Matthew Perry

His father, John Bennett Perry (born 1941), is an American actor and former model.

Perry's parents separated when he was one year old, and his mother married Canadian broadcast journalist Keith Morrison.

He was raised by his mother mostly in Ottawa, Ontario, but he also lived briefly in Toronto and Montreal.

Perry attended Rockcliffe Park Public School and Ashbury College, a boarding school in Ottawa.

He had four younger maternal half-siblings—Caitlin, Emily, Will, and Madeline—as well as a younger paternal half-sister named Maria.

His siblings "would stand and applaud" him for early performances.

By the time he was ten, Perry started misbehaving.

He stole money, smoked, let his grades slip, and beat up fellow student and future Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Perry later attributed this to feeling like a family outsider who did not belong when his mother began having children with Morrison, writing "I was so often on the outside looking in, still that kid up in the clouds on a flight to somewhere else, unaccompanied".

At the age of 14, he began drinking alcohol and was drinking every day by the time he was 18.

Perry practiced tennis, often for 10 hours per day, and became a top-ranked junior player in Canada with the possibility of a tennis career.

However, at age 15, he moved from Ottawa to live with his father in Los Angeles, where competition was tougher.

His mother, Suzanne Marie Morrison (née Langford, born 1948), is a Canadian journalist who was press secretary to Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

Matthew Langford Perry (August 19, 1969 – October 28, 2023) was an American and Canadian actor.

Matthew Langford Perry was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts, on August 19, 1969.

Perry's first credited role was a small part in 240-Robert in 1979 as a child actor.

Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Perry started auditioning for roles.

Perry made guest appearances on Not Necessarily the News in 1983, Charles in Charge in 1985, and Silver Spoons in 1986.

At 15 years old, Perry studied acting at Buckley School, a college-preparatory school in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, and graduated in 1987.

While in high school, he took improvisational comedy classes at L.A. Connection in Sherman Oaks.

In 1987 and 1988, he played Chazz Russell in the TV series Second Chance (later called Boys Will Be Boys).

Perry made his film debut in 1988 with A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon.

In 1989, he had a three-episode arc on Growing Pains, portraying Carol Seaver's boyfriend Sandy, who dies in a drunk driving incident.

Perry was cast as a regular on the 1990 CBS sitcom Sydney, playing the younger brother of Valerie Bertinelli's character.

In 1991, he made a guest appearance on Beverly Hills, 90210 as Roger Azarian.

Perry played the starring role in the ABC sitcom Home Free, which aired in 1993.

He gained international fame for starring as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom Friends (1994–2004).

He also became known for his leading film roles in Fools Rush In (1997), Almost Heroes (1998), Three to Tango (1999), The Whole Nine Yards (2000), Serving Sara (2002), The Whole Ten Yards (2004), and 17 Again (2009).

Perry also appeared on Ally McBeal (2002) and received Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his performances in The West Wing (2003) and The Ron Clark Story (2006).

He played a leading role in the NBC series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006–2007).

He voiced Benny in the video game Fallout: New Vegas (2010).

Perry suffered from severe addictions to drugs and alcohol.

Through his recovery, he became an advocate for rehabilitation and a spokesperson for the National Association of Drug Court Professionals.

Perry was co-creator, co-writer, executive producer, and star of the ABC sitcom Mr. Sunshine, which ran from February to April 2011.

In August 2012, he starred as sportscaster Ryan King on the NBC sitcom Go On.

He had recurring roles in the legal dramas The Good Wife (2012–2013), and The Good Fight (2017).

In 2013, Perry received the Champion of Recovery Award from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.

In 2022, he released his memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.

He co-developed and starred in a revival of the CBS sitcom The Odd Couple portraying Oscar Madison from 2015 to 2017.

Perry portrayed Ted Kennedy in The Kennedys: After Camelot (2017) and appeared as himself in his final television role, Friends: The Reunion (2021).