Matt Santos

Matt Santos
The West Wing character
Jimmy Smits as Matt Santos
First appearance	"Liftoff"
Last appearance	"Tomorrow"
Portrayed by	Jimmy Smits
Information
Nickname(s)	Matt
Gender	Male
Occupation	President of the United States (season 7) President-elect of the United States (season 7) Presidential candidate (seasons 6-7) Three-term United States House Representative (D-TX) (seasons 2-7) Two-term Mayor of Houston (before season 1) Member, Houston City Council (before season 1)
Spouse(s)	Helen Santos
Children	Peter and Miranda
Religion	Roman Catholic
Nationality	American

Matt Santos
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Marine Corps
Years of service	1982-1993
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel (Res.)
Unit	Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 134 Texas Air National Guard
Battles/wars	Persian Gulf War

Matthew Vincente "Matt" Santos is a fictional character on the American television show The West Wing, played by Jimmy Smits. His initial appearance was as a Democratic U.S. Representative from Houston, Texas; and he was elected to succeed Josiah Bartlet as President in the final episodes of the series. According to David Remnick's biography of Barack Obama, "The Bridge," and other news sources, West Wing writer and producer Eli Attie used then-State Senator Obama as a model for the character.

Santos, a Catholic, was born at St. Joseph's Hospital in Houston, Texas. He was born in either 1963 (in 2005, Josh says Santos is 42) or in 1961 (in 2006, Santos himself says he is 45). One of seven children born to Luis and Marita Santos, he grew up in the Second Ward — the oldest Mexican-American neighborhood in Houston and home to six generations of the Santos family. Luis Santos was a barber, while Marita Santos was a domestic servant.

He has been married to Helen Santos (played by Teri Polo) for 15 years, and they have two children, Peter and Miranda, who are 11 and 5, respectively, at the time of their father's inauguration.

Santos attended Jackson Middle School and Austin High School in Houston, Texas. He then attended the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, graduating at the top of his class with a degree in engineering. At Annapolis, he played football until he injured his knee. Santos speaks three languages (English, Spanish and Portuguese). After graduating he was commissioned as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. Santos was a naval aviator, qualified on carrier-based fighter aircraft (the F/A-18 Hornet), and saw action during the first Persian Gulf War. Since leaving active duty in 1993, he has served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.