Emmy Award-winning television, film, and stage actor Jimmy Smits is one of a very small handful of highly visible Hispanic actors. A co-founder of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, an organization whose mission is to establish opportunities for Hispanic Americans in entertainment, Smits has used his immense popularity and fame—both of which derive in part from his stunning good looks—to publicize the cause of Hispanics and other minority groups in the entertainment industry. An elegant and truthful actor with a persona that combines charm, sex appeal, and vulnerability with a tough and steely inner core, Smits carved a place for himself as an American cultural icon when he was cast in Steven Bochco's landmark television ensemble drama series, L. A. Law (1986-1991) and went on to an even higher profile as detective Bobby Simone in Bochco's hard-hitting cop series, NYPD...