Name: Matthew McConaughey
Profession: Actor, Producer, Director
Birth Date: Nov. 4, 1969
Height: 6'
The youngest of three children, Matthew McConaughey was born in Uvalde, Texas and had what he describes as a conservative Christian upbringing. His late father, James Donald McConaughey, ran a Texaco gas station, worked as a truck driver, and was a former professional football player for the Green Bay Packers. His mother, Mary Kathlene McCabe, was a substitute schoolteacher. His parents divorced and re-married several times (to each other), in what he describes as a "loving, but unstable relationship."
McConaughey moved to Longview, Texas in 1980 and, after graduating from Longview High School in 1988, lived briefly in Australia. In 1993, he studied film direction at the University of Texas at Austin and was a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, graduating in 1993.
McConaughey got his start working in television commercials and was cast in his first role in the film "Dazed and Confused" (1993) after meeting director Richard Linklater at the University of Texas. After appearing in some additional small parts in "Angels in the Outfield," "Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation," "Boys on the Side," and the television series "Unsolved Mysteries," McConaughey's big break came as the lawyer "Jake Brigance" in the 1996 film "A Time to Kill," based on the John Grisham novel of the same name. In 1997, McConaughey won an MTV Movie Award for best breakthrough performance for the role.
McConaughey gained renown and went on to many leading movie roles, including "Contact," "Amistad," "The Newton Boys," "Edtv," and "U-571." By the early 2000s, he was frequently cast in romantic comedies, including "The Wedding Planner" and "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days," both of which were successful at the box office.
In 2005, McConaughey starred in the feature film, "Sahara," along with Steve Zahn and Penélope Cruz. Prior to the release of the movie, he promoted it by repeating some trips he took in the late 1990s, including sailing down the Amazon River and trekking to Mali.
In 2005, People magazine named him their "Sexiest Man Alive."
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