Matt LeBlanc

Early life

LeBlanc was born in Newton, Massachusetts. His mother, Patricia (Di Cillo), was an office manager, and his father, Paul LeBlanc, was a mechanic. His father is French-Canadian and his mother is an American of Italian ancestry.

He attended Newton North High School and graduated in 1985 with comedian Louis CK.

1987–1994: Early career

LeBlanc first appeared in a 1987 Heinz Tomato Ketchup commercial. In 1988, he starred in the television drama TV 101 for one season. In 1991, he had a recurring role on the hit Fox sitcom, Married... with Children. He played Vinnie Verducci, the son of one of the friends of the protagonist, Al Bundy and the boyfriend of Al's daughter, Kelly. He went on to star in two short-lived spin-offs of Married... with Children, Top of the Heap in 1991 and Vinnie and Bobby in 1992.

He appeared in two of Jon Bon Jovi's music videos: "Miracle", from the Young Guns II soundtrack in 1990, and "Say It Isn't So" in 2000. He also appeared in Alanis Morissette's single "Walk Away" in 1991, the last seconds of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers "Into the Great Wide Open" in which he is seen getting a tattoo, and in Bob Seger's "Night Moves" in 1994.

1994–2006: Breakthrough role as Joey Tribbiani

LeBlanc found success in the role of Joey Tribbiani on Friends, and went on to play this character for 12 years — 10 seasons of Friends and two seasons of Joey. Friends was successful and LeBlanc, along with his co-stars, gained wide recognition among viewers. For his performance, LeBlanc received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations, three Golden Globe award nominations, and one Screen Actors Guild Award. During this time he also appeared in the films Lookin' Italian (1994), Ed (1996), Lost in Space (1998), Charlie's Angels (2000), and its sequel, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003).

His production company, Fort Hill Productions, co-produced the made-for-TV movie, The Prince, in 2006.

2006–2011: Hiatus

Following the cancellation of Joey, LeBlanc announced that he would be taking a one-year hiatus from acting on TV, which later turned into five years. His next role would be as a fictionalized version of himself on Episodes.

2011–present: Episodes, Top Gear & Man with a Plan

In 2011, LeBlanc began appearing as a fictional version of himself in Episodes, a BBC/Showtime television series about a British television series that is remade for an American audience. The series is written by Friends co-creator David Crane and his partner Jeffrey Klarik. LeBlanc won the 2012 Golden Globe for Best Actor in a TV Series Comedy for his performance, and was nominated for an additional four Primetime Emmy Awards. The latest season of Episodes, its fifth, began filming in 2016.

In February 2012, LeBlanc appeared in the second episode of the eighteenth series of Top Gear, where he set the fastest time of 1:42.1 in the Kia Cee'd, narrowly beating previous holder Rowan Atkinson by 0.1 seconds. He also appeared in Series 19 Episode 4 to race the New Kia Cee'd, and beat the old car time. In February 2016, the BBC announced LeBlanc was to be one of the new presenters of Top Gear. In September 2016, LeBlanc signed a new two-year deal to continue hosting Top Gear.

He is also starring in CBS' new sitcom Man with a Plan, which premiered on October 24, 2016.

Personal life

LeBlanc married Melissa McKnight (b. 1965), a British model, in May 2003. McKnight and LeBlanc had been introduced in 1997 by her friend Kelly Phillips, wife of actor Lou Diamond Phillips, and LeBlanc proposed to her a year later. Their daughter Marina Pearl, born in 2004, began suffering seizures when she was eight months old. By the time she was two years old, however, the condition, thought to be a form of dysplasia, had mostly subsided. He also had two step-children through McKnight's first marriage, Tyler (b. 1991) and Jacqueline Esposito.

LeBlanc and McKnight separated on January 1, 2006. Later in March of that year, LeBlanc and McKnight filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce became final on October 6, 2006.

After his divorce, LeBlanc began dating actress Andrea Anders. The two met while filming the short-lived sitcom Joey. A representative for the pair confirmed the couple had split in January 2015.