We have watched him grow on the big screen since the late 1980s. He made his onscreen debut in 1984 with a guest appearance in the television series Simon & Simon. However, Mario Lopez had been around for a while before then, appearing in a slew of local ads and commercials. Today, he is known as an established onscreen, stage, and voice actor, producer, television host, and author. The Hispanic American has hosted or co-hosted shows like Extra, America’s Best Dance Crew, The Dr. Oz Show, and the American adaptation of The X Factor alongside Khloé Kardashian. Mario has been in movies and series like Saved By the Bell: Hawaiian Style, The Bold and the Beautiful, Nip/Tuck, and Elena of Avalor.
Just like many other celebrities of his ilk, Mario has had his share of failed relationships in the past, however, he finally found love in the arms of Broadway dancer Courtney Laine Mazza. From what is perceivable, the couple’s union looks like the “happily forever after” type and they have three beautiful kids to show for their time together.
Mario Lopez Has Dated Quite A Good Number Of Women During His Bachelor Days
Mario Lopez is not just prolific as an actor, the veritable entertainer can give American actor and host David Spade a run for his money when it comes to the relationship stakes. According to the actor, he had a brief involvement with American singer Fergie when he was a teenager and she was about 10 years old. With her, he had his first kiss during their time on Kids Incorporated. Here is a list of the women Lopez has romanced over the years.
Tiffani Thiessen
American actress Tiffani Thiessen became part of the actor’s life in 1991, their relationship lasted for a while but was terminated after almost two years in 1993.
Jaime Pressly
From 1997 to 1998, Mario Lopez was the boyfriend of American actress Jaime Pressly. Their romance was not different from the previous ones as it equally fizzled out.
Heidi Mueller
Heidi Mueller is another American actress that graced the life of Lopez. She was the flavor of 2006 but their love didn’t exceed that year.
Karina Smirnoff
Next, he dated Karina Smirnoff. The pro dancer was his dance partner while he was on Dancing with the Stars. They were together from 2006 to 2008.
Meaghan Cooper
Meaghan Cooper is an American model who fell for Lopez in February 2007. They lasted till March 2008 before they went their separate ways
Britney Spears
Mario Lopez’s relationship with American Singer Britney Spears was never confirmed, we only got to hear rumors that they hooked up sometime in 2008.
Lopez Has Been Married Twice With One Divorce
Lopez’s first real relationship was with Ali Landry who is also an actress. Though details of when they met were not made public knowledge, it is known that the duo was a hot item for a period of six years before they decided to take their relationship to the ultimate conclusion of a marriage.
The couple exchanged the forever commitment on the 24th of April 2004, in Puerto Vallarta. Unfortunately, the marriage ended two weeks following an annulment. Fans remained in the dark regarding what happened until a 2011 interview when Lopez revealed that their split occurred after Landry discovered that he had cheated on her during his bachelor’s party.
The Actor Seems To Have Found His Soul Mate In Courtney Laine Mazza
During the Fall of 2008, Mario Lopez met Courtney Laine Mazza who earns a living working as a Broadway dancer, Mazza equally functions as a producer and an actress. The celeb duo met on the set of the Broadway musical, A Chorus Line, after which they clicked and commenced dating.
They dated for four years and on the 1st of December 2012, Mario and Courtney walked to the altar. The couple’s marriage has endured for over eight years and they have three beautiful children to show for their time together, a daughter Gia born in 2010, and two sons – Dominic born in 2013; he was introduced to the extended family at a get-together that took place at Katsuya in Glendale, Calif, and their last child Santino who came in 2019. Mario Lopez and his family have their own reality television show titled Mario Lopez: Saved by the Baby. It premiered on November 1, 2010, on VH1.
Mario Lopez Had To Exit From His Hosting Job On Extra To Go And Host A Rival Program
Lopez has been one of the hosts of the entertainment news show, Extra. He was exceptionally good at his hosting job on the show and as of 2018, the Californian native has hosted over 1,400 episodes of the show which is considered an excellent record.
In July 2019, reports surfaced, pointing out that, the veteran host would be leaving his hosting duties on Extra in a bid to host a rival program Access. The same year in November Mario was the Grand Marshal of the Hollywood Christmas Parade.
Mario Lopez’s Acting Career Took Off Before He Hit 11
After Mario Lopez was singled out by a talent agent in one of his dance performances at the age of 10, he opened his portfolio with appearances in many local adverts and commercials prior to his debut appearance on TV. The youngster’s first TV role was accomplished before he clocked 11; this was recorded on the set of Simon & Simon.
The role was followed by a recurring part in ABC’s comedy series a.k.a. Pablo, the series which was short-lived featured him in the main role of Tomas Del Gato in 1984. His next gig came before the end of the year and saw him tap into his innate abilities as a dancer and drummer. He fulfilled these responsibilities in 18 episodes of Kids Incorporated.
Three years on from his start with Kids Incorporated, He made a guest appearance in 1987’s situational comedy, The Golden Girls, playing the character Mario – a Latino boy who was facing the risk of deportation. In 1988, Mario Lopez appeared in a cameo role in the movie entitled Colors, depicting the character of Felipe’s friend.
He Continued To Conquer The Big Screen After his A.C. Slater Role
His first performance as A.C. Slater came in 1989 when he played a part in the movie Who Shrunk Saturday Morning? He would go on to reprise the role in a number of television series, movies, and voice roles. They include Saved by the Bell (1989 – 1992), Saved by the Bell: The College Years (1993 – 1994), Saved by the Bell: The New Class (1994 – 1996), and Robot Chicken (2008).
