Mark-Paul Gosselaar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Gosselaar at GalaxyCon Richmond in 2023
Born	Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar (1974-03-01) March 1, 1974 (age 51) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	William S. Hart High School
Occupation	Actor, model
Years active	1986–present
Spouse(s)	Lisa Ann Russell ​ ​ (m. 1996; div. 2011)​ Catriona McGinn ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	4

Mark-Paul Harry Gosselaar (born March 1, 1974) is an American actor. He is well-known for playing Zack Morris in the popular NBC TV series Saved by the Bell. In 1991, he won a Young Artist Award for being the Best Young Actor in an Off-Primetime Series.

He has also played other important roles. These include Paul Johnson in the ABC show Mixed-ish, Detective John Clark Jr. in NYPD Blue, and Peter Bash in the TNT legal series Franklin & Bash. Mark-Paul Gosselaar was also the main actor in the 1998 movie Dead Man on Campus. More recently, he starred in the Fox TV series Pitch (2016) and The Passage (2019). He returned as Zack Morris in the new Saved by the Bell series (2020) on Peacock. He also stars in the NBC drama Found (2023).

Early Life and Beginnings

Mark-Paul Gosselaar was born in Panorama City, Los Angeles, in the United States. His mother, Paula, was a homemaker and worked for KLM airlines. His father, Hans Gosselaar, was a plant supervisor. Mark-Paul is the youngest of four children. He is the only one in his family who was not born in the Netherlands.

His father was born in the Netherlands and has German and Dutch Jewish family roots. Sadly, Mark-Paul's Jewish great-grandparents were killed during the Holocaust. His mother was born in Bali, Indonesia, and was a flight attendant. Mark-Paul has said he is "half-Asian" and enjoys collecting items from Indonesia.

He used to speak Dutch fluently at home when he was younger. His parents later separated. Mark-Paul's mother helped manage his career. He started modeling when he was five years old. As a child, he appeared in commercials for popular products like Oreo cookies. He also had guest roles on different TV shows. He spent his teenage years in Southern California and went to Hart High School. Mark-Paul has mentioned that his natural hair color is brown. However, his hair was dyed blond for his role on Saved by the Bell.

Acting Career Highlights

Mark-Paul Gosselaar became famous as the star of the TV comedy series Saved by the Bell. This show aired on NBC from 1989 to 1993. His character, Zack Morris, was first seen in a shorter show called Good Morning, Miss Bliss. Even though that show ended quickly, NBC believed a new show with Zack Morris as the main character could be very successful.

He played Zack Morris again in two TV movies. He also appeared in a spin-off show called Saved by the Bell: The College Years. In 1994, he returned as Zack Morris in an episode of Saved by the Bell: The New Class. He was joined by his former co-stars Mario López and Lark Voorhies.

Gosselaar in 2008 at the Malibu Triathlon

In 1998, he starred in the movie Dead Man on Campus. Later that year, Gosselaar played the main character in the TV drama Hyperion Bay. In 2001, he starred in the movie The Princess and the Marine. He also appeared in the short-lived WB series D.C.. From 2001 to 2005, he played Detective John Clark on ABC's NYPD Blue. While on NYPD Blue, he also acted in Atomic Twister. After NYPD Blue ended, he joined the cast of Commander in Chief. He also appeared on the HBO series John from Cincinnati. He then took on the main role of Jerry Kellerman in Raising the Bar on TNT.

On June 8, 2009, Gosselaar appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon as his character Zack Morris. He promoted his show Raising the Bar and joked that Mark-Paul Gosselaar was his stage name. He also said he would join a Saved by the Bell reunion. On February 4, 2015, Gosselaar reunited with Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley, Dennis Haskins, and Tiffani Thiessen on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. They performed a fun Saved by the Bell sketch with Jimmy Fallon.

In October 2009, he performed on stage for the first time in an off-Broadway play called The Understudy. Gosselaar began filming the TNT series Franklin & Bash in 2010. The show started airing on June 1, 2011. It was canceled in 2014 after four seasons. In 2016, he was cast as Mike Lawson in the FOX series Pitch. This show premiered on September 22, 2016, but was canceled after one season. He also appeared on Tiffani Thiessen's cooking show, Dinner at Tiffani's.

In 2019, Gosselaar started playing Paul Johnson in the ABC comedy series Mixed-ish. This show is a spin-off of Black-ish. He also returned to his role as Zack Morris in the 2020 sequel series Saved by the Bell.

Personal Life and Hobbies

In a July 2009 interview, Mark-Paul Gosselaar shared that he dated three of his Saved by the Bell co-stars. These were Lark Voorhies, Tiffani Thiessen, and Elizabeth Berkley. He remains good friends with his Saved by the Bell cast mates.

In 1996, Gosselaar married Lisa Ann Russell, who was a model. They had two children together: a son born in 2004 and a daughter born in 2006. After 14 years of marriage, they separated in 2010 and their divorce was final in 2011.

Gosselaar got engaged to Catriona McGinn in August 2011. They married on July 28, 2012, in California. They have a son born in 2013 and a daughter born in 2015.

Mark-Paul Gosselaar enjoys many sports and hobbies. He is a fan of sports cars and is a race car driver. He also enjoys track cycling and dirt biking. He is a trained pilot. In 2005, he competed in a track cycling championship. He won an event at the Encino Velodrome. He also holds a brown belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Gosselaar lives in Los Angeles.

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Roles

Audio Roles

Awards and Nominations

Young Artist Award

• 1989: Nominated, Best Young Actor in a Cable Family Series – Good Morning, Miss Bliss
• 1990: Nominated, Outstanding Young Ensemble Cast – Saved by the Bell
• 1991: Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Primetime Series – Saved by the Bell
• 1992: Nominated, Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Primetime Series – Saved by the Bell
• 1993: Nominated, Best Young Actor Starring in an Off-Primetime Series – Saved by the Bell

See also

In Spanish: Mark-Paul Gosselaar para niños