Who is Mario Lopez, Jr.? The entertainment and acting world knows him as Mario Lopez, heis an American television host and actor who has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway. He is best known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on Saved By The Bell, who he also portrayed as a regular on Saved by the Bell: The College Years. He has appeared in numerous projects since, including the third season of Dancing with the Stars and as a celebrity guest host for the syndicated entertainment news magazine show Extra. He has also hosted America's Best Dance Crew for MTV, and as of 2012, he hosts the reality show of the U.S. version of the singing competition The X Factor, previously with Khloe Kardashian until 2013. Mario was brought back to host a 2nd season of the show slated to debut September 2013.Early life
Mario Lopez was born October 10, 1973) in San Diego, California in 1973 to Elvia, a telephone clerk, and Mario Sr., who worked for the municipality of National City.[3] He graduated Chula Vista High School in 1991, he wrestled for Chula Vista at the weight class of 160 lbs placing 2nd in the San Diego Section and 7th in the state of California in 1991 as well. He was raised in a large Catholic family, of Filipino descent (Cebu City, Philippines) and Mexican descent (from Culiacan Sinaloa, Mexico).[4]Acting career
Lopez's professional career began in 1984 when he appeared as younger brother Tomás in the short-lived ABC comedy series a.k.a. Pablo.[5] That same year, he was cast as a drummer and dancer on Kids Incorporated. In March 1987, he was cast as a guest star on the popular sitcom The Golden Girls as a Cuban boy named Mario who faces deportation. In 1989, Lopez was cast as A.C. Slater in the popular television sitcom Saved by the Bell, a role which lasted five yearsIn 1997, Lopez starred as Olympic diver Greg Louganis in the television movie Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story. The following year, he was cast as Bobby Cruz in the USA Network series Pacific Blue. Lopez left the series after two seasons and went on to guest star on Resurrection Blvd., Eve, and The Bad Girl's Guide. In March 2006, Lopez joined the cast of the daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful playing the role of Dr. Christian Ramirez. On July 18, 2006, he was released from his B&B contract.[6] Later that year, he guest-starred as a plastic surgeon who drives Christian Troy to jealousy when he sees him naked in the shower in an episode of FX Network's Nip/Tuck during the show's fourth season, which began in Fall 2006. He also made an appearance on George Lopez as a police officer in late 2006. Lopez also guest-starred as a reporter for Extra Sesame Street in the Sesame Street episode "The Veggie Monster" in 2012.
Lopez and Courtney Mazza have a reality show on VH1 called Mario Lopez: Saved By the Baby which premiered on November 1, 2010.[7]
Dancing with the Stars
 |
| Karina Smirnoff |
They finished in second place, losing to the team of
Hosting duties
In 1992, he hosted his first series on NBC called Name Your Adventure. He hosts the serial tabloid Extra, as well as the MTV reality shows America's Best Dance Crew and MTV's Top Pop Group. Lopez is both the host (with Carmen Palumbo) and co-executive producer of Sí TV's Dating Factory. In November 2012, he co-hosted the Fox singing competition The X Factor along with Khloe Kardashian.[8] He will return to the show as host in the new season which begins in September, but Kardashian was confirmed not to be returning.[9] From 2002 – 2005, he was the host of the Animal Planet show Pet Star, despite some difficulty with an allergy to cats.[10]Lopez has also guest co-hosted The Wendy Williams Show,[11] and MC'ed the gala benefit for the 2010 Pageant of the Masters arts festival in Laguna Beach, California.[12] Starting in 2012 Mario Lopez began hosting his own Nationally Syndicated Radio Show 'ON With Mario Lopez' for Premiere Radio. It streams online daily on iHeartRadio.
