Mario Lopez is joining 'Access Hollywood' and leaving 'Extra,' which will now be hosted by Billy Bush — get all the details.

1. Mario Lopez Leaving Extra
2. Mario Lopez Torres

Mario Lopez Jr. (born October 10, 1973^[2]) is an American actor and entertainment journalist. He has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway. He is known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on Saved by the Bell and 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 host for the syndicated entertainment news magazine show Extra. He has also hosted America's Best Dance Crew for MTV. In 2012, he co-hosted the second season of American version of The X Factor with Khloé Kardashian, and was the sole host for the third and final season.

Mario Lopez Leaving Extra

• 2Career

Early life[edit]

Lopez was born on October 10, 1973, in San Diego, California, to Elvira, a telephone company clerk, and Mario Sr., who worked for the municipality of National City.^[3] He has a younger sister named Marissa, who is married to Kailee Wong. Lopez was raised in a large Catholic family of Mexican descent (from Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico).^[4] Lopez was a child prodigy and started to learn dance at the age of three, training in tap and jazz.^[5] He also did tumbling, karate and wrestling at his local Boys and Girls Club when he was 7 years old,^[6] which he excelled at as well as other things his mother put him in.^[7] During his acting career, he was an amateur wrestler for Chula Vista at the weight class of 160 lbs, and was also in his high school wrestling team, placing 2nd in the San Diego Section and 7th in the state of California in his senior year while attending Chula Vista High School, where he graduated in 1991.

Career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Lopez was discovered by a talent agent when he was 10 years at his dance recital, and got into local ads and commercials before hitting the TV screen.^[8]

Acting[edit]

Lopez began acting in 1984 when he appeared as younger brother Tomás in the short-lived ABC comedy series a.k.a. Pablo.^[9] That same year, he was cast as a drummer and dancer on Kids Incorporated from three seasons. In March 1987, he was cast as a guest star on the sitcom The Golden Girls as a Latino boy named Mario who faces deportation. He was cast in a small part in the movie Colors (1988) as Felipe's friend. In 1989, Lopez was cast as A.C. Slater in the television Saturday-morning series sitcomSaved by the Bell, a role which lasted five years (1989–1993).^[10]

In 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 for two seasons before it was cancelled after the fifth season; he then 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 operaThe Bold and the Beautiful playing the role of Dr. Christian Ramirez. On July 18, 2006, he was released from his B&B contract.^[11] Later that year, Mario 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.^[12]

On February 4, 2015, Lopez reunited with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Elizabeth Berkley, Dennis Haskins and Tiffani Thiessen on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where they appeared in a Saved by the Bell sketch with Fallon.^[16]

Dancing with the Stars[edit]

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 then-girlfriend Karina Smirnoff who was making her series debut. They finished in second place, losing to the team of Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke.

Hosting duties[edit]

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. In the 1995–96 season, he hosted the second season of Masters of the Maze on what was then The Family Channel. Lopez is both the host (with Carmen Palumbo) and co-executive producer of Sí TV's Dating Factory. From October to December 2012, he co-hosted the Fox singing competition The X Factor along with Khloe Kardashian.^[17] In September 2013, Lopez returned to the show as sole host for season 3 after Kardashian was not asked back as co-host.^[18]The X Factor was cancelled on February 7, 2014.^[19] From 2002 to 2005, he was the host of the Animal Planet show Pet Star, despite some difficulty with an allergy to cats.^[20] Lopez hosted the Miss America pageant in 2007, 2009, and 2010.

Lopez has also guest co-hosted The Wendy Williams Show,^[21] and MCed the gala benefit for the 2010 Pageant of the Masters arts festival in Laguna Beach, California.^[22]

Starting in 2012, Lopez began hosting his own nationally syndicated radio show, ON With Mario Lopez, for Premiere Radio. It streams online daily on iHeartRadio and airs on selected CHR and Hot AC stations (particularly on KBIG-FM/Los Angeles) throughout the U.S.

