Matt Damon Biography
Matthew Paige Damon was born on October 8, 1970, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A childhood neighbor of Ben Affleck, Damon dropped out of Harvard to pursue acting and co-wrote Good Will Hunting with Affleck as a writing sample to get industry attention. The script sold for $675,000, and the film earned them the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1998. His subsequent career as Jason Bourne cemented his status as an A-list action star.
Personal Life
Who are Matt Damon's parents?
Kent Damon, Nancy Carlsson-Paige
Did Matt Damon have siblings?
Yes — Kyle Damon.
Was Matt Damon married?
Matt Damon was married once, to Luciana Barroso.
Did Matt Damon have children?
Matt Damon had 4 children: Alexia Barroso (stepdaughter, born 1999), Isabella Damon (born 2006), Gia Zavala Damon (born 2008), Stella Damon (born 2010).
What religion was Matt Damon?
Matt Damon was N/A.
What was Matt Damon's ethnicity?
Matt Damon was of English, Swedish, Irish heritage.
Career Highlights
Movies
- School Ties (1992)
- Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)
- The Rainmaker (1997)
- Good Will Hunting (1997)
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- Dogma (1999)
- The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
- Ocean's Eleven (2001)
- Stuck on You (2003)
- The Bourne Identity (2002)
- The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
- The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
- The Departed (2006)
- Syriana (2005)
- The Martian (2015)
- Interstellar (2014)
- Ford v Ferrari (2019)
- Stillwater (2021)
- Oppenheimer (2023)
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Awards
- Academy Award — Best Original Screenplay, Good Will Hunting (1998, with Ben Affleck)
- Academy Award nomination — Best Actor, The Martian (2016)
- Golden Globe — Best Actor, The Martian (2016)
- Screen Actors Guild Award — Outstanding Performance, Ocean's Eleven cast (2002)
Facts About Matt Damon
- Wrote Good Will Hunting with childhood friend Ben Affleck — they sold the spec script and both appeared in the film
- Left Harvard just 12 credits short of his degree to pursue acting full-time
- Turned down the role of Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight to make The Bourne Ultimatum
- His cameo in Eurotrip (2004) as a punk rock singer is one of the most famous uncredited cameos in Hollywood
- Ben Affleck is his childhood best friend from Cambridge, MA — they grew up two blocks apart
Matt Damon Quotes
"I think it's important to have good hard failure when you're young."
"I never had a plan. I made it up as I went along."
Legacy
Matt Damon is one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood — equally credible as a conflicted action hero, an everyman stranded on Mars, or a morally complex character actor in ensemble dramas. His Good Will Hunting script remains one of the most celebrated spec sales in Hollywood history.
Sources
Last verified: 2026-06-15