Matt LeBlanc biography
Date of birth : 1967-07-25
Date of death : -
Birthplace : Newton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Nationality : American
Category : Arts and Entertainment
Last modified : 2010-07-23
Credited as : Actor, television producer, role debut on Friends
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He is a son of Patricia Grossman, an office manager and Paul LeBlanc, a mechanic. His mother is Italian American. In 1985, LeBlanc received degree from Newton North High School. Later he attended college at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, for his MA but left shortly after starting his second semester.
In 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.
Matt Leblanc, best known for his role as the dunce-like but lovable Joey Tribbiani on Friends, had a somewhat fate-filled trip to stardom. Hailing as a Leo from Newton, Massachusetts, Leblanc was born on July 25, 1967. Growing up in Newton, Matt Leblanc dreamed of being a motorcycle racer. As fate would have it, one of his gigs in his varied career was as host of a motorcycle-focused show called The 5 Coolest Things in 2003. But taking the helm at that show followed a beginning career that allowed Leblanc to be multifaceted in his endeavors.
Early on, Leblanc showed a knack for carpentry by earning the Golden Hammer award in high school. Soon after, he began his first dips in the acting pool by capturing the lead role of Jesus in the play Jesus Christ Superstar as well as getting a role in a production of Grease.
After graduating from Newton North High School in 1985, Leblanc became a student at the Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston. He only remained there until his freshman year when he then moved down south to Florida where he worked as a photography model. During this period in his life he even posed for a gay travel guide: Damron Travel Guide For Men. From there, he headed back north to New York to dabble back into stage and television roles via some dramatic acting classes. He achieved a regular spot for the first time on a series when he got the show TV 101.
During this period in his life, Matt Leblanc did appearances in an Alanis Morissette video and on Married with Children. He was even a part of a spin-off of Married with Children that lasted only seven episodes. There was a time when Leblanc’s face was instantly recognizable from the many commercials he had done. He even won an award at Cannes for a Heinz commercial in 1987.
The year 1994 was when all of Leblanc’s hard work paid off. He landed the golden role of Joey Tribbiani on the long-lived and much beloved sitcom Friends. Although he has a very mixed heritage of Irish, English, Italian, Dutch and French, Leblanc was cast as the Italian heartthrob on Friends, rounding out a cast whose scripted personalities melded well and skyrocketed the show to the top for the next ten years. Ultimately, the cast members individually earned a million dollars per episode during the last two seasons of the show. Matt Leblanc was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series from 2002 to 2004 and was named as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People by People Magazine at the height of the show’s success.
Success continued for Leblanc as he went on to be nominated for Golden Globes for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series three times between 2003 and 2005. He also earned nominations for SAG awards in the Outstanding Ensemble Cast and Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series categories. He had the dubious honor of being nominated for a Razzie twice but the people had spoken and spoken in his favor when he won a TV Guide Award in 2000, a Teen’s Choice Award in 2002, and a People’s Choice Award for Favorite Male Television Star in 2005. Leblanc also had a few film roles like those in All the Queen’s Men in 2001 and Charlie’s Angel, both installments.
After Friends, Matt Leblanc ventured into a spin-off of the show called Joey, but it did not live up to the popularity of Friends. During this period, he also divorced in 2006 his wife of four years, Melissa McKnight. They had one daughter in 2004 who was discovered to have been afflicted with a rarely occurring brain disorder which causes seizures and motor skill problems. He and his wife are both active in their daughter’s life and in the management of her illness. Also, in regards to his family, Leblanc has a half-brother who lives in Australia.
Currently, Leblanc is to star in a movie that is in the works called The Watch with director James Wong being distributed by New Line Cinema.