Jimmy Smits: WHAT I KNOW NOW

THE STAR TALKS ABOUT HOW HE LEARNED TO EMBRACE HIS HERITAGE AND ENJOY THE RIDE AS ONE OF AMERICA’S MOST BELOVED STARS

Jimmy Smits has come a long way from the tough New York City neighbourhoods where he grew up. Born to mum Emelina, a nurse, and dad Cornelis, a manufacturing supervisor, Smits moved with his family to the South Bronx and all over Brooklyn. “It was pretty rough,” he says of the East New York neighbourhood where he went to high school. But perhaps the most pivotal moment of his life happened when he was 10 and his family moved to Puerto Rico. “It was like out of the frying pan, into the fire,” says Smits, 66. “It was total immersion – all of a sudden, American culture stopped.”

As he navigated a new home, new school and new language, he also developed a deep appreciation for the people and the culture. “All of those things made me what I am as an adult,” he says. “The way I feel about art and music and my politics all are informed by that traumatic time.”

The star took on a new kind of challenge – singing and dancing – for his latest role, protective father Kevin Rosario in the musical In the Heights, the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning Broadway show. As Smits reflects on a 35-year career that has included Emmy nominated roles on shows like LA Law and NYPD Blue, he is most thankful for the people who have always had his back: his long-time partner, Wanda De Jesus, 62, and his two kids, Taina, 48, and Joaquin, 38. “I’m so grateful to them for toeing the line and really being supportive,” he says.

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