Masiela Lusha ( /ˌmɑːsiˈɛlə ˈluːʃə/; born October 23, 1985) is an American author, actress, producer and humanitarian who first gained recognition after starring in film and TV projects such as ABC's George Lopez and Sony Picture's Blood: The Last Vampire. As an author, Lusha has translated poems and prayers by Mother Teresa, and has written several books in various languages.
Lusha spent her childhood chiefly in Albania, Hungary and Austria. She studied ballet in Vienna, and then moved to Michigan in 1993, where she continued to train in various forms of dance. She rose to fame when she co-starred as the passionate and rebellious character, Carmen Lopez, for five years, on the syndicated Warner Brothers series, George Lopez. This reportedly established Lusha as a TV veteran by the age of 20. She then appeared in movies such as Muertas, Katie Malone, Ballad of Broken Angels, Summoning, A Father's Love, Time of the Comet, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, Blood: The Last Vampire. In recognition of her work, Lusha has been awarded two consecutive Young Artist Awards for Leading Young Actress in a Comedy and Drama. In 2007, Lusha founded a production company, Illuminary Pictures, and has since produced two films with the company. Throughout her career, Lusha has been placed on numerous 'best dressed' lists.
George Lopez (born April 23, 1961) is an American comedian, actor, and talk show host. He is mostly known for starring in his self-produced ABC sitcom George Lopez. His stand-up comedy examines race and ethnic relations, including the Mexican American culture. He was the host of the late-night talk show Lopez Tonight on TBS until its cancellation on August 12, 2011.
Lopez was born on April 23, 1961 in Mission Hills, California. He was deserted by his father when he was two months old and by his mother when he was 10 years old, but was raised by his maternal grandmother, Benita Gutierrez, a factory worker, and step-grandfather, Refugio Gutierrez, a construction worker.
In 1999, Lopez hosted a major morning radio show for Clear Channel Communications in Los Angeles. He was the first Latino to have headlined the keystone morning radio slot on an English-language station in LA—the nation’s top radio market.
In 2000, after several years of performing stand-up comedy, Lopez was approached by actress Sandra Bullock for Lopez to produce and star in a comedy. Bullock was concerned about the lack of Hispanic-oriented sitcoms on American television and pushed to get a sitcom on television that starred Hispanics without being exclusively about the Hispanic American community. Long criticized by Hispanic American groups for lack of Latinos on their television shows, ABC quickly picked up the television series. In 2002, Lopez became one of the few Latinos to star in a television comedy series, following in the footsteps of Desi Arnaz, Freddie Prinze, and John Leguizamo. George Lopez is an American situation comedy that originally aired on ABC from 2002–2007. Lopez is the co-creator, writer, producer, and star of the show.
Constance Marie Lopez (born September 9, 1965) is an American actress. Known professionally as Constance Marie, she is known for her role as Angie Lopez on George Lopez (2002–2007) and for her role as Marcella Quintanilla (mother of Selena) in the 1997 film Selena. She currently portrays Regina Vasquez on the ABC family drama Switched at Birth.
At the age of 19 Marie appeared as a dancer in the musical "Cosmopolis" by composer Ryuichi Sakamoto in Japan. When she returned to Los Angeles she was spotted in a club by a dance choreographer for David Bowie. She was chosen out of 500 dancers to tour with David Bowie on his 1987 worldwide Glass Spider Tour.[citation needed]
Marie's acting career also began when she was in her teens. She landed a spot in the movie Salsa. Other credits include Early Edition, Dirty Dancing, Selena, Spin City, The Underworld, and Ally McBeal.
Marie was chosen for the role of Angie Lopez on the TV comedy series George Lopez. Marie then took on the part of Yolanda in the 2001 film Tortilla Soup. She also appeared in the series American Family.