 López was born on August 13, 1952 in Boston, Massachusetts to Eugenio "Geny" Lopez Jr. and Conchita "Chita" La'O.He is a member of the prominent López family of Iloilo; his father was one of the pioneers of the Philippine television industry.His mother was one of the daughters of the wealthy La'O family of Manila, whose other daughter married into the city's old Manotoc clan (making her an aunt of Tommy Manotoc, a former basketball coach, golfer and former husband of Imee Marcos, the eldest daughter of President Ferdinand Marcos).