"There's three things men always talk about - women, sports, and cars." -- Mario Lopez
Mario Michael Lopez, Jr. (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor who has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway. He is best-known for his portrayal of the character A.C. Slater on Saved By The Bell. 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 currently hosts America's Best Dance Crew, for MTV.
"Eventually though, I'd like to have my own production company. Then I could create great opportunities not only for myself, but for other actors as well.""I grew up in a household without a lot of problems and they have been very supportive from day one.""I haven't gotten labeled as a Hispanic actor.""I like to consider myself an actor who just happens to be Hispanic.""I love talking about women because they are a constant study and you're always learning.""I'm proud of my background, so I hope there will be more roles where Hispanics are being portrayed.""In some cases, the casting directors have casted blindly and have not looked into my ethnic background.""Like they say, you can learn more from a guide in one day than you can in three months fishing alone.""Right now, I'd like to just continue on a series where I am doing good work with a balance of comedy and drama. That and do occasional features and movies.""That's what 90 percent of the people talk about when they're first exposed to the fish.""Usually I'll go to San Diego to hang out with my parents if I want to unwind."
Mario Michael Lopez is of Mexican descent and was born in San Diego, the son of Elvia, a telephone clerk, and Mario Lopez, Sr., who worked for the municipality of National City. He was raised Roman Catholic. Lopez was a high school wrestler. He graduated from Chula Vista High School in 1991.
Born in 1973 Mario 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. 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 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 years. Lopez's character was a masculine, athletic student, helping to garner the actor a sizeable teenage-girl fan base. After Saved by the Bell ended in 1993, Lopez went on to reprise his role as A.C. Slater in the short-lived spin-off series The College Years.
In 1997, Lopez starred as Olympic diver Greg Louganis in the television movie 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. 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 2009.He also made an appearance in "George Lopez" as a police officer in late 2006.
Lopez will get his own reality show on VH1 to debut in fall 2010.
Dancing with the Stars
In the fall of 2006, Lopez signed on as a contestant on the third season of Dancing with the Stars on ABC with professional partner and ex-girlfriend Karina Smirnoff who was making her series debut. They finished in second place, losing to the team of Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke, despite scoring higher than them on average and despite "breaking all the rules" when he broke the hold on both his 2nd and 3rd week during his Quickstep and Tango.
Hosting duties
In 1992, he hosted his first series on NBC called Name Your Adventure, where teens got to live out their dreams (working at Ben & Jerry's, being a roadie for Rock superstar Richard Marx, etc.). One adventure involved a boy wanting to be a diver. His wish was fulfilled with Greg Louganis coaching him. This was the very first time Lopez and Louganis met before the movie.
In 1995, he took over the hosting duties from J.D. Roth when he became the new host of a kids game show, Masters of the Maze.
In 2001, Lopez was one of the co-hosts of the syndicated talk show The Other Half. The Other Half was a male version of the female ensemble talk show The View, featuring four male co-hosts, including Danny Bonaduce, Dr. Jan Adams, and executive producer, Dick Clark. During the run of The Other Half, Lopez hosted Pet Star on the Animal Planet channel. He has also co-hosted ESPN2's ESPN Hollywood.
In 2003, he hosted America's Most Talented Kid on NBC. He also did a special episode featuring senior citizens showing their talent (America's Most Talented Senior). When the show switched to Pax, the titles pluralized (America's Most Talented Kids). he was replaced by Dave Coulier.
On January 12, 2006, Lopez was announced as a celebrity guest host for the syndicated entertainment news magazine show Extra. His first assignment was covering the Golden Globes. In 2008, he became the permanent weekday host on Extra.
Lopez has also hosted prime time television pageants; Miss Teen USA in 1998, 2003 and August 2007; Miss America in January 2007, 2009 and 2010; and Miss Universe in May 2007, giving him the distinction of being the only individual to have served in hosting capacity for both of the major pageant system organizations. The 2007 Miss Teen USA pageant Lopez hosted became particularly known for Caitlin Upton's incoherent response to a question posed to her in the final question round of the competition, the video of which became an Internet meme.
On December 5, 2006 Lopez was a guest speaker for Epcot's Candlelight Processional.
On March 12, 2007, Lopez auditioned in a not-for-air episode of The Price is Right to take over for the retiring Bob Barker.
He also works part time as a boxing analyst for Top Rank Promotions covering Manny Pacquiao/Top Rank promoted fights worldwide.
He is currently hosting the MTV reality show 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.
Lopez has signed a deal with Celsius, a popular calorie-burning functional drink, to be their spokesperson in 2010.
On August 28, 2010, Lopez hosted the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach, California.
Stage career
Lopez made his Broadway debut on April 15, 2008, in the revival of A Chorus Line in the role of Zach.
Books
Lopez has published two non-fictional books so far: The first one, 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). A cookbook, Extra Lean, with various recipes followed in early 2010.
Lopez is a committed Catholic. He married Ali Landry on April 24, 2004, in a Catholic ceremony in front of 50 guests at the exclusive Las Alamandas resort outside Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Two weeks later their marriage was annulled. He dated Karina Smirnoff, his DWTS partner, from 2006 to 2008. Since 2008, Lopez has been dating Broadway dancer Courtney Laine Mazza. In March 2010, it was announced that Lopez and Mazza were expecting a child. The couple's daughter, Gia Francesca Lopez, was born on September 11, 2010 in Burbank, California.
Lopez identifies himself as a conservative politically.
