Jacqueline Bracamontes to Serve as a Spanish-Language Co-Host at This Year’s Miss Universe Pageant

Posted on November 12, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jacqueline Bracamontes is preparing for a universal role…

The 43-year-old Mexican actress, former model and beauty pageant titleholder will serve as talent for the upcoming Miss Universe pageant, which is set to take place in El Salvador on November 18.

Bracamontes will be among the Latinx artists serving as talent for Telemundos’ Spanish-language telecast of the pageant.

Bracamontes will co-host alongside Danilo Carrera. Joining them are Andrea Meza, Carlos Adyan and Julia Gama.

The English broadcast of the 72nd annual competition will be hosted by former Extra host Maria Menounos alongside returning hosts Olivia Culpo and Jeannie Mai.

Culpo and Mai hosted the competition last year, replacing Steve Harvey, who had previously hosted the show for a number of years.

The competition will air on Roku and Telemundo in the U.S.

Miss Universe began airing on CBS in 1960. After it was acquired by Donald Trump in 1996, it began airing on NBC in 2003 and remained there until 2014. It aired on Fox between 2015 and 2019, before moving to FYI and Telemundo briefly before airing on Fox in 2021.

The 2023 show will be produced by executive produced Sergio Alfaro and his LA-based production company InventTV, as well as Paula Shugart and Anne Jakrajutatip for Miss Universe.

The Miss Universe Organization is now owned by Thailand’s JKN Global Group.

The show will also feature two backstage correspondents: Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray and Zuri Hall, co-host of Access Hollywood and NBC’s American Ninja Warrior.

Lauren Sanchez Starring in the Vito Schnabel-Led Dark Comedy “The Trainer”

Posted on June 26, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

It’s training day for Lauren Sanchez.

The 52-year-old Mexican-American media personality, Emmy-winning journalist and actress, is starring in Vito Schnabel-led dark comedy The Trainer, which has wrapped filming in Los Angeles, New York and the Bahamas.

Sanchez, who gained fame as an entertainment reporter and news anchor, is part of a cast that includes Paris Hilton, Finneas O’Connell, Sandra Seacat and journalist Gayle King.

Written by Schnabel and Jeff Solomon, the film is based on the former’s original story. It unfolds over eight days of sleep-deprived chaos and follows Jack (Schnabel), a down-on-his-luck fitness expert living with his mother in Los Angeles, who takes a maniacal swing at fame and fortune, trying to realize his version of the American dream.

Tony Kaye directed the film boasting one of the most eclectic ensembles in recent memory, which also includes Julia Fox, Steven Van Zandt, Taylour Paige, Stephen Dorff, John McEnroe, Gina Gershon, Luka Sabbat, Gus Van Sant, Lenny Kravitz, Beverly D’Angelo, Colleen Camp, Gavin Rossdale, Soo Joo Park, Brock O’Hurn, Bella Thorne, Laird Hamilton and Duke Nicholson.

Schnabel, Kaye and Jeremy Steckler are producing The Trainer, with George Paaswell serving as executive producer.

Sanchez has been seen on programs like The View, KTTV Fox 11’s Good Day LA, the Fox 11 Ten O’clock News, Extra, Larry King Live, The Joy Behar Show and Showbiz Tonight. Past film credits include Ted 2, White House Down, Celeste & Jesse Forever, We Bought a Zoo, Fantastic Four and Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Akeelah and the Bee, The Longest Yard, The Day After Tomorrow and Fight Club. She’s also been seen on series like Rake, Dirt and Girlfriends, among others.

Sanchez also notably founded aerial production company Black Ops Aviation and serves as Vice Chair of the Bezos Earth Fund.

Lopez to Co-Host This Year’s Daytime Emmy Awards

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Mario Lopez is the host with the most…

The 43-year-old Mexican American television host and actor has been tapped as hosts of the 44th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards set for Sunday, April 30 at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in Pasadena, CA.

Lopez’s co-host will be The Talk’s Sheryl Underwood.

Lopez is in his ninth consecutive year as host of Emmy-winning entertainment news program Extra. As an actor, he recently guest-starred on NBC’s breakout hit This Is Us, as well as NCIS: New Orleans, Still the King and Nashville.

The Daytime Emmy Awards recognize outstanding achievement in all fields of daytime television production and are presented to individuals and programs broadcast from 2:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. during the 2016 calendar year.

