Biography - Mario Lopez

Who is Mario Lopez?

Mario Lopez is an actor, and entertainment journalist by profession, and American by nationality. He is well known for starring in Saved by the Bell, Saved by the Bell: The College Years, and hosting Extra, America's Best Dance Crew, and The X Factor.

Mario Lopez – Bio, Age, Parents, Siblings

Mario Lopez’s birth took place on October 10, 1973, in San Diego, California, USA. He was born Mario Lopez Jr. to his father Mario Lopez Sr., a National City municipality worker, and his mother Elvira Lopez, a telephone company clerk. 

Education, Ethnicity

He is not the only child of his parents and has a sibling, a younger sister Marissa, who is now married to Kailee Wong. For education, Mario Lopez attended Chula Vista High School, graduating in 1991.

His ethnicity includes Culiacan, Sinaloa, and Mexican.

Mario Lopez – Girlfriend, Wife, Children

Mario Lopez’s first “girlfriend" was American singer Fergie and were involved when both were on the show Kids Incorporated when he was 10 years old. On April 24, 2004, he married actress Ali Landry at the Las Alamandas resort outside Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. 

But just two weeks later their marriage was annulled. In a 2011 interview, he admitted that the marriage ended when Landry found out he had cheated on her days before the wedding at his bachelor party. Lopez went on to date Karina Smirnoff from 2006 to June 2008. Smirnoff was his Dancing with the Stars partner.

He moved on with actress and producer Courtney Mazza in the fall of 2008 and married his longtime girlfriend on December 1, 2012, in Punta Mita, Mexico. 

He and his wife have welcomed three children together – daughter Gia Francesca Lopez (born September 11, 2010), son Dominic Lopez (born September 9, 2013), and son Santino Rafael Lopez  (born 8 July 2019).

Also read: Natalia Cigliuti - Actress of Saved By The Bell, 90210 

Mario Lopez – Career

Early Career

Lopez began dancing at the age of 3 and trained in tap and jazz. When he was 7 years old, he trained in tumbling, karate, and wrestling at his local Boys and Girls Club. Mario Lopez was an amateur wrestler for Chula Vista’s weight class of 160 lbs. 

Moreover, he wrestled in his high school wrestling team and was placed 2nd in the San Diego Section and 7th in the state of California in his senior year.

At the age of 10, he was discovered by a talent agent. Soon he landed roles in local ads, and commercials and gradually began to act.

Also read: Lindsey McKeon - Actress of Saved by the Bell: The New Class 

TV series, Films, Host

Mario Lopez began acting in 1984, his first role being in the ABC comedy series a.k.a. Pablo. Since then he has starred in films Saved by the Bell: Hawaiian Style (1992), Saved by the Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas (1994), and Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story (1997), among others

He has also portrayed roles in TV series Kids Incorporated (1984- 1986), Saved by the Bell (1989-1993) as A.C. Slater, Saved by the Bell: The College Years (1993-1994), Pacific Blue (1999), Mario Lopez: Saved by the Baby (2010-2011), to name a few.

Lopez has also hosted Masters of the Maze (1995-1996), The Other Half (2001-2003), Pet Star (2002-2005), America's Best Dance Crew (2008-2012), Extra (2008-2019), etc.

Moreover, he has published three non-fiction books - Mario Lopez Knockout Fitness (2008), Extra Lean (2010), Extra Lean Family  (2012), and the children’s book Mario and Baby Gia (2011).

Co-stars

His Saved by the Bell cast includes Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, and Dustin Diamond.

Mario Lopez – Awards, Nominations

Mario Lopez has been nominated for 8 Young Artist Awards, among which he has won 4. He has also been nominated for 3 ALMA Awards, 2 Teen Choice Awards, and an Imagen Foundation Award.

Also read: Kristen Bell - Singer, Producer, Actor 

Mario Lopez – Controversy

On July 31, 2019, Lopez said that he thinks it’s “dangerous” for parents to allow 3-year-olds to make major life decisions about their gender and sexuality. This was followed by major support from conservatives and criticism from liberals. Just hours later he apologized for the insensitivity and ignorance of his comments. 

In 1993 Lopez was accused of date rape. But prosecutors found no evidence to support the allegation and the case was dropped.

Mario Lopez – Net Worth, Salary

His net worth is estimated to be over $35 million while his annual salary is around $8 Million.

Mario Lopez – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

On social media, Mario Lopez is active on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook with around a million followers.

Also read: Jennifer Lahmers - TV Host, Anchor, Entertainment journalist