Early life

Smits was born in Brooklyn, New York. "Jimmy" is the name on his birth certificate, rather than "Jim" or "James".

Smits' father, Cornelis Leendert Smits, was from Paramaribo, Suriname and was of Dutch descent. Smits' mother, Emilina (née Pola), was Puerto Rican, born in Peñuelas. He has two sisters, Yvonne and Diana, grew up in a working-class neighborhood, and spent time in Puerto Rico during his childhood.

Smits identifies himself as Puerto Rican and was raised in a strict, devout Roman Catholic family.

Though born in New York, Smits has deep Puerto Rican roots and frequently visits the island. In 2001, he was arrested for his participation in protests against U.S. Navy bombing practices on the Puerto Rican offshore island of Vieques.

Education

Smits was an athlete at and graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from Brooklyn College in 1980 and an MFA from Cornell University in 1982.

Career

An early role played by Smits was that of Eddie Rivera in the two-hour series premiere of Miami Vice, in 1984. In the episode, he portrayed Sonny Crockett's original partner, who was killed in a sting gone wrong.

Beginning in 1986, Smits played Victor Sifuentes in the first five seasons of the long-running legal drama L.A. Law.

Additionally, Smits played a repairman on Pee-wee's Playhouse, and he starred in the multigenerational story of a Chicano family in the film My Family (1995), alongside Edward James Olmos and Jennifer Lopez.

One of Smits' most acclaimed roles was that of Detective Bobby Simone on NYPD Blue, which he starred in from 1994 to 1998. He received several Emmy nominations for his performance on that television series and won the ALMA award twice.

In 1999, Smits received the HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA).

Smits was to have hosted the 2001 Latin Grammy Awards broadcast on September 11, 2001, 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 appeared as Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005), in which the character becomes Princess Leia's adoptive father. He reappeared as Bail Organa in the game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008).

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. His character eventually ran for and won the US Presidency in the series.

In Dexter season 3, Smits played the role of Miguel Prado, an assistant district attorney who befriends the title character. Smits was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role.

Additionally, Smits 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.

Smits joined the Sons of Anarchy cast in season 5 as Nero Padilla, a high-level pimp who refers to himself as a "companionator". He builds a relationship with Gemma Teller Morrow (Katey Sagal) and forms an alliance and mentorship with Gemma's son, the central character Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam).

Smits will star in The Get Down, a musical drama television series that is slated to debut in 2016 on Netflix.

Stage performances

In the mid-1980s, Smits acted in numerous performances at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York. His roles at the Hangar included Max in the 1982 production of Cabaret and Paul in Loose Ends, the same year. Smits has participated in the Public Theater's New York Shakespeare Festival, playing the role of Duke Orsino in Twelfth Night in 2002 and Benedick in Much Ado about Nothing in 2004. From November 2009 to February 2010, he appeared opposite Christine Lahti, Annie Potts, and Ken Stott in the critically lauded Broadway play God of Carnage, replacing Jeff Daniels. In December 2012 through March 2013, he appeared in Chicago in The Motherfucker with the Hat, at Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Personal life

Smits was married to high school sweetheart, Barbara Smits, from 1981 until 1987. They have two children, Taina (born in 1973) and Joaquin (born in 1983). Since 1986, he has been in a relationship with actress Wanda De Jesus; they live together in Los Angeles.

Smits was arrested in 1987 for assaulting an officer, after police answered a call for help at his home. He and De Jesus were arrested for battery on three police officers who responded to the call. The charges were later dropped because of conflicting witness statements. He later pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor of disturbing the peace, and was sentenced to 18 months of unsupervised probation and a $150 fine. She pleaded guilty to misidentifying herself to a police officer and disturbing the peace. She was fined $250 and sentenced to perform 18 months of unsupervised probation and 75 hours of community service.

Charity work and public service

Smits helped found the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts to advance the presence of Latinos in the media, telecommunications, and entertainment industries. He is also an advocate for diagnostic colorectal screening and has appeared in a public service commercial. More recently, he filmed a PSA for Detroit Non-Profit Cass Community Social Services. In 2010, he served as the Honorary Chair of their 6th Annual "Catch the Fireworks With Cass" event.

Smits has also donated to several other organizations, including the Red Cross, New York Cares, and Stand up to Cancer. In addition, he regularly donates to HIV and AIDS treatment and to help human rights around the world. He also donates for disaster relief whenever a big natural disaster occurs, and he donates for the creative arts.