The 44th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards is a presentation of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Lopez to Produce YouTube Channel About His Life for Awesomeness TV’s Awestruck Digital Network

Posted on July 5, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Mario Lopez is ready to leave you Awestruck…

The 42-year-old television host and actor is headed to YouTube after agreeing to a deal with Awesomeness TV’s Awestruck digital network.

Lopez, the co-host of Extra, will be tasked with creating programming about his family, his faith, his fitness and diet.

The channel will feature his wife Courtney Lopez and their children, Gia and Dominic, according to Variety.

“I’m so excited to launch my personal YouTube channel with Awestruck,” Lopez said in a statement. “Their focus on family and fun made them the perfect partner. And the fact that I get to include my family makes it that much better.”

Awestruck is a digital entertainment and lifestyle network aimed at millennial moms. It’s original short-form programming is distributed via YouTube, Facebook and Verizon’s go90 app.

Lopez will be joining the likes of Zoe Saldaña, Molly Sims, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and Jennifer “Jwoww” Farley, who are other celebrities who have deals with the network.

“Mario is a perfect addition to the Awestruck community,” said Awestruck chief Sarah Penna in a statement. “Not only did moms like myself grow up watching him on TV, but he’s a great example of the multi-tasking parent of today.”

Lopez to Star in Fox’s Live Musical “Grease: Live”

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Tom Castaneda

Grease is the word for Mario Lopez…

The 42-year-old Mexican American actor and television host has joined the ensemble cast of Grease: Live, set to air Sunday, January 31 on Fox.

Lopez will portray television teen dance show host Vince Fontaine, played by Edd Byrnes in the 1978 feature film.

In this live television adaptation of the musical classic, the beginning of senior year means the end of Danny (Aaron Tveit) and Sandy’s (Julianne Hough) summer romance – until Sandy unexpectedly transfers to Danny’s high school.

With their friends pulling them in different directions, it’s up to Danny and Sandy to stay hopelessly devoted as they make their way from Rydell High to a new frontier.

The former Saved by the Bell star hosts the Emmy-winning daily show Extra and Clear Channel radio’s On With Mario Lopez.

His other TV credits include a guest role on Nip/Tuck.

Rivera Returning as a Recurring Guest Star for the Sixth and Final Season of “Glee”

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Here’s news to cheer about… Naya Rivera is returning for the final season of Glee.

Despite being absent in the season five finale, the 27-year-old half-Puerto Rican actress/singer will return to Fox’s musical dramedy as a recurring guest star.

It’s reportedly Rivera’s own request to be downgraded from a series regular, according to TVLine.com.

The report comes following Rivera’s alleged on-set feud with co-star Lea Michele, but Michele denied it.

“It’s really unbelievable the amount of the things that can just be completely made up,” she said when visiting Late Show with David Letterman in May, adding that the rumors were “really frustrating.”

Series creator Ryan Murphy also told Extra, “I don’t think there is a story between Naya and Lea. I always marvel at the things that become headline news that most of the time are completely fabricated. Naya’s coming back next year, Lea’s coming back next year. Anybody ever in that cast has an open invitation to come back and finish the character they so beautifully started.”

A source, however, said Rivera had a disagreement with the show’s producers, though another insider insisted that it “had nothing to do with Lea.”

Glee sixth season will air in spring 2015.

Murphy has discussed the concept for the final season, saying, “It really feels like it’s getting back to its roots, which I love. I’m sort of reinvigorated about it. It’s getting back to what I was initially interested in with the show, which was arts in school.

The last season is really about the importance of arts education in our high schools… I think people will like it.”

Lopez to Pen His Memoir

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Extra! Extra! Read all about Mario Lopez…

The 40-year-old Mexican American actor and Extra host is writing his memoir, entitled Just Between Us.

The book’s publisher Penguin will release Lopez’s book on September 30.

Lopez is best known for playing athletic hunk A.C. Slater on NBC’s Saturday morning teen sitcom Saved by the Bell, which aired from 1989 to 1993. Saved by the Bell: The College Years, a primetime spin-off, lasted one season (1993-94). Other members of the cast included Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley and Lark Voorhies.

