George Lopez
Mexican-American
Comedian + Actor
Website: georgelopez.com
Instagram: @georgelopez
Born in 1961 in Mission Hills, Los Angeles, Mexican-American George Lopez used his difficult childhood as a stepping-stone, rather than an obstacle, for success. Abandoned by his father at just two years old, and then by his mother at the age of 10, George’s maternal grandmother and step-grandfather stepped in to raise him. And with courage, George would learn to channel his painful experiences through comedy.
By the late 1980s, George had taken the comedy clubs by storm; performing across the country and appearing on TV shows and comedy specials. And in the ‘90s, he would make his very first film appearance in the comedy movie, Ski Patrol (1990), followed by Fatal Instinct (1993). These acting roles, and popularity in the stand up comedy world, would prepare him to create and star in George Lopez – a sitcom that aired between 2002 and 2007 on ABC. With this accomplishment, George became one of the few Latinos to star in a television comedy series. Some of his subsequent works included an autobiography entitled Why You Crying (2004), his own late-night talk show called Lopez Tonight on TBS (2009-2011), and having a voice role as Rafael in the animated box-office hit Rio and Rio 2 (2011 and 2014 respectively). As of today, George continues to perform standup comedy across the country, and also stars and produces a semi-fictionalized version of himself in the single-camera sitcom called Lopez on TV Land.
George’s honors and awards for his contributions to the Latino community include: the Latino Spirit Award for Excellence in Television (2003), a Teen Choice Award for ‘Choice TV Breakout Star (male)’, a Young Artist Award for ‘Most Popular Mom & Pop in a Television Series’ (2004), named one of the Top 25 Hispanics in America by time magazine (2005), and a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame (2009).
Sources: georgelopez.com and biography.com