All My Children

Background:

American actor Mark Consuelos is best recalled by TV audiences for portraying Mateo Santos on the ABC daytime series “All My Children” (1995-2002), from which he took home three Soap Opera Digest Awards and two ALMA Awards. He is also known as FBI evidence specialist Antonio Cortez on the Lifetime crime/drama series “1-800 Missing” (2004-2006) and Gary Gucharez on “Hope & Faith” (2005-2006). As a movie actor, Consuelos is perhaps best known as Cpl. Guttierez on John Dahl's “The Great Raid” (2005). Other movie credits include “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” and “The Pleasure of Your Company” (both 2006) and the independent films “Pride & Loyalty” and “The Last Place on Earth” (both 2002).

Athletic Consuelos is an avid fan of English football and supports the London club Chelsea F.C. He is also a huge supporter of the New York Mets. Consuelos, who is part Italian, enjoys traveling to Italy, which he does once a year.

As for his married life, 5' 9” Consuelos is the husband of actress and talk show host Kelly Ripa. They currently reside in New York City with their three children, Michael, Lola and Joaquin.

More recently, in 2008, Mark's wife told US Weekly about the couple's plan of having a forth baby. She said, “We talk about it all the time. It's a huge discussion in our house. At this point, we feel like we have three healthy, beautiful, sweet kids. I'm afraid I'm going to be gilding the lily, asking for too much. But, never say never!”

Mr. Ripa

Childhood and Family:

Son of a delegate, Mark Andrew Consuelos was born in March 1970 in Zaragoza, Spain, to parents of Mexican and Italian origin. Shortly after his birth, he was brought to his mother's native Italy and spent his first five years there. The youngest of three then moved to the United States and settled in Lebanon, Illinois, with his family. When he was 16, his family relocated to Tampa, Florida. As a young boy who spoke only Italian, Mark learned English by watching American television. He graduated from Bloomingdale High School in Valrico, Florida, and went on to further his studies at the University of Notre Dame. He quit school after two years and transferred to the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida. In 1994, he graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Marketing.

Meeting on the set of “All My Children,” Mark secretly married costar Kelly Ripa on May 1, 1996, in Las Vegas. They welcomed their first child, son Michael Joseph Consuelos, on June 2, 1997, and their second child, Lola Grace Consuelos, was born on June 16, 2001. The couple welcomed son Joaquin Antonio into the family on February 24, 2003.

Mark has a brother, who is a doctor, and a sister, who is an attorney.

1-800 Missing

Career:

While growing up in Illinois, Mark Consuelos appeared in a stage production of “Hello, Dolly” at the Looking Glass Playhouse, but did not see acting as a profession until after completing college. The marketing degree graduate then left his home and family in Tampa, Florida, to pursue his dream in New York.

After appearing in several different off-Broadway plays, including Howard Korder's “Boy's Life,” Lyle Kessler's “Orphans” and Richard Vetere's “One Shot, One Kill” and making early TV appearances in episodes of “Fortune Hunter” and “SeaQuest,” Consuelos made a splash on the soap opera scene with his seven-year tenure on the CBS hit “All My Children” from 1995 to 2002. As Mateo Santos, a serious writer who falls in love with the hazardous Hayley Vaughan (played by future wife Kelly Ripa), he won the heart of audiences and successfully collected such awards as three Soap Opera Digests in the categories of Outstanding Younger Lead Actor (1996, 2000) and Hottest Romance (1998), which he shared with Ripa. He also received two consecutive ALMA Awards for Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Soap Opera (1998, 1999).

Consuelos did not have a number of other projects going on during his days in “All My Children.” He participated in “Connect with English,” an educational series that aired on PBS in 1997 and guest starred as a policeman in a 2001 episode of the well-liked sitcom “Friends.” He also appeared in the NBC drama “Third Watch” (2001). Prior to leaving “All My Children” in December of 2002, the handsome actor could be seen in the independent films “Pride & Loyalty,” which was directed by Ken Del Vecchio, and “The Last Place on Earth.” He was also seen as Eduardo on the PBS drama series “American Family” (all 2002).

Within four months of his departure, Consuelos was invited to make another guest appearance in “Third Watch,” this time playing a detective named Ramon Valenzuela. He followed it up with a costarring role on the ABC family made-for-TV film “Beautiful Girl” (2003), and supported David Clayton Rogers and Ryan Browning in NBC’s “The Legend of Butch & Sundance” (2004).

Consuelos did not return to series TV as a regular until he was cast as FBI Agent Antonio Cortez on Lifetime’s “1-800 Missing” during its second season in 2004. Costarring with Caterina Scorsone, Vivica A. Fox and Justin Louis, he was nominated for an Imagen in 2005 in the category of Best Supporting Actor – Television. He stayed with the show until 2006. During 2005 to 2006, Consuelos also portrayed the recurring role of Gary 'The Gooch' Gucharez on the ABC sitcom “Hope & Faith,” starring Faith Ford and wife Ripa. Outside of television, Consuelos starred with Benjamin Bratt and James Franco in “The Great Raid” (2005), a World War II epic helmed by John Dahl. He played Cpl. Guttierez.

Consuelos went on to have a supporting role in the comedy film “My Super Ex-Girlfriend” (2006), starring Uma Thurman and Luke Wilson, and played the leading role of Morty in the Michael Ian Black romance “The Pleasure of Your Company” (also 2006), alongside Dennis Albanese, Jason Biggs, Isla Fisher and Audra Blaser. He revisited television in 2007 in a guest appearance in “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.”

In January 2008, Consuelos played the role of Bo in the television film “Husband for Hire.” Among his costars in the comedy were Rosa Arredondo, Jayce Bartok, Tempestt Bledsoe, Jeremy Burnell and Burly Cain.

Awards:

• Soap Opera Digest: Outstanding Younger Lead Actor, “All My Children,” 2000

• ALMA: Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Soap Opera, “All My Children,” 1999

• ALMA: Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Soap Opera, “All My Children,” 1998

• Soap Opera Digest: Hottest Romance (shared with Kelly Ripa), “All My Children,” 1998

• Soap Opera Digest: Outstanding Male Newcomer, “All My Children,” 1996