Early life

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

He attended Newton North High School and graduated in 1985. He also graduated with comedian Louis CK, with whom he would later be nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series at the Primetime Emmy Awards multiple times.

Career

1985-1994: 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 titled Top of the Heap and Vinnie and Bobby, both of which aired in 1991.

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 has 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, which later turned into a five-year hiatus from acting. His next role would be as a fictionalized version of himself on Episodes.

2011-present: Episodes and Top Gear

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, is scheduled to begin 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 is to be one of the new presenters of Top Gear.

Personal life

In the mid-1990s, LeBlanc dated actress Kate Hudson. He married Melissa McKnight, a former 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, 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.

LeBlanc and McKnight separated on January 1, 2006. In March of that year, LeBlanc 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.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Ghost Brigade	Terhune	aka Grey Knight and The Killing Box
1994	Lookin' Italian	Anthony Manetti	aka Showdown
1996	Ed	Jack 'Deuce' Cooper
1998	Lost in Space	Major Don West
2000	Charlie's Angels	Jason Gibbons
2001	All the Queen's Men	O'Rourke
2003	Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle	Jason Gibbons
2014	Lovesick	Charlie Darby

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Doll Day Afternoon	GI Joe	TV short
1988-1989	TV 101	Chuck Bender	13 episodes
1989	Just the Ten of Us	Todd Murphy	2 episodes
1990	Anything to Survive	Billy Barton	TV film; credited as Matthew LeBlanc
1990	Monsters	Tommy	Episode: "A Shave and a Haircut, Two Bites"
1991	Married... with Children	Vinnie Verducci	3 episodes
1991	Top of the Heap	Vinnie Verducci	7 episodes
1991	Vinnie & Bobby	Vinnie Verducci	7 episodes
1991	Red Shoe Diaries	Tom's Brother	2 episodes
1993	Class of '96	Frank Goodman	Episode: "Bright Smoke, Cold Fire"
1993, 1997	Red Shoe Diaries	Kyle, Jed	Episodes: "Another Woman's Lipstick" and "Burning Up" (segment: Kidnap)
1994	Reform School Girl	Vince	TV film
1994-2004	Friends	Joey Tribbiani	236 episodes
2004-2006	Joey		46 episodes
2011-present	Episodes	"Matt LeBlanc"	34 episodes
2013	Web Therapy	Nick Jericho	3 episodes (web series)
	Web Therapy		2 episodes (TV series)
2016-present	Top Gear	Presenter
2016-present	Man With A Plan {2016 TV series}	Leading Actor

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
1995	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Friends	Won
2002	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
	Teen Choice Awards	TV Choice Actor		Won
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy		Nominated
2003	Golden Globe Awards			Nominated
	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2004	Emmy Awards			Nominated
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy	Joey	Nominated
2005	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Male Television Star		Won
2011	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series	Episodes	Nominated
2012	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actor - Television Series Musical or Comedy		Won
2013	Golden Globe Awards			Nominated
	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series		Nominated
2014	Emmy Awards			Nominated
2015	Emmy Awards			Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]