While this Hispanic heartthrob didn't enjoy the same post-sitcom success as his longtime
Saved by the Bell costar Mark-Paul Gosselaar, the personable if not particularly versatile actor didn't fade into infamy like Elizabeth Berkley or Dustin "Screech" Diamond, either. After getting his start dancing on the youth-oriented variety show
Kids Incorporated, Lopez became a teen idol as a girl-crazy jock on the aforementioned high-school-set, Saturday-morning series. Recognizing a good thing, he also appeared in all the
Saved by the Bell spin-offs (two TV-movies and two series). In the late '90s, Lopez struggled with a succession of low-rent gigs, including a role on the grade-Z
Baywatch-like
Pacific Blue. He then reinvented himself in the '00s as an affable emcee, hosting series such as
Pet Star and the male talk-show answer to
The View,
The Other Half, as well as specials like Miss Teen USA, which introduced him to beauty queen/commentator Ali Landry. Although they married in 2004, the union was annulled a few weeks later, reportedly due to Lopez's infidelity. Despite the personal setback, he kept plugging away at his career, and in 2006, the dimpled hunk enjoyed a huge boost in popularity when he was named runner-up in the third edition of the reality competition
Dancing with the Stars. Rumor had it that he also snagged himself a girlfriend: his dance partner Karina Smirnoff.
Mario Lopez Fast Facts:
- Wrestled in high school just like his Saved by the Bell character.
- Won three Young Artist Awards, one for Saved by the Bell, and two more as host of Name Your Adventure.
- Co-produced and starred in the independent film Outta Time (2002), in which he portrayed a college soccer player unwittingly involved in drug smuggling.
- Mario Lopez Relationships:
- Ali Landry - Ex-wife
- Courtney Mazza - Significant Other
- Elvia Lopez - Mother
- Karina Smirnoff - Ex-significant Other
- Mario Lopez Sr. - Father
- Marissa Lopez - Sister
