de Jesus (1986 - Present)

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.

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[edit] 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.[1][2] He has 2 sisters, Yvonne and Diana. He grew up in a devoutly Catholic family[1] in a working-class neighborhood and spent time in Puerto Rico during his childhood.[3][4] 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.[5]

[edit] Career

Smits at the 39th Annual Emmy Awards in 1987

A notable early role played by Smits was that of Eddie Rivera in the series premiere of Miami Vice. In the episode, he was Sonny Crockett's original partner, only to be shortly killed off in a sting gone wrong. He played Victor Sifuentes in the first five seasons of the long-running legal drama L.A. Law.

Smits played a Conky Repairman on Pee-wee's Playhouse as one of the show's memorable characters. He also starred in the multigenerational story of a Chicano family in My Family/Mi Familia in 1995.

A new audience became aware of Smits for his appearance as Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan who appears in the film Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and becomes Princess Leia's adoptive father in the film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. His likeness and voice are also used for the character in the game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Smits was to have hosted the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards broadcast, but it was called off because of the terrorist attacks that day. He instead hosted a non-televised press conference to announce the winners.

Smits played the role of Congressman Matt Santos of Houston, Texas in the final two seasons of the American television drama The West Wing, joining fellow L.A. Law alumnus John Spencer. Smits's character eventually ran for and won the US Presidency in the series.

For the third season of Dexter, Smits played the role of Miguel Prado, an assistant district attorney who befriends Dexter and takes part in his killings.[6] Additionally, he portrayed the character, Alex Vega, in the CBS TV series, Cane which aired from September 25, 2007 to December 18, 2007 and was subsequently cancelled by the network due to the 2007 Screen Writer's Guild strike.

[edit] Personal life

Smits was married to Barbara Smits from 1981 until their divorce in 1987. They have two children, Taina (born in 1973) and Joaquin (born in 1983). Since 1986, Smits has been in a relationship with actress Wanda De Jesus. They reside in Los Angeles. Smits helped found the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts[7] to advance the presence of Latinos in the media, telecommunications and entertainment industries. Jimmy is also an advocate for diagnostic colorectal screening and has appeared in a public service commercial.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] See also

Puerto Rico portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Jimmy Smits is still a big man on campus
  2. ^ Hispanic Magazine.com - March 2005 - Jimmy Smits
  3. ^ Jimmy Smits - Redbook
  4. ^ Gale - Free Resources - Hispanic Heritage - Biographies - Jimmy Smits
  5. ^ Consuelo Lopez Springfield (6 August 2001). "Navy Must Heed Puerto Ricans: Stop The Bombing". The Puerto Rico Herald. http://www.puertorico-herald.org/issues/2001/vol5n34/VQEds-en.shtml. Retrieved on 2006-12-11. 
  6. ^ "Jimmy Smits Joins Dexter. Couldn't You Just Die?". TV Guide. June 5, 2008. http://community.tvguide.com/blog-entry/TVGuide-News-Blog/Todays-News/Jimmy-Smits-Dexter/800041016. 
  7. ^ Mission Statement

[edit] External links

Search Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jimmy Smits
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Dennis Franz
for NYPD Blue		 Golden Globe Award - Best Actor in a Television Drama
for NYPD Blue
1996		 Succeeded by
David Duchovny
for The X Files
v • d • e
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor - Drama Series

Anthony Zerbe (1976) · Gary Frank (1977) · Robert Vaughn (1978) · Stuart Margolin (1979) · Stuart Margolin (1980) · Michael Conrad (1981) · Michael Conrad (1982) · James Coco (1983) · Bruce Weitz (1984) · Edward James Olmos (1985) · John Karlen (1986) · John Hillerman (1987) · Larry Drake (1988) · Larry Drake (1989) · Jimmy Smits (1990) · Timothy Busfield (1991) · Richard Dysart (1992) · Chad Lowe (1993) · Fyvush Finkel (1994) · Ray Walston (1995) · Ray Walston (1996) · Héctor Elizondo (1997) · Gordon Clapp (1998) · Michael Badalucco (1999) · Richard Schiff (2000)
v • d • e
NYPD Blue
Characters
Actors
Creators
Episodes
v • d • e
Dexter
Novels
TV episodes
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