Stage career
Lopez made his Broadway debut on April 15, 2008, in the revival of the musical A Chorus Line in the role of Zach.[13][14]Books
Lopez has published three non-fiction books. The first, Mario Lopez Knockout Fitness, was published in 2008 and written together with Jeff O'Connell (who had previously written a fitness book with LL Cool J).[15] A cookbook, Extra Lean, with various recipes followed in early 2010 and became a New York Times bestseller.[16] A third book, Extra Lean Family, was published in May 2012.[17] He released a children's book entitled Mario and Baby Gia by Celebra Children’s Books (a division of Penguin Books), on September 27, 2011. The book is about Lopez and his infant daughter Gia.[18][19]Personal life
In 1993, Lopez was accused of date raping an 18-year-old woman,[20]
but prosecutors found no evidence to support the allegation, and
indeed, multiple witnesses "contradicted the woman's account of her
encounter" with Lopez.[21] | |
| Ali Landry |
In the fall of 2008, Lopez began dating Broadway dancer Courtney Mazza. Lopez and Mazza became engaged over the 2011-2012 New Year's weekend,[25] and married in Mexico on December 1, 2012.[26] They have a daughter, Gia Francesca (born September 2010),[27][28] and a son, Dominic (born September 2013).[29]In a 2009 interview, Lopez stated that he is Catholic and goes to church every week.[30]
Lopez is a big proponent of health and fitness and was the cover feature for the November 2013 issue of FitnessRX For Men magazine.Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1984–1986 | Kids Incorporated | Himself (Dancer/Drummer) (Seasons 1-3) | TV Show |
| 1986 | Chartbusters | Direct-to-video release | |
| The Deacon Street Deer | Hector | TV movie | |
| 1987 | The Golden Girls | Mario | 1987 (1 episode) |
| 1987 | Superman | the return of the boy wonder | TV movie |
| 1988 | Colors | Felipe's Friend | |
| 1989 | Saved by the Bell | A.C. Slater | 1989–1993 (87 episodes) |
| 1992 | Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style | A.C. Slater | TV movie |
| 1993 | Saved by the Bell: The College Years | A.C. Slater | 1993–1994 (19 episodes) |
| 1994 | Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas | A.C. Slater | TV movie |
| 1995 | Saved by the Bell: The New Class | A.C. Slater | "Goodbye, Bayside Part 2" |
| 1996 | Depraved | Jessie Mata | |
| Fever Lake | Steve | Direct-to-video release | |
| Saved by the Bell: The New Class | A.C. Slater | "Fire at the Max Part 2" | |
| El Cóndor de oro | Bodyguard 2 | ||
| 1997 | Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story | Greg Louganis | TV movie |
| The Journey: Absolution | Ryan Murphy | ||
| Killing Mr. Griffin | Dave Ruggles | TV movie | |
| 1999 | Eastside | Antonio Lopez | |
| 2000 | A Crack in the Floor | Lehman | |
| Big Brother Trouble | Coach | ||
| 2002 | Outta Time | David Morales | Alternative titles: The Courier Out of Time |
| King Rikki | Juan Vallejo | Alternative title: The Street King | |
| 2002–2005 | Pet Star | Host | |
| 2004 | The Soluna Project | Antonio | TV movie |
| 2005 | Aloha, Scooby-Doo! | Manu Tuiama/Mainland Surfer (Voice) | Direct to video release |
| 2006 | Unaccompanied Minors | Substitute Minors watcher | Film |
| 2006–2010 | Nip/Tuck | Dr. Mike Hamoui | TV |
| 2007 | George Lopez (TV series) | Police Officer Sanchez | 2007 (1 episode) |
| 2007 | Holiday in Handcuffs | David Martin | TV movie |
| 2008 | Husband for Hire | Marco | TV movie |
| 2009 | The Dog Who Saved Christmas | Zeus the Dog (voice) | TV movie |
| 2008–2012 | America's Best Dance Crew | Himself | MTV |
| 2008 | Robot Chicken (episode: Boo Cocky) | A.C Slater (voice) | Television series (voice) |
| 2010 | Get Him to the Greek | Himself | |
| 2010–2011 | Mario Lopez: Saved By the Baby | Himself | VH1 (reality show) |
| 2010 | The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation | Zeus the Dog (voice)[31] | ABC Family TV Film, Sequel to The Dog Who Saved Christmas |
| 2011 | Honey 2 | Himself | Film |
| H8R | Himself | Host | |
| The Talk | Himself | Guest | |
| 2011–present | Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade | Himself | Host |
| Extra | Himself | Host | |
| 2012 | Sesame Street | Himself | Extra Sesame Street reporter ("The Veggie Monster") |
| Are You There, Chelsea? | Himself | Episode: "Dee Dee's Pillow" | |
| 2012 – Present | The X Factor | Himself | Host |
| 2013 | The Smurfs 2 | Social Smurf (voice)[32] | Film |
No comments:
Post a Comment