In August 2014, Lopez began hosting the Hot AC edition of the iHeartRadio Countdown.

In July 2019 it was reported that Lopez would be leaving his duties hosting Extra in order to host rival program Access.^[23]

Stage career[edit]

Outside of TV, Lopez made his Broadway debut on April 15, 2008, in the revival of the musicalA Chorus Line in the role of Zach.^[24][25]

Books[edit]

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).^[26] His book Extra Lean followed in early 2010 and became a New York Times bestseller.^[27]Extra Lean Family was published in May 2012.^[28] 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 daughter.^[29][30]

Personal life[edit]

According to Mario Lopez, Fergie was his first kiss and the two were involved briefly while they were both on the show Kids Incorporated.^[31]

In 1993, Lopez was accused of date rape,^[32] but prosecutors found no evidence to support the allegation, and multiple witnesses 'contradicted the woman's account of her encounter' with Mario.^[33]

After six years of dating, Lopez married actress Ali Landry on April 24, 2004 in a Catholic ceremony at the Las Alamandas resort outside Puerto Vallarta, Mexico,^[34] but their marriage was annulled two weeks later.^[34] In a 2011 interview Lopez admitted that the parting transpired after Landry discovered Lopez had been unfaithful to her days before the wedding at his bachelor party.^[35] Lopez subsequently dated professional dancer Karina Smirnoff, his Dancing with the Stars partner, from 2006 to June 2008.^[36]

In the fall of 2008, Lopez met Broadway dancer, actress and producer Courtney Mazza on A Chorus Line on Broadway in New York.^[37] They married in Punta Mita, Mexico on December 1, 2012.^[38] They have a daughter (born in 2010),^[39][40] and a son (born in 2013).^[41] In January 2019, they announced her pregnancy with their third child;^[42] in July 2019, Lopez announced the birth of a son on social media.^[43]

He has stated that he is Catholic and goes to church every week.^[44] In March 2018, he underwent baptism by immersion at the Jordan River, which was administered by a Catholic priest.^[45]

He is a proponent of health and fitness, and was the cover feature for the November 2013 issue of FitnessRX For Men magazine.^[46] To complement his fitness regime, he is a boxer and a blue belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, he began training in early 2017 ^[47] and received his blue belt in February 2018 under Professor Robert Hill of Gracie Barra Glendale.^[48]

Filmography[edit]

