Bio
Matt LeBlanc is an American actor best known for his starring role as Joey Tribbiani on the television sitcoms Friends (1994-2004) and Joey (2004-2006).
He currently stars as a fictional version of himself on the sitcom Episodes, since 2011.
LeBlanc graduated from Newton North High School in 1985. After high school he attended college at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA. He left a while after starting his second semester.
His father is Paul LeBlanc, and his mother, Pat Grossman. He is of mixed Irish, Dutch, English, and Acadian descent on his father's side, and of partly Italian ancestry on his mother's, but he is almost always cast as Italian.
He has one younger half-brother, Justin LeBlanc. The name LeBlanc is French for White; as in many Latin-based languages, the Le (definite article The) in LeBlanc is for formal use and is usually ignored when translated. Therefore, for direct translation into English, his last name is White.
LeBlanc can speak French (and ironically in one of the episodes of Friends in Season 10, 'The One where Joey Speaks French', his character Joey auditions for a part in which he is required to speak French but cannot do so).
When Matt was 8 years old he wanted to be a motorcycle racer. He entered into junior competitions until finally giving it up.
Matt trained and did well in carpentry when he was young, winning the "Golden Hammer" award while attending high school.
In the late 1980s, Le Blanc began appearing in a number of television ads, including well-known spots for Heinz, Levi's and Coca-Cola. Matt has said that with the one ketchup commercial he was able to buy a house, a car, a motorcycle, and a wardrobe full of clothes.
In 1988, he landed his first regular TV role, on the drama TV 101 which ran for one season.
In 1991 he starred in the music video for Alanis Morissette's single "Walk Away", where he played her boyfriend. The video even featured a spoken dialogue scene between LeBlanc and Morisette at the end.
In 1992, he went on to star in a spin-off of Married With Children entitled Top of the Heap. The short lived series only lasting 7 episodes in April and May of 1991. He would also play his Top of the Heap character Vinnie Verducci in a number of Married With Children episodes.
Le Blanc finally made it big when he landed the role of Joey Tribbiani in 1994 and would go on to play him for 12 years, over 10 seasons of Friends and two seasons of Joey. When LeBlanc auditioned for the role as Joey Tribbiani he only had $11. When the cast got their paychecks, the first thing he bought was a hot dinner.
Le Blanc's most notable movie roles have been in the films Ed (1996), Lost in Space (1998), Charlie's Angels (2000) and All the Queen's Men (2001). He was linked with the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne in the 1997 film Batman and Robin.
From 2002-2004, Le Blanc was nominated three consecutive years as Best Actor at the Emmy Awards, while from 2003-2005 he received three consecutive Best Actor nominations at the Golden Globe Awards.
In 2000, he won Editor's Choice in TV Guide Awards (as Friends). In 2002, he won TV - Choice Actor - Comedy at the Teen Choice Awards (as Friends). In 2005, he won Favorite Male Television Star at the People's Choice Awards.
On May 3, 2003, LeBlanc married long-time girlfriend Melissa McKnight and the couple had one daughter, Marina Pearl LeBlanc, who was born February 8, 2004. Marina Pearl was diagnosed as having a rare brain disorder. This disorder affects the motor abilities, causing seizures.
In August 2005, LeBlanc publicly apologised to his wife and the public for having inappropriate contact with a stripper during a vacation in British Columbia. The couple separated on January 1, 2006, and in March of that year, LeBlanc filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences, their divorce became final on October 6, 2006.