Matthew Lawrence

Early life

Lawrence was born in Abington Township, Pennsylvania, the son of Donna Lynn (née Shaw), a personnel manager, and Joseph Lawrence, Sr., an insurance broker. His family's surname was changed to Lawrence from Mignogna before he was born. He is of half Italian descent. He is the middle-born of three boys; with two brothers, Joey and Andrew, both of whom are also actors. Lawrence attended classes at Abington Friends School.

Career

Lawrence began acting in the mid-1980s, his first role being that of Danny Carrington in Dynasty. He continued as a child actor through the early 1990s, appearing in many television and feature film roles, including the 1993 Robin Williams comedy Mrs. Doubtfire and the mid-1990s television series Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad. In addition, he maintained starring roles in Brotherly Love, which starred his real life brothers, and Boy Meets World where he played the character Jack. Lawrence also appeared alongside Rob Schneider in The Hot Chick.

Lawrence's singing debut was in 1986, when he and Joey performed at the 1986 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (Matt sang at the 1991 Macy's Parade as well). Other musical Matt rarities can be found on two Gimme A Break episodes (Nell's Secret Admirer; Johnny B. Goode & The Window; Part 1; Rock & Roll Music), two Brotherly Love episodes (A Roman Holiday; Silent Night, Art Attack; Pigeon On Your Car) and his last musical moment on Boy Meets World (As Time Goes By; This Dame). Except for Silent Night and This Dame, Matt also played guitar on the remaining three.

In 2011, Lawrence guest-starred on his brother's sitcom ABC Family's Melissa & Joey.

In 2015, he reprised his role as Jack Hunter in the series Girl Meets World, a spin-off/sequel of Boy Meets World.

Personal life

He was previously engaged to Heidi Mueller from 2004 to 2006. He's been dating professional dancer Cheryl Burke since July of 2017.