Mario Lopez

Mario Lopez is an American actor and television host born October 10, 1973, in Chula Vista, California, near the Mexican border. The son of Mexican immigrant parents, he began performing as a child, taking dance lessons at age three and competing in martial arts. He landed his first television role at ten on the syndicated children's series a.k.a. Pablo.

Lopez became known to a generation of viewers as A.C. Slater on the NBC Saturday morning sitcom Saved by the Bell, which ran from 1989 to 1993. The show, set at the fictional Bayside High School in Pacific Palisades, followed a group of friends led by Zack Morris, with Slater serving as the wrestler and football player from a military family. Lopez reprised the role in Saved by the Bell: The College Years and the 2020 Peacock revival.

He hosted the syndicated entertainment-news program Extra from 2008 to 2019, then moved to Access Hollywood in 2019. He competed on the third season of Dancing with the Stars in 2006, finishing as runner-up to Emmitt Smith, and has hosted the Miss USA, Miss Universe, and Miss Teen USA pageants on multiple occasions. He also hosts the syndicated radio show On With Mario Lopez.

Lopez has written several books, including the children's series Mud Tacos and a fitness memoir. He married actress Courtney Mazza in 2012, and the couple have three children.

The name Mario is the Italian and Spanish form of the Latin Marius, a Roman family name that may derive from Mars, the Roman god of war, or from the Latin mas, meaning "male."