Who is Matt LeBlanc’s daughter, Marina Pearl?

How you doin’?

If you read that in a particular tone, chances are you are already familiar with Matthew Steven LeBlanc, or more famously known as Matt LeBlanc. He is prominent for his role in the hit NBC TV series Friends as Joey Tribbiani, a struggling actor but always had a positive outlook in life. Here are a few more facts about LeBlanc:

• He was nominated thrice for the Prime Emmy Awards during his time in Friends.

• Matt has a Golden Globe award for his role as a fictionalized version of himself in the sitcom Episodes. 

• Melissa McKnight was his wife and they had a daughter.

We know one of LeBlanc’s most famous lines in Friends, “Joey doesn’t share food!” But aside from not sharing food, LeBlanc similarly doesn’t share much about another aspect in his life— his daughter, Marina Pearl.

Matt LeBlanc met British-born American model Melissa McKnight in 1997. McKnight is a divorced single mother of two children. In 2003, the two got married and had their daughter, Marina Pearl, in 2004. The couple soon divorced in 2006 because of irreconcilable differences.

Marina Pearl was born on February 8, 2004, just a few months before Friends had its series finale. This was just the perfect timing for Matt LeBlanc to readjust his life since he had to cope with his crumbling relationship with McKnight and deal with the health conditions of her daughter.

Marina Pearl was diagnosed with a rare brain condition called cortical dysplasia. Cortical dysplasia basically refers to the abnormal development of the brain while the child is still inside the mother’s womb. This condition can either be a result of injury or genetics. For Marina, her symptoms manifested as seizures. Matt says that he was inconsolable at the time that he learned of her daughter’s diagnosis.

LeBlanc never disclosed what kind of treatment or medication Marina had to go through but it was definitely a dark time for him. We are just happy that Marina was able to grow out of her condition as she grew older.

Marina is now 18 years old and the public just can’t get over the adorable father-daughter relationship that Matt and her have. Matt even sometimes joked that while Marina’s peers are getting interested in watching Friends, Marina couldn’t be more opposite and just can’t be more disinterested.

Marina also isn’t showing any interest in being under the spotlight like his dad. At present, Matt says that she is more into horses and singer Rihanna. And while Matt doesn’t really have superpowers, he jokingly mentions that getting Rihanna for Marina’s birthday is something that he would try to do.

It’s possible that Friends fans are still not over the fact the sitcom has been gone for almost two decades now. Nevertheless, we can expect that LeBlanc's followers are happy for his new role as a doting father to the now 18-year-old Marina Pearl.