Awards[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^'The Birth of Mario Lopez'. californiabirthindex.org. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
2. ^'Celebrity Central: Mario Lopez'. People.com. n.d.
3. ^'Mario Lopez Biography (1973–)'. Filmreference.com. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
4. ^Quirk, Mary Beth (October 13, 2010). 'Mario Lopez & His Bundle of Joy !'. OK!. Retrieved October 16, 2010. 'I come from a small, fat Mexican Catholic family,' Mario tells OK!.
5. ^'Mario Lopez flashes back to his disco days with hilarious retro photo'. TODAY.com.
6. ^Lopez, Mario; Santagati, Steve (2014). Just Between Us. Penguin. ISBN9780698158870.
7. ^'Raising Mario Lopez Mom Tells All'. August 30, 2017.
8. ^Lopez, Mario; Santagati, Steve (2014). Just Between Us. Penguin. p. 47. ISBN9780698158870. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
9. ^Allis, Tim (November 30, 1992). 'Saturday's Star'. People. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
10. ^'Mario Lopez'. Biography.
11. ^Kroll, Dan J. (July 2, 2006). 'Lopez's B&B Stay Over'. Soapcentral. Retrieved February 10, 2009.
12. ^'Mario Lopez Gets VH1 Reality Show'. TVGuide.com.
13. ^'Watch a Glorious Saved by the Bell Reunion Courtesy of Jimmy Fallon'. Time. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
14. ^'Jimmy Fallon assembled the cast of 'Saved by The Bell' for an epic reunion'. Business Insider. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
15. ^'Jimmy Fallon reunites most of the 'Saved by the Bell' cast'. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
16. ^^[13][14][15]
17. ^Khloe Kardashian and Mario Lopez will join the payroll of 'X Factor'. TMZ.com. October 2, 2012. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
18. ^Emma Ledger (April 23, 2013). 'Khloe Kardashian gets axed by X Factor USA after just one series – 3am & Mirror Online'. mirror. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
19. ^Nellie Andreeva. 'Fox's 'The X Factor' Cancelled After Three Seasons – Deadline'. Deadline. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
20. ^'Mario Lopez's Cat Dilemma'. contactmusic.com. September 5, 2004. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
21. ^'Mario Lopez showed off his abs and sexy underwear range 'RatedM' on The Wendy Williams Show'. Unreality TV. February 6, 2012. Archived from the original on February 8, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
22. ^Chang, Richard. Mario Lopez hosts gala for Pageant of the Masters. Orange County Register. August 29, 2010. Retrieved October 2, 2012.
23. ^'Mario Lopez Named New Host of Access Hollywood After Exit from Extra'. People. July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
24. ^'PHOTO CALL: Mario Lopez Honored with Painting at Tony's Di Napoli'. Playbill News. Archived from the original on August 2, 2008.
25. ^'Mario Lopez Joins 'A Chorus Line' on April 15'. BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
26. ^'Jeff O'Connell'. hachette book group. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
27. ^Schuessler, Jennifer (June 6, 2010). 'Bestseller New York Times – Hardcover Advice & Misc. – 06/06/10'. The New York Times. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
28. ^'Extra Lean Family: Get Lean and Achieve Your Family's Best Health Ever'. Amazon. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
29. ^'Mario Lopez To Release Children's Book In September'. inquisitr.com. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
30. ^'Mario Lopez Uses Baby Gia As Inspiration For New Book'. celebritybabyscoop.com. July 10, 2011. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
31. ^'Mario Lopez: Fergie Was 'My First Kiss''.
32. ^'Woman, 18, Accuses TV Actor of Rape'. latimes.com. May 11, 1993. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
33. ^'CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF: SAN DIEGO: Rape Claims Called Unfounded'. Los Angeles Times. June 18, 1993.
34. ^ ^abMark Armstrong, Ulrica Wihlborg (May 12, 2004). 'Landry, Lopez Split After 2-Week Marriage'. People. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
35. ^'Mario Lopez: I Cheated on Ex Ali Landry Days Before Wedding'. Us Weekly. February 11, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
36. ^'Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff Split'. People. June 5, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
37. ^'The Story of How We Met and Fell in Love Mario and Courtney Lopez'. April 26, 2017.
38. ^'Mario Lopez Weds Courtney Mazza'. People. December 1, 2012. Retrieved December 2, 2012.
39. ^'It's a Girl for Mario Lopez & Courtney Mazza'. People.com. September 12, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
40. ^'Mario Lopez and Courtney Mazza Welcome a Baby Girl!'. ExtraTV.com. September 12, 2010. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
41. ^'Mario and Courtney Lopez Welcome Son Dominic'. People. September 10, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
42. ^D'Aluisio, Alexandra (January 11, 2019). 'Mario Lopez's Wife Courtney Is Pregnant With Baby No. 3'. Us Weekly. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
43. ^'Baby No. 3! Mario Lopez's Wife Courtney Mazza Gives Birth'. Us Weekly. July 8, 2019. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
44. ^'Q&A: Mario Lopez Suits Up in Women's Lingerie'. Newsweek. October 14, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2010. Do you go to church? 'Every week. Nice Catholic boy.'
45. ^Parke, Caleb (March 27, 2018). ''Hallelujah': Mario Lopez gets baptized in the same river as Jesus'. Fox News. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
46. ^'Get Leaner, Stronger and Faster!'. Fitness Rx. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
47. ^'Mario Lopez Does Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu'. Jiu-Jitsu Times. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
48. ^'Actor And Host Mario Lopez Is Now A Blue Belt In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu'. Jiu-Jitsu Times. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
49. ^'Mario Lopez Can Teach You Something about Enjoying Family, Food and a Few Other 'Fs''. Swagger Magazine. October 30, 2018. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
50. ^ ^ab'Pic! Introducing Mario as Social Smurf'. ExtraTV.com. April 22, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2013.
51. ^Goldberg, Leslie (March 23, 2017). 'Mario Lopez to Host CBS' 'Candy Crush''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 23, 2017.

