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Mark Hoppus was born in Ridgecrest, California, on March 15, 1972,to Connie and Tex Hoppus. One of Hoppus' ancestors, Michael Happes, fought in the Revolutionary War, leading Hoppus to describe himself as "a proud Son of the American Revolution." His father worked for the U.S. Department of Defense, designing missiles. His mother, Connie, reflects on her son as "...always a happy kid. Really smart, sensitive."Hoppus spent much of his early years in the small town of Ridgecrest until his parents divorced when he was in the third grade, which affected him greatly. After shuffling around with sister Anne for two years, Mark left with his father for Monterey. His father was often away earning a postgraduate degree in college. In a 2000 article, Hoppus recalls "[I] was living by myself in the fifth grade." Hoppus describes himself as "pretty straight" until junior high, when he began skateboarding. Beginning in his freshman year, Hoppus gained solace through music of The Smiths and The Cure.
Hoppus lived in Fairfax, Virginia (a suburb of Washington, D.C.) during his early high school years and attended Annandale High School during his sophomore year; at which time he received his first bass guitar and attended his first concert (They Might Be Giants).Hoppus received his first bass (a Mako) as a gift from his father, purchased at a local music shop in Annandale. He earned money for a set of amplifiers by helping him paint his house.Hoppus never took bass lessons, instead he taught himself by playing to bands such as the Descendents, The Cure, and Bad Religion. Hoppus played by himself and sang in the band Pier 69, primarily covering songs by The Cure, and recorded a live demo with a group named The Attic Children in 1988, featuring covers of The Cure songs. Hoppus returned to Ridgecrest in 1989, completing high school at Burroughs High School. While there, he faced teasing over wearing eyeliner to school. After graduating from Burroughs High School in 1990, he began playing in a band called Of All Things he formed with two friends, covering songs by Descendents and writing original punk numbers. The group primarily performed at friend's parties and bonfires, and once played Oasis, the local music venue.
Hoppus left Ridgecrest in summer 1992 to attend college and get a job at a local music store in San Diego. Hoppus continued playing gigs with Of All Things, returning on weekends. Eventually, Hoppus' manager became suspicious of his weekend activities (Hoppus having told him he worked with mentally disabled children in Ridgecrest) and refused any time off on weekends. His "short lived attempt" at college, studying at California State University, San Marcos, revolved around plans to become an English teacher.He recalls he "hated" college and his reasoning behind becoming a teacher involved sights set for educational reform. He dropped out in the early 1990s after "things began to take off with Blink-182" and lived with his mother for many of the early years of the band. Hoppus describes his mother as always supportive in his decisions to drop out of college and tour with Blink-182, however, he describes his father as "more realistic, [...] he said, "Have something to fall back on.
After moving to San Diego in the summer of 1992, Hoppus was reunited with his sister Anne Hoppus, to whom he expressed his desire to be in a band.Anne attended Rancho Bernardo High School, and had become friends with new student Tom DeLonge over the summer. In August 1992, Anne introduced the two, and Hoppus and DeLonge immediately began performing music in DeLonge's garage. To impress DeLonge, Hoppus climbed to the top of a streetlight outside of DeLonge's home – however, he broke both ankles on the way down, resulting in being in crutches for the next few weeks.
Hoppus married Skye Everly on December 2, 2000. Hoppus met Everly at a rehearsal for the music video to the Blink-182 single "All the Small Things". According to a 2004 interview, Everly, who was then an MTV talent executive, initially said no to dating Hoppus: "Tom [DeLonge] always used to embarrass me. Any girl he’d talk to, he’d say, 'Hey, you wanna go on a date with Mark?' He asked Skye, my wife, who looked at me and said 'No.' That’s how it all started. Two years later, Skye gave birth to their son, Jack Hoppus on August 5, 2002. The three are currently living in London, England. However, Hoppus announced on his blog that he planned to reside in the United Kingdom for one year only. After that he would return to the United States. However after a year Hoppus didn't move back to the United States and is still currently residing in the United Kingdom. Hoppus is a fan of Chelsea F.C..
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