Mario Lopez

Mario Michael Lopez, Jr. (born October 10, 1973) is an American television host and actor who has appeared on several television series, in films, and on Broadway. He is best known for his portrayal of A.C. Slater on Saved By The Bell, who he also portrayed as a regular on 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 a celebrity guest host for the syndicated entertainment news magazine show Extra. He has also hosted America's Best Dance Crew for MTV, and as of 2012, he hosts the reality show of the U.S. version of the singing competition The X Factor, previously with Khloe Kardashian until 2013. Mario was brought back to host a 2nd season of the show slated to debut September 2013. --- Mario Lopez was born in San Diego, California in 1973 to Elvia, a telephone clerk, and Mario Michael Lopez, Sr., who worked for the municipality of National City. He graduated Chula Vista High School in 1991, he wrestled for Chula Vista at the weight class of 160lbs placing 2nd in the San Diego Section and 7th in the state of California in 1991 as well. He was raised in a large Catholic family of Mexican descent from Culiacan Sinaloa Mexico . Lopez's professional career began in 1984 when he appeared as younger brother Tomás in the short-lived ABC comedy series a.k.a. Pablo. That same year, he was cast as a drummer and dancer on Kids Incorporated. In March 1987, he was cast as a guest star on the popular sitcom The Golden Girls as a Cuban boy named Mario who faces deportation. In 1989, Lopez was cast as A.C. Slater in the popular television sitcom Saved by the Bell, a role which lasted five years. Lopez's character was a masculine, athletic student, helping to garner the actor a sizeable teenage-girl fan base. After Saved by the Bell ended in 1993, Lopez went on to reprise his role as A.C. Slater in the short-lived spin-off series Saved by the Bell: The College Years. --- 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. Two weeks later, their marriage was annulled. In a 2011 interview, Lopez admitted that the split occurred after Landry discovered Lopez had been unfaithful to her days before the wedding at his bachelor party. Lopez subsequently dated professional dancer Karina Smirnoff, his Dancing with the Stars partner, from 2006 to June 2008. In the fall of 2008, Lopez began dating Broadway dancer Courtney Mazza. Lopez and Mazza became engaged over the 2011-2012 New Year's weekend, and married in Mexico on December 1, 2012. They have a daughter, Gia Francesca Lopez (born September 2010 in Burbank, California), and are expecting a second child in September 2013. In a 2009 interview, Lopez stated that he is Catholic and goes to church every week.