Mario Lopez Torres

External links[edit]

• Mario Lopez on IMDb
• Mario Lopez at the Internet Broadway Database

Mario Lopez, AKA Slater from Saved by the Bell, is not only married, but he’s expecting his third child. Lopez, 45, and his wife, Courtney, announced the new addition last January. The couple already has one girl and one boy, so the new arrival “will be the tie-breaker,” Lopez told Us Weekly.

Read on to find out a little more about Lopez, how he handles his growing family, and how Saved by the Bell continues to haunt him whether he wants it to or not.

Who is Mario Lopez?

Hailing from San Diego, California, Lopez was discovered by a talent agent at a dance recital when he was 10. His first gig was appearing in the short-lived ABC sitcom AKA Pablo. In 1989 he was cast as AC Slater, the popular jock on Saved by the Bell, with that series running until 1983. Other acting credits include the title role in Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story and a brief stint on The Bold and The Beautiful.

For the most part, Lopez has been known for simply being himself rather than acting. He appeared on the third season of Dancing with the Stars with his then-girlfriend Karina Smirnoff. The couple placed second to Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke. He has also had multiple hosting gigs, including The X Factor and the Miss America pageant. His regular gig these days is being the co-host of Extra, which he has done since 2008.

The most personally important job for him was appearing on Broadway in a revival of A Chorus Line. The role was important not so much for the Great White Way itself, but for the fact that Lopez met Mazza, his wife, there in 2008.

How Mario Lopez and his wife met

Lopez and Mazza recalled their first encounter, telling the story on their YouTube channel. “I remember it exactly. I met him on stage left, wing 1, right before the show started. I even remember what I was wearing, strangely enough,” she said.

Mazza hadn’t joined A Chorus Line yet, as she was coming from another show and still learning the dances at that particular time. When Lopez saw her perform later, he was even more smitten than he was at their first meeting. Their initial relationship was hesitant, but they liked each other enough to start a long-distance relationship until Lopez got the courage to ask her to live with him. The timing was everything,

“I was in the right place in my life as an individual,” he said. “Had I met her five, six years prior. I probably would have messed it up and it wouldn’t have worked out.”

The couple’s children are son Dominic Luciano, 5, and daughter Gia Francesca, 8. “I always try and make sure she’s happy and comfortable when she’s not pregnant, and even more so now,” he told Us Weekly.

What is Mario Lopez famous for?

No matter what Lopez does, he will probably always be known primarily for Saved by the Bell, although he usually rolls with it when people ask him to reprise it in some way. One of those people was Jimmy Fallon, who got Fallon and most of his co-stars to appear in a satire skit in February 2015, according to Business Insider.

Fallon tells the gang that he would move to New York to be a comedian — and maybe even “one day … date Nicole Kidman,” which was a reference to a viral video. Lopez shows the group he’s ready for the school dance by showing off a few steps, only Mark-Paul Gosselaar jokes: “Wow, Slater, with those moves, you could be a contestant on Dancing with the Dweebs!”.

When the cast got together again a couple of months ago, fans speculated that a full-on reboot was in the offing, but Lopez insisted they just liked to have dinner together.

“No, it wasn’t a reunion,” Lopez told Yahoo Entertainment. “It’s just that we all happen to coincidentally live close to each other.”