Matt Santos - Personal Life

Personal Life

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 fifteen years, and they have two young children, Peter and Miranda, who are eleven and five, respectively, at the time of their father's inauguration.

Santos attended Walter Reed Junior High School in 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). He was commissioned as an officer in the United States Marine Corps, ultimately achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel. Santos qualified as a combat pilot, and saw action during the first Persian Gulf War. Upon leaving active duty in 1993 he served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.

Santos was elected to the Houston City Council, where he served for two years until his election as mayor. He served for four years (two terms of two years) as mayor, during which he opened four new health-care clinics to serve Houston's families. As mayor, Santos also created a new housing assistance program to make rent more affordable for the city's two million residents. Santos was then elected to the United States House of Representatives during the 2000 midterm elections representing the 18th Congressional District and served for three terms. It was mentioned that during his third term as a congressman he had received a spot on the prestigious House Committee on Ways and Means, although he also served on the House Administration Committee ("the Siberia of committees") with then-congressman Bob Russell.