Matthew Broderick, a renowned actor, was born on March 21, 1962, in New York City to Patricia Broderick, a playwright and painter, and James Broderick, an actor. His father had Irish and English ancestry, while his mother was of Jewish descent, tracing back to Germany and Poland.
Initially, Matthew took up acting at the prestigious Walden School in New York after a knee injury forced him to sideline his athletic pursuits. His father secured his stage debut at the age of 17 in a workshop production of the play "On Valentine's Day". Matthew's career accelerated with roles in two Neil Simon projects: the play "Brighton Beach Memoirs" (1982-83) and the feature film "Max Dugan Returns" (1983).
Broderick reprised his role as Eugene in "Biloxi Blues" (1988),the second installment of the Simon trilogy, for both the Broadway production and the film adaptation. He was replaced by Jonathan Silverman for the third and final installment of the trilogy. In 1983, he had his first big-screen success in the light comedy "WarGames" (1983).
Since then, Matthew has had his fair share of hits and misses, with notable films including "Project X" (1987) alongside Helen Hunt, whom he subsequently dated, "Addicted to Love" (1997),and "Inspector Gadget" (1999). Other films he has appeared in include "Out on a Limb" (1992) with Jeffrey Jones, "The Night We Never Met" (1993),"The Road to Wellville" (1994),and "The Cable Guy" (1996) with Jim Carrey, for which he received an MTV "Best Fight" award nomination.
Matthew was involved in a controversial car crash in 1985 while driving in Ireland with his then-fiancée Jennifer Grey, which resulted in the deaths of a woman and her daughter. He paid a small fine to the family of the victims and broke his leg in the accident, which occurred just as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986),his biggest hit, was being released in the US.
Matthew has occasionally returned to the stage in New York, either in revivals of old musicals such as "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" or in revivals of old "show people" plays, such as "Night Must Fall". In 1996, he attempted to wear three hats as co-producer/director/actor in "Infinity" (1996),working closely with his mother, who also wrote the screenplay. However, it was not a critical or commercial success, and he has not directed or produced since.
Matthew has been married to actress Sarah Jessica Parker since May 1997 and was previously engaged to Helen Hunt and dated Lili Taylor. In 1999, he donned a trenchcoat for the children's film "Inspector Gadget" (1999),alongside Rupert Everett as the evil villain Claw. In March 2001, he returned to Broadway in the musical smash "The Producers" (based on the 1968 Mel Brooks film of the same name),earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical, which he lost to his co-star, Nathan Lane.
