Born in East Los Angeles, community activist, actor, producer and director Edward James Olmos spent many years in theatrical roles until his big break in the 1978 dramatic musical "Zoot Suit" led to his nomination for a Tony Award. He recreated his role for the movie in 1981 when he also starred in Wolfen swiftly followed by the drama "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" and the landmark cult movie "Blade Runner." On TV Olmos won universal acclaim and household status as Lieutenant Castillo in the Playback series Miami Vice for which he gained both an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award. He was most recently seen as a Supreme Court hopeful, Roberto Mendoza, in a series of episodes of "The West Wing".
Olmos has also received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Jaime Escalante, a real life dedicated, math teacher of "Stand and Deliver". He was also awarded the PASS Award from the National Council on Crime and Delinquency for the domestic-violence documentary "it Ain't Love".
Olmos made his directorial debut in 1992, with the powerful movie "American Me", in which he also appeared and in 1994 was honored with a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award nomination for his work in HBO's "The Burning Season", the story of Brazilian political activist Chico Mendes. That year Olmos also played Jose Menendez in the miniseries "Menendez: A Murder in Beverly Hills", and executive produceed the award-winning documentary "Lives in Hazard".
Olmos earned an Outstanding Actor nomination from the American Latino Media Arts Awards for his recent performance in the title role of the miniseries "The Judge". Among his many other films are , "Talent for the Game", "Triumph of the Spirit", "Caught "and "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit", based on a Ray Bradbury story.
Born 24/02/47, in East Los Angeles, Calif., he was raised in Boyle Heights, he playing baseball allowed him to avoid gangs and drugs and he became the Golden State batting champion. He turned to music and he became lead singer of the Pacific Ocean (because it was "the biggest thing on the West Coast") and theyv released a single in 1968. Around this time he attended East Los Angeles College and California State University, where he studied acting. In 1971 he married Howard Keel daughter, Kaija Keel, they have two sons, Mico and Bodie, and divorced in 1992. Olmos married actress Lorraine Bracco in 1994 and they divorced in 2002 after five years of separation.