Matt Damon

Matthew Paige Damon was born Oct. 8, 1970 in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Kent T. Damon and Nancy Carlsson-Paige. Damon’s brother, Kyle, is an artist and sculptor.

Damon’s first acting job was a one line part in 1988’s “Mystic Pizza,” which starred Julia Roberts. Damon attended Harvard University, but dropped out a few credits shy of graduating to pursue acting in Los Angeles.

Damon appeared in small roles until he landed a big part in the 1993 film “Geronimo: The American Dream,” which starred Gene Hackman and Jason Patric. His next film was 1996’s “Courage Under Fire,” in which he played a heroin-addicted soldier.

Damon and his close friend, fellow actor Ben Affleck, wrote a screenplay that would eventually become the movie, “Good Will Hunting.” The 1997 film earned both Damon and Affleck Oscars for Best Original Screenplay. Damon was nominated for Best Actor for the film, and Robin Williams won for Best Supporting Actor. “Good Will Hunting” was not the only Damon/Affleck collaboration. They founded Project Greenlight together with Chris Moore. Project Greenlight works to find and fund film projects from amateur filmmakers.

Other films featuring Damon include 1998’s “Rounders,” co-starring Edward Norton, 1999’s “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” in which he stars opposite Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow, and 1999’s “Dogma,” co-starring with Affleck. In 2002, Damon portrayed amnesiac assassin “Jason Bourne” in “The Bourne Identity,” and he reprised the role for the 2004 sequel “The Bourne Supremacy,” and will play the role for a third time in “The Bourne Ultimatum” due out in 2007.

Damon has been romantically linked to Claire Danes, Minnie Driver and Winona Ryder.

Damon married Luciana Bozán Barroso in a civil ceremony on Dec. 9, 2005. Damon became stepfather to Barroso’s daughter, Alexia. The couple’s first child, Isabella, was born June 11, 2006 in Miami.