George Lopez is a Mexican-American actor and comedian, and was born on April 23, 1961 in the Mission Hills area of Los Angeles. He lived with his grandmother who took care of him and was not very caring. His dad abandoned him when he was born, and his mother abandoned him when he was 10, and he incorporated some of his backstory into his George Lopez Show.

He became on of the first Latinos to star in a comedy television show in 2002, and has been inspired by the late actors Freddie Prinze and Desi Arnaz. He has had an autobiography called Why are you Crying and was nominated for a Grammy award for best comedy album in 2004. He’s received the 2003 Latino Spirit award for Excellence in television and Time magazine named him one of “The 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America.”

Lopez heads his own charity, The Ann & George Lopez Foundation, whose mission is to “create positive, permanent change for underprivileged children, adults and military families confronting challenges in education and health, as well as increasing community awareness about kidney disease and organ donation.”  In February 2004, Lopez was presented the 2004 Artist of the Year and Humanitarian Award by the Harvard Foundation at Harvard University, presented by its president and dean for his artistic work and charitable endeavors.