Matthew David McConaughey (;
[Say How? A Pronunciation Guide to Names of Public Figures, Library of Congress] born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. After a series of minor roles in the early 1990s (including his breakout role in
Dazed and Confused, director
Richard Linklater's second feature film), he appeared in films such as
A Time to Kill,
Contact,
U-571,
Sahara, and
We Are Marshall. He also played the leading man in several romantic comedies, including
The Wedding Planner,
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003),
Failure to Launch,
Fool's Gold and
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.
Early life
McConaughey, the youngest of three boys, was born in
Uvalde, Texas, the son of Mary Kathleen "Kay" (
née McCabe), a substitute teacher, and James Donald McConaughey, a
gas station owner who ran an oil pipe supply business and once played
football for the
Green Bay Packers.
McConaughey has
Irish ancestry
and had what he describes as a strict
Baptist upbringing.
McConaughey's mother and late father divorced and re-married each other several times.
McConaughey moved to
Longview, Texas—located east of Dallas. He lived for a year in
Warnervale,
New South Wales,
Australia as a
Rotary exchange student.
