Who is Mario Lopez Jr?

Children. 3. Relatives. Kailee Wong (brother-in-law) Mario Lopez Jr. (born October 10, 1973) is an American actor, television and radio host. 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, Saved by the Bell: The College Years, and the 2020 sequel series.

Lopez was born on October 10, 1973, in San Diego, California, the son of Elvira, a telephone company clerk, and Mario Sr., who worked for the municipality of National City. He has a younger sister named Marissa, who is married to NFL Minnesota Vikings and Houston Texans linebacker Kailee Wong. Lopez was raised in a large Catholic family of Mexican descent (from Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico ). Lopez was a child prodigy and started to dance at age three, training in tap and jazz. He also did tumbling, karate and wrestling at his local Boys and Girls Club when he was 7 years old, which he excelled at as well as other things his mother put him in. 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.

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.

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. In September 2013, Lopez returned to the show as sole host for season 3 after Kardashian was not asked back as co-host. The X Factor was cancelled on February 7, 2014. From 2002 to 2005, he was the host of the Animal Planet show Pet Star, despite some difficulty with an allergy to cats. Lopez hosted the Miss America pageant in 2007, 2009, and 2010.

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 sitcom Saved by the Bell (1989–1993), and its spinoff Saved by the Bell: The College Years (1993–1994), a role which lasted five years.

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 sitcom Saved by the Bell (1989–1993), and its spinoff Saved by the Bell: The College Years (1993–1994), a role which lasted five years.

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