Matthew Paige Damon, or better known as Matt Damon was born in Boston Massachusetts, USA to Kent Delfer Damon, a stockbroker, Realtor and tax preparer, and Nancy Carlsson-Paige, an early childhood education professor at Lesley University. Matt has an older brother named Kyle who is now a sculptor.

The 5'10" star is of English, Finnish and Scottish ancestry. Damon and his brother grew up with their mother in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Matt also grew up near actor Ben Affleck.

Matt attended Cambridge Ridge and Latin School in Cambridge and he performed in a number of theater productions during his time there. Later on, he was accepted into Harvard University as an English major in the fall of 1988 and was supposed to graduate with the class of 1992. While in Harvard, he skipped classes to pursue acting projects, which included the TNT original film, Rising Sun (1993), and prep-school drama, School Ties (1992). It was until his film, Geronimo: An American Legend (1993), was expected to be a big success that left Harvard to pursue his acting career full time.

Arriving in Hollywood, Matt managed to get his first break with a part in the romantic comedy, Mystic Pizza (1988). Up next for Matt was a role as a soldier who had problems with drug-addiction in the movie, Courage Under Fire (1996). The following year, his garnered accolades for Good Will Hunting (1997), a screenplay he had originally written for an English class at Harvard University. Good Will Hunting (1997) was nominated for 9 Academy Awards, one of which, Matt won for Best Original Screenplay along with Ben Affleck.

In the year 1998, Matt played the title role in Steven Spielberg's film, Saving Private Ryan (1998), which was one of the most acclaimed films in that year. That same year, he starred as an earnest law student and reformed poker player in Rounders (1998), starring opposite Edward Norton and John Malkovich.

The next year, Matt rejoined his childhood friend, Ben Affleck and fellow comedian, Chris Rock, in the comedy Dogma (1999). Towards the end of 1999, Matt played "Tom Ripley", a working-class young man who tastes the good life and will do anything to live it. Both Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow also starred in the movie. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) earned mixed reviews from critics, but even so, Matt earned praise for his performance.

Matt lent his voice to the animated movie, Titan A.E. (2000) in the year 2000, which also earned mixed reviews from the public. He also starred in two other movies, All the Pretty Horses (2000) and the golf comedy-drama, The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), starring alongside Will Smith.

In the year 2003, he signed on to star in The Informant! (2009) by Steven Soderbergh and the Farrelly Brothers' Stuck on You (2003). He also starred in Gerry (2002), a film he co-wrote with his friends, Gus Van Sant and Casey Affleck.

One of Matt's most recognizable work to date is his role in the "Bourne" movie franchise. He plays an amnesiac assassin, "Jason Bourne", in The Bourne Identity (2002), The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007).

Another praised role is that as "Linus Caldwell" in the "Ocean's" movie franchise. He had the opportunity to star opposite George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Don Cheadle in Ocean's Eleven (2001). The successful crime comedy-drama eventually had two other sequels, Ocean's Twelve (2004) and Ocean's Thirteen (2007).

Among other highly acclaimed movies that Matt managed to be a part of was in Terry Gilliam's The Brothers Grimm (2005), George Clooney's Syriana (2005), Martin Scorsese's The Departed (2006) and Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd (2006).

In his personal life, Matt has been passionate about several charitable causes, dedicating his time and energy most especially to alleviating the global water crisis. In early 2006, Damon became the executive producer of a documentary called Running the Sahara, about three ultramarathoners who hoped to accomplish the film's eponymous task. Learning about the immense challenges of accessing safe water and sanitation in Sub-Saharan Africa, Matt was inspired to create the H20 Africa Foundation, a charitable organization which raised fund for water projects along the runners' route.

Recognizing the potential impact of combining H20 Africa’s marketing and fundraising success with the 20 year track record and vision of then Water Partners International, Matt Damon and Gary White teamed up to merge their organizations and launch Water.org in 2009. While Matt continues to support additional causes such as ONEXONE, Not on Our Watch, and Ante up for Africa he continues to play a strong leadership role at Water.org.

Matt is married to Argentine-born Luciana Barroso and has four children Alexia, Isabella, Gia Zavala, and Stella who was born in November, 2010.

Matt is an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox.

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