Matt LeBlanc may be famous for playing Joey Tribbiani on Friends, but he considers being a father to his daughter, Marina Pearl LeBlanc, his greatest role.
The TV star welcomed Marina in 2004 with his then-wife Melissa McKnight. “I remember when my daughter, Marina, was born. The second I laid eyes on her, I was in love, and I had never felt that way before,” he recalled to The Daily Mirror in 2016. “I couldn’t believe it. I knew from that moment there was nothing that would ever stop me from loving her — even if she crashed my Ferrari.”
Taking a break from acting when Marina was young, LeBlanc leaned into the day-to-day duties of parenthood and said being a father taught him a lot about patience. “It’s really fun making [Marina] breakfast, taking her to and from school and helping her with her homework,” he told PEOPLE of their schedule in 2014. “And we spend time together and take trips.”
Marina also has two siblings, sister Jacquelyn and brother Tyler, whom her mother McKnight welcomed during a previous relationship. Though Matt and McKnight finalized their divorce in 2006, he still maintains a close relationship with his ex-wife’s older kids.
From the time she got a kiss from Prince Harry to what she thinks about her dad’s work on Friends, here’s everything to know about Matt LeBlanc’s daughter Marina.
She was born in 2004
Matt and McKnight welcomed Marina on Feb. 8, 2004, just a few months before the final episode of Friends aired. The couple split in 2006 but continued to co-parent their daughter, with Matt rearranging his filming schedules to optimize time with her. Marina grew up in Santa Barbara, California.
She was diagnosed with cortical dysplasia as a baby
When Marina was 11 months old, she was diagnosed with a form of dysplasia that affected her ability to walk and talk and could cause seizures. While she eventually grew out of the condition, Matt called this period of his life a “dark time.”
“My daughter was diagnosed with a problem with her head. It was a very dark period,” he told The Daily Mirror in 2016.
LeBlanc took some much-needed time off from years of filming Friends and Joey to rest and care for his daughter.
“For years and years, I barely left the house. I was burnt out,” he told the publication. “Most actors call their agents and say, ‘What’s going on?’ I’d call mine and say, ‘Please lose my number for a few years.’ ”
Fatherhood gave Matt a new perspective on work
While filming the Friends spinoff Joey, which aired from 2004 to 2006, Matt told U.K.’s The Sunday Times in 2005 that though he liked acting, spending time with his family was where he thrived.
“My favorite thing is not to work. I like to be with my family or my friends, to ride my bike. I do my thing, go home and live my life,” the actor explained. “Maybe having a daughter, maybe that’s what it was, but life’s too short to be stressing out about your career. I don’t care as much as I used to.”
She loves horses and Rihanna
In 2016, Matt told PEOPLE that Marina, then 12, wanted two things for her birthday: horses and a performance by Rihanna.
“This year for her birthday, [Marina] said, ‘I want you to get Rihanna to come,’ ” Matt recounted. “And, I was like, ‘I’ll get right on that, sure.’ ”
Marina grew up around horses, as Matt’s family would spend time at their Santa Barbara ranch on the weekends, he told The Sunday Times.
She and her dad enjoy watching Friends
Even Marina can’t get enough of her dad’s most famous role. In 2018, Matt told Express U.K. that he and his daughter bonded over reruns of Friends — and that Marina initially called it The Joey Tribbiani Show.
“It’s still on all the time, so we’ll stop and watch it if we’re channel surfing and it pops up,” he said. “She loves to ask me questions about it. She’ll say: ‘Was that real? Did you really eat that? What did that taste like? Ooh, you ate that off the floor? That’s gross! You’re so funny, Dad.’
While Marina was born when Friends was wrapping up, she did get the chance to visit the set of one of her dad’s other shows, Man with a Plan. Matt told PEOPLE in 2016 that he appreciated the more flexible schedule of the show, which allowed him to be home by dinnertime with his daughter.
“I have a young daughter, so for me, that makes a lot more sense. This is also something she can watch,” he said. “She came when we shot the pilot — that’s the first time she’s ever seen me work. She was born when I was doing Joey, and she’s not allowed to watch Episodes — not yet, anyway. It’s a little dirty.”
She once got a kiss from Prince Harry
While backstage at a Bruce Springsteen concert in London with her dad, Marina and her sister Jacquelyn were introduced to the one and only Prince Harry, who made quite an impact on them.
“At the end of the night, [Harry] gave my daughter and stepdaughter a kiss goodnight on the cheek,” Matt said during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2016. “They were just floored.”
She’s a talented singer
Marina could be following in her dad’s entertainment footsteps in the future, though she may go the musical route. In a 2014 interview with PEOPLE, the proud dad praised his daughter’s vocal skills.
“She has a beautiful voice,” Matt shared, adding that he was more than pleased to assist his daughter for a big show. “She has an audition for the talent show at her school today. I helped her to prepare some new pop song I don’t know.”
