Mario Lopez

Mario Lopez was an American actor and entertainment journalist who was best known for starring as the high school jock A.C. Slater on the 90s teen series "Saved by the Bell" (NBC, 1989-1993). Born and raised in San Diego, California, Lopez was an athletically gifted child. By the age of 3 he was excelling in a number of athletic endeavors, including dance, tumbling, and wrestling. He would later stick to wrestling, and by the time he reached high school Lopez stood out as one the star wrestler on his team. He would eventually go on to earn high rankings in various statewide high school wrestling competitions. Lopez turned to acting when he was 10 years old. While performing at a school dance recital, the young Mario was discovered by a talent scout, who quickly signed him to an acting contract. Once he had an agent, Mario began going on auditions. His charming demeanor and easy confidence quickly made him a favorite of casting agents. Lopez appeared in a number of commercials, before turning his focus to television. His first big break came in 1984 when he joined the cast of the Norman Lear-created sitcom "a.k.a Pablo" (ABC, 1984). That show, however, was cancelled after 6 episodes. Undeterred, Lopez nabbed a role as a dancer and drummer on the music-themed children's series "Kids Incorporated" (Syndicated/Disney Channel, 1984-1994), as well as a guest spot on the popular 80s sitcom "The Golden Girls" (NBC, 1985-1992). Then in 1989 Lopez was cast as A.C. Slater, a high school jock who's popular with the ladies, on the teen sitcom "Saved by the Bell." The show aired on Saturday mornings and was a huge hit with teenagers who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s. "Saved by the Bell" ran for four seasons on NBC, with Lopez and most of the cast reprising their roles on the spin-off series "Saved by the Bell: The College Years" (NBC, 1993-94). After "Saved by the Bell" ended, Lopez starred as the Olympic diver Greg Louganis in the TV movie "Breaking the Surface: Greg Louganis Story" (1997), and was a castmember on the crime series "Pacific Blue" (USA Network, 1996-2000). In 2006 Lopez also appeared as Dr. Christian Ramirez on the long-running CBS soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful" (CBS, 1987-), and was a contestant on the third season of ABC's popular reality competition series "Dancing with the Stars" (ABC, 2005-). By the mid-2000s, however, Lopez began shifting his focus to entertainment journalism and hosting. In 2007 he began co-hosting the popular daily entertainment news-focused show "Extra" (Syndication, 1994-), and would remain as the co-host until the summer of 2019. In 2012 Lopez also co-hosted the singing competition series "The X Factor" (Fox, 2011-13), and was the sole host for the show's third and final season in 2013. After leaving "Extra" in the summer of 2019 after 12 years as the co-host, Lopez began hosting the rival entertainment news program "Access Hollywood" (Syndication, 1996-) in the fall of 2019. 2019 was also the year that it was announced that Lopez would be reprising his most famous TV role as A.C. Slater on a rebooted version of "Saved by the Bell." The rebooted series, which aired on the network's new streaming service, Peacock, premiered in 2020.