'''Matthew Steven LeBlanc''' (born July 25, 1967 in Newton, Massachusetts, USA) is an Emmy nominated American actor. He is best known for his role playing Joey Tribbiani on the TV sitcom ''Friends'' (1994-2004). and ''Joey'', (2004-2006), his own spin-off.

Biography

LeBlanc graduated from Newton North High School in 1985. His father is Paul LeBlanc, and his mother, Pat Grossman. He is of mixed Irish, Dutch, English, and French descent on his father's side, and of Italian ancestry on his mother's. He has one younger half-brother, Justin LeBlanc. The name "LeBlanc" is French for "The White."

Personal Life

LeBlanc was married to Melissa McKnight, and the couple had one daughter, Marina Pearl LeBlanc, who was born February 8, 2004. Marina suffers from the rare brain disorder cortical dysplasia.

In August 2005, LeBlanc publicly apologized to his wife and the public for having inappropriate contact with an overly aggressive stripper during a vacation in British Columbia. The couple separated on January 1, 2006, and in March of that year, LeBlanc filed for divorce from his wife of 3 years, citing irreconcilable differences. According to Entertainment Tonight, LeBlanc has recently been dating co-star of "Joey" Andrea Anders.

Career

Before his break in acting, LeBlanc worked as a photography model. His photo appeared on the cover of the 1991 issue of the ''Spartacus International Gay Guide''. It does not seem that LeBlanc posed for Spartacus, rather this photo was apparently sold by a modeling agency. Moreover, Spartacus guides include a standard disclaimer that appearance on the cover says nothing about the model's sexual orientation. http://towleroad.typepad.com/towleroad/2004/10/oh_the_things_t.html During this period, he played singer Alanis Morissette's love interest in the music video for her single "Walk Away".

In addition to his well-known television roles in ''Friends'' and ''Joey'', LeBlanc has also appeared in some well-known Hollywood films including ''Lost in Space'', ''Charlie's Angels'', and ''Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle''. He also appeared as the boyfriend of Kelly Bundy in ''Married... with Children'' in the early 1990s (and starred in that sitcom's short-lived spinoff, ''Top of the Heap''). He has also starred in several lesser or less successful films including ''The Killing Box'' (1993), ''Ed'' (1996), ''Lookin' Italian'' (1998), and ''All the Queen's Men'' (1999).

In the fall of 2004, six months after the finale of Friends, LeBlanc's spinoff, ''Joey'', had its debut. The show never became a hit, and it was announced by NBC in May 2006 that the show had been cancelled.

Now LeBlanc has left his wife Melissa McKnight, 41, to be with his co-star Andrea Anders, 31, from "Joey." LeBlanc has a 2 year old child with McKnight, and now McKnight has recently begun seeing spiritual advisor to the stars Panache Desai.

External links

* Matt LeBlanc Website
* Matt LeBlanc at NNDB

For more information about Matt LeBlanc, please visit: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_LeBlanc

Biography courtesy of the brilliant Wikipedia!