Matthew Steven "Matt" LeBlanc (born July 25, 1967) is an
American actor, known for his role as
Joey Tribbiani in the
NBC sitcoms Friends and
Joey.
Early life
LeBlanc was born in
Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Patricia Grossman, an office manager, and Paul LeBlanc, a mechanic.
[www.filmreference.com/film/2/Matt-LeBlanc.html] His mother is
Italian American.
[The Washington Post] LeBlanc graduated from
Newton North High School in 1985. Before Newton North, Matt attended Frank Ashley Day Junior High School and Williams Elementary School, both located in Newton. After high school he attended college at
Wentworth Institute of Technology in
Boston, MA. He left shortly after starting his second semester.
Career
In the late 1980s, LeBlanc began appearing in a number of television ads, including well-known spots for
Heinz,
Levi's,
7 Up and
Coca-Cola He did a
Coca-Cola commercial just outside of
Yuma, Arizona.
In 1988, he landed his first regular TV role on the drama
TV 101 which ran for one season. In 1990 he starred in Jon Bon Jovi's music video "Miracle", from the
Young Guns II sound track. In 1991 he starred in the
music video for
Alanis Morissette's single "
Walk Away", in which he played her boyfriend. Later in 1991, he went on to star in a
spin-off of
Married... with Children entitled
Top of the Heap. The short lived series only lasted 7 episodes in April and May 1991. He also played his
Top of the Heap character Vinnie Verducci in a number of
Married With Children episodes. LeBlanc also appeared in one episode of
Red Shoe Diaries in 1991. In 1994, he starred in
Bob Seger's "Night Moves" music video.
LeBlanc found most success in the role of
Joey Tribbiani in 1994 on
Friends, and went on to play this character for twelve years playing his job of an actor — ten seasons of
Friends and two seasons of
Joey.
Friends was successful and LeBlanc, along with his co-stars, gained wide recognition among television viewers.
LeBlanc's most notable movie roles have been in the films
Ed (1996),
Lost in Space (1998),
Charlie's Angels (2000) and
All the Queen's Men (2001).
LeBlanc is due to star in
Episodes, a
Showtime/
BBC television series about a fictional British television series that is remade for an American audience. The series will be written by
Friends co-creator
David Crane and his partner
Jeffrey Klarik, and will star LeBlanc as "himself".
LeBlanc's production company, Fort Hill Productions, co-produced the
made-for-TV movie,
The Prince in 2006.
Personal life
On May 3, 2003, LeBlanc married his girlfriend of six years, Melissa McKnight. Together they have a daughter, Marina, who was born in 2004. He also has a stepdaughter, Jacquelyn, and a stepson, Tyler, from McKnight's previous marriage.
The couple separated on January 1, 2006, and in March of that year, LeBlanc filed for divorce, citing
irreconcilable differences. Their divorce became final on October 6, 2006. Since January 2006, LeBlanc has been dating his former
Joey co-star
Andrea Anders .
Awards
From 2002–2004, LeBlanc was nominated three consecutive years as
Best Actor in a Comedy Series Emmy Awards,
[archives.cnn.com/2002/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/18/emmy02.emmy.nominations/index.html][www.emmys.tv/primetime/2004/awards/leadactor.php] while from 2003–2005 he received three consecutive Best Actor nominations at the
Golden Globe Awards.
[www.emmys.tv/primetime/2003/awards/leadactor.php] In 2000, he won Editor's Choice in TV Guide Awards (as
Friends).
In 2002, he won TV - Choice Actor - Comedy at the
Teen Choice Awards (as
Friends).
In 2005, he won Favorite Male Television Star at the
People's Choice Awards.
Filmography