Specific details about what Lopez will cover in the book haven’t been released but Penguin is touting the book as “a behind-the-scenes look into his successes and disappointments in the entertainment industry” and the “most intimate never-before-told stories, including the details of his often tumultuous and largely public love life—giving readers a look at the ups and downs of his romantic past leading up to a happily-ever-after with his beautiful wife and their two children.”

Added Lopez in the statement, “I share my most intimate stories and pivotal moments, some of the best and most important times of my life and the heartbreaking mistakes that still haunt me. There are no do-overs in life, so I had to learn to pick myself up and move forward, never forgetting the hard-won lessons.”

Post-Bell, Lopez has been the host of the entertainment news show Extra since 2008. He was also a contestant on Dancing with the Stars in 2006, finishing second to former NFL great Emmitt Smith. He was also the subject of the VH1 unscripted series Mario Lopez: Saved by the Baby about the arrival of his first child with wife Courtney Mazza. He was also briefly married to Ali Landry in 2004.

Just Between Us will be published via Penguin’s Hispanic celebrity imprint Celebra, which has done books by Ricky Martin, Pele, George Lopez and Soledad O’Brien among others.

Lopez has previously published two health and fitness books with Celebra. Both were New York Times bestsellers.

Sánchez to Produce Latina-Themed Talk Show for BMP Latin

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Lauren Sánchez could soon be bringing generations of Latina women to television…

The 44-year-old Latina news anchor and entertainment reporter has signed deal with Bunim/Murray Productions’ BMP Latin to executive-produce and host a syndicated talk show Generations (working title).

The former Extra correspondent star’s project will feature a multi-generational panel of Latin women discussing everything from personal issues to social and pop culture topics.

Sanchez has appeared as a contributor on Larry King Live, The Joy Behar Show, Showbiz Tonight and The View.

It’s one of the latest Latin-themed deals for the production company behind The Real World, Project Runway and Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

Along with signing a development deal with Adam Rodriguez, BMP Latin is currently producing Combate Americas, the first Spanish language Mixed Martial Arts competition reality series for mun2.

The company also has development deals with former The X Factor judge Paulina Rubio, multi-platinum reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee and the Leonardo Lopez family, a successful Mexican-American family living the dream in Encino, California.

Lopez Signs Development Deal with NUVOtv

Posted on November 22, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Mario Lopez has more NUVOtv in his future…

The 40-year-old Mexican American television host and actor is expanding his relationship with the American cable television network, which caters to the Latin market.

The current host of The X Factor and Extra has signed a development deal with NUVOtv to bring new projects to life. Specifically he’ll develop three new series projects for the network.

As part of the deal, the network has ordered a second season of his interview show One-On-One. The first season includes interviews with Eva Longoria, Edward James Olmos, Juanes and Emilio and Gloria Estefan.

Additionally, NUVOtv has greenlit new series Salsa in the City (working title). Produced by Lopez, the series set to premiere in the second quarter of 2014. It’s being called a competition show that combines dating and dance within the salsa dance scene.

Lopez & Wife Courtney Mazza Welcome Their Second Child

Posted on September 10, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Mario Lopez’s family has expanded…

The 39-year-old Mexican American actor and Extra host’s wife Courtney Mazza has given birth to the couple’s second child.

Mazza gave birth to a baby boy on Monday night, September 9. The couple named their son Dominic Lopez.

Lopez took to Twitter to announce the arrival of his second child. “It’s a boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please welcome Dominic Lopez to the world! Couldn’t be happier… @CourtneyMLopez & baby are doing just fine… :),” he wrote.

Baby Dominic joins his big sister Gia Francesca who turns 3 years old on Wednesday.

The X Factor host had to rush to hospital from the studio. “Whoa.. Cutting it close. Just wrapped @TheXFactorUSA & I’m rushing to the hospital. Baby Lopez #2 is coming tonight! Baby better wait for me,” he tweeted a few hours before the baby’s arrival. “This anticipation is killing me… #BabyLopezNumber2.”

The couple announced in February that they were expecting their second child. “She wants to know if it’s a boy or a girl, but we don’t know because we’re waiting to find out. That’s kind of tough sometimes, we just don’t know!” Lopez said of his excited daughter.

“My husband is the most supportive man on the earth. He loves my booty. I lost the weight pretty quickly the first time, so I’m praying it happens the second time around,” Mazza told People magazine in June.

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