Smits' main work with Latinos is summarized by these two quotes:

• "I've been very lucky to work on a wide variety of projects, including two long-run and top-10 dramatic television shows. That is why it is so important to offer a helping hand to the next generation of young Latinos coming up behind me.".
• "I am a firm believer in education and have worked very hard to tell young Latinos that they must go to college and that, if possible, they should pursue an advanced degree. I am convinced that education is the great equalizer.".

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Running Scared	Julio Gonzales
1987	Hotshot	Stars Team Member
1987	The Believers	Tom Lopez
1989	Old Gringo	Gen. Tomas Arroyo
1990	Vital Signs	Dr. David Redding
1991	Switch	Walter Stone
1991	Fires Within	Nestor
1993	Gross Misconduct	Justin Thorne
1994	The Cisco Kid	Cisco Kid
1995	My Family	Jimmy Sanchez
1995	The Last Word	Actor (Martin)
1997	Murder in Mind	Peter Walker
1997	Lesser Prophets	Mike
2000	Adventures in Wild California	Narrator
2000	The Million Dollar Hotel	Geronimo
2000	Price of Glory	Arturo Ortega
2000	Bless the Child	Agent John Travis
2002	Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones	Senator Bail Organa
2005	Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith	Senator Bail Organa
2007	The Jane Austen Book Club	Daniel Avila
2009	Backyard	Mickey Santos	Also known as El Traspatio
2010	Mother and Child	Paco

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Miami Vice	Eddie Rivera	Episode: "Brother's Keeper"
1986-1992	L.A. Law	Victor Sifuentes	107 episodes
1986	Spenser: For Hire	Hector Valdes	Episode: "In a Safe Place"
1986	Rockabye	2nd Policeman	Television movie
1987	The Highwayman	Bo Ziker	Television movie
1987	Stamp of a Killer	Richard Braden	Television movie
1988	Glitz	Vincent Marra	Television movie
1988	Mickey's 60th Birthday	Victor Sifuentes	Television movie
1989	Pee-wee's Playhouse	Johnny Wilson	Episode: "Conky's Breakdown"
1990	Cop Rock	Victor Sifuentes	Episode: "Potts Don't Fail Me Now"
1992	The Broken Cord	David Norwell	Television movie
1993	The Tommyknockers	Jim 'Gard' Gardner	Television movie
1994	The Cisco Kid	Cisco Kid	Television movie
1995	Solomon & Sheba	King Solomon	Television movie
1994-1998, 2004	NYPD Blue	Det. Bobby Simone	Season 2-6, regular; Season 12, guest; 90 episodes
1995	Happily Ever After	Old King Cole	Episode: "Mother Goose"
1996	Marshal Law	Jack Coleman	Television movie
1997	Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special	Old King Cole	Television movie
1997	Happily Ever After	Price Felipe	Episode: "Cinderella"
2004-2006	The West Wing	President Matt Santos	37 episodes
2005	Lackawanna Blues	Ruben Santiago, Sr.	Television movie
2007	Cane	Alex Vega	13 episodes
2008	Dexter	Miguel Prado	12 episodes
2010	Outlaw	Cyrus Garza	8 episodes
2012-2014	Sons of Anarchy	Neron 'Nero' Padilla	38 episodes
2016	The Get Down	Francisco "Papa Fuerte" Cruz	Upcoming series
2017	24: Legacy	John Donovan	Upcoming series

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Jimmy Smits

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1987	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	L.A. Law	Nominated
1988				Nominated
1989				Nominated
1990				Won
	Viewers for Quality Television	Best Supporting Actor in a Quality Drama Series		Nominated
1991	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
1992				Nominated
1995		Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	NYPD Blue	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Won
1996	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Drama		Won
	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Male Lead	My Family	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	NYPD Blue	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
				Nominated
1997	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated
1998	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Drama		Won
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated
1999	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated
2006	ALMA Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	The West Wing	Won
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated
2008	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series	Cane	Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Dexter	Nominated
2009	ALMA Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Saturn Awards	Best Guest Starring Role on Television		Won
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series		Nominated
2013	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series	Sons of Anarchy	Nominated
2014	Satellite Awards	Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film		Nominated
2015				Nominated

Charities

Jimmy Smits supports the following charitable causes: Cancer, Red Cross.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]