Lopez was discovered by a talent agent at a dance recital when he was 10 years old. He initially worked in local advertisements and commercials before making TV appearances.
Acting Lopez began acting 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; he performed on 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 film
Colors (1988) as Felipe's friend. Lopez was cast in 1989 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). On February 4, 2015, Lopez reunited with
Mark-Paul Gosselaar,
Elizabeth Berkley,
Dennis Haskins, and
Tiffani Thiessen on
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, where they appeared in a
Saved by the Bell sketch with Fallon. In 2020, Lopez reprised the role of A.C. Slater in
Peacock's sequel series,
Saved by the Bell. In 1997, Lopez starred as Olympic diver
Greg Louganis in the television film
Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story. The following year, he was cast as Bobby Cruz in the
USA Network series
Pacific Blue for two seasons before it was canceled after the fifth season; he then went on to guest star on
Resurrection Blvd.,
Eve, and ''
The Bad Girl's Guide. In March 2006, Lopez joined the cast of the daytime soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful playing the role of Dr. Christian Ramirez. On July 18, 2006, he was released from his B&B'' contract. Later that year, Mario guest-starred as a
plastic surgeon who drives
Christian Troy to jealousy when he sees him naked in the shower in an episode of
FX Network's
Nip/Tuck during the show's fourth season, which began in autumn 2006. He also made an appearance on
George Lopez as a police officer in late 2006. Also in the fall of 2006, Lopez signed on as a contestant on the
third season of Dancing with the Stars on
ABC with professional partner and then-girlfriend
Karina Smirnoff who was making her series debut. They finished in second place, losing to the team of
Emmitt Smith and
Cheryl Burke. Lopez and Courtney Mazza had a reality show on
VH1 called
Mario Lopez: Saved by the Baby which premiered on November 1, 2010. Lopez guest-starred as a reporter for
Extra Sesame Street in the
Sesame Street episode "The Veggie Monster" in 2012. In December 2020, Lopez starred as Colonel Sanders in
A Recipe for Seduction, a short film from
Lifetime and
KFC. In 2024, Lopez signed a multi-year deal with
Great American Media.
Hosting duties In 1992, he hosted his first series on NBC, called
Name Your Adventure. He hosted 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. Lopez has guest co-hosted
The Wendy Williams Show, and MCed the gala benefit for the 2010 Pageant of the Masters arts festival in
Laguna Beach, California. Starting in 2012, Lopez began hosting his own nationally syndicated radio show,
ON With Mario Lopez, for
Premiere Radio. It streams online daily on
iHeartRadio and airs on selected CHR and Hot AC stations (particularly on
KBIG-FM/Los Angeles) throughout the U.S. In August 2014, Lopez began hosting the Hot AC edition of the
iHeartRadio Countdown. In July 2019, it was reported that Lopez would be leaving his duties hosting
Extra in order to host rival program
Access Hollywood. In November 2019 Lopez was the Grand Marshal of the
Hollywood Christmas Parade. In 2024, Lopez began hosting the
Game Show Network series
Blank Slate.
Stage career Outside of TV, Lopez made his
Broadway debut on April 15, 2008, in the revival of the
musical A Chorus Line as Zach.
Books Lopez has published three non-fiction books. The first,
Mario Lopez Knockout Fitness, was published in 2008 and written together with Jeff O'Connell (who had previously written a fitness book with
LL Cool J). His book
Extra Lean followed in early 2010 and became a
New York Times bestseller.
Extra Lean Family was published in May 2012. He released a children's book entitled
Mario and Baby Gia by Celebra Children's Books (a division of
Penguin Books), on September 27, 2011. The book is about Lopez and his daughter.
Musical In 2022, it was announced that Lopez is involved in an effort to revive the Puerto Rican boy band
Menudo, as he oversaw auditions that took place, in a project named "Menudo: A New Beginning". Lopez helped revive the band as their new manager, and in 2023, Menudo released their first single under Lopez, named "Mi Amore". ==Personal life==