In the later parts of the 1990s, he continued to conquer the big screen with showings in several movies. The year 1997 was when the young actor landed the starring role of Greg Louganis (the title character), an Olympic diver in the TV film Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story.
In 1998, Mario played the police officer Bobby Cruz in USA Network’s action and crime drama Pacific Blue. He left the show after 44 episodes and subsequently, it was canceled after it aired its fifth season. Mario Lopez continued to make a slew of guest appearances in projects like Eve, Resurrection Blvd., The Bad Girl’s Guide, and Mind of Mencia.
He Spent A Great Part of The 2000s Appearing In TV Shows
With the advent of the 2000s, it was a harvest of roles for the Californian native. In 2006, March to be precise, Mario Lopez played the role of Dr. Christian Ramirez in 46 episodes of the popular soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful. Mario was released from his B&B contract on the 18th of July 2006. He was a doctor again, this time as plastic surgeon Mike Hamoui on FX Network’s drama Nip/Tuck, albeit in a short-lived recurring role. His character in the drama came to life during the show’s fourth season which commenced in Fall 2006; Mike Hamoui would always drive Christian Troy to jealousy when he sees him naked in the shower.
Before the end of 2006, Lopez played the role of a police officer on the set of George Lopez. In 2012, he had a guest-starring role for Extra Sesame Street in the Sesame Street episode entitled The Veggie Monster; there, he was cast as a reporter. Alongside his spouse Courtney Mazza, the Californian native launched a reality show on VH1 known as Mario Lopez: Saved by the Baby; the show premiered on the 1st of November 2010.
On the 4th of February 2015, Mario Lopez reunited with the likes of Elizabeth Berkley, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Tiffani Thiessen, and Dennis Haskins on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, they remade a Saved by the Bell sketch with Fallon on set.
Mario Lopez Has Featured Extensively In Voice Roles
Lopez has recorded equal success in voice work as he has in on-screen appearances. His first work in the anime series was accomplished in 2008 as the voice behind A.C Slater in the Boo Cocky episode of Robot Chicken. He spoke through Zeus the Dog in 2009 The Dog Who Saved Christmas and The Dog Who Saved Christmas Vacation that followed in 2010. From 2012 to 2013, he voiced Stitches in The Chica Show. Mario voiced Cruz in seven episodes of Elena of Avalor in 2018 and in 2019, we heard his voice through the character of Bria in Fantastica: A Boonie Bears Adventure.
His voice works in the movies include The Smurfs 2 in 2013 as Social Smurf, The Dog Who Saved Easter that was released in 2014 with Mario voicing Zeus the Dog, he also voiced Dive Olly Dive. His voice was equally heard in the Pirate Treasure (2014), The Dog Who Saved Summer in 2015 as Zeus the Dog, and Get Smurfy in 2016 as Social Smurf. More recently, Mario has been on Nashville (2015 – 2016), NCIS; New Orleans (2016), Jane the Virgin (2018), and This is Us (2018),
Mario Lopez’s Duties and Television Appearances
Mario Lopez was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars in 2006 with Karina Smirnoff. They ended as runners-up losing to the partnership of Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke.
The actor has been on more talk shows and TV programs than most of his contemporaries. His first television appearance as a host was in 1992 on NBC’s Name Your Adventure. His hosting duties extend to include MTV’s Top Pop Group and MTV reality show America’s Best Dance Crew. Between 1995 and 96, Lopez was hosting season two of Masters of the Maze on what was then known as The Family Channel.
He functioned as both host (alongside Carmen Palumbo) and co-executive producer of Sí TV’s Dating Factory. For a period that spanned for three months from October to December 2012, the Californian native worked with Khloe Kardashian as co-hosts of the Fox singing competition The X Factor. Eventually, Kardashian was not invited to host the third season in September 2013, leaving Lopez as the sole host for the entire season; February 7, 2014, saw the cancellation of The X Factor.
Pet Star, the Animal Planet show had Mario Lopez as its host from 2002 to 2005, the actor was able to accomplish this feat despite his allergy to felines. He worked as a co-host on The Wendy Williams Show as well as MCed the gala benefit for the 2010 Pageant of the Masters arts festival staged in Laguna Beach, California. The actor has hosted the Miss America Pageant three times in 2007, 2009, and 2010.
His Own Radio Show Became A Reality In 2012
ON With Mario Lopez is the name of the versatile entertainer’s own nationally syndicated radio show which he started hosting in 2012 for Premiere Radio. The show streams online on a daily basis on iHeartRadio, airing on select Hot AC and CHR stations (particularly on KBIG-FM/LA) throughout the United States.
A couple of years down the line in 2016, he began to host the Hot AC edition of the iHeartRadio Countdown. Today, the celebrated entertainer is considered as one of the top multitalented few in the industry, he even has some stage performances and the authorship of three nonfictional books to add to his portfolio.
Mario Lopez Grew Up As A Catholic
The California native was born on October 10, 1973, in San Diego. His father, Mario Sr. was employed at the municipality of National City in San Diego’s South Bay region, while his mother worked as a clerk in a telephone company. He also has a sister named Marissa who is married to a former NFL player, Kailee Wong.
Mario Lopez who was raised Catholic already had a very busy life by the time he was 3 years old. He seemed to excel in everything he was doing. Among other things, the child prodigy learned dancing in the genres of jazz and tap. By the time Mario was seven, the youngster was taking karate, tumbling, and wrestling classes. He was a member of his high school’s wrestling team where he ranked second in San Diego’s amateur wrestler ranking and 7th overall in the state. The year 1991 marked his final academic session at Chula Vista High School in Chula Vista, California.
