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Matthew Lawrence

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Matthew Lawrence
Lawrence at GalaxyCon Raleigh in 2023
Born
Matthew William Mignogna

(1980-02-11) February 11, 1980 (age 44)
Other namesMatthew Lawrence, Matt Lawrence
Occupation(s)Actor, singer
Years active1984–present
Spouse
(m. 2019; div. 2022)
Relatives

Matthew Lawrence (born Matthew William Mignogna; February 11, 1980)[1] is an American actor, podcaster and singer, widely known for his roles in Mrs. Doubtfire and Boy Meets World. Lawrence also starred in the series Brotherly Love with his real-life brothers Joey and Andrew.

Early life

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Lawrence was born in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania to Donna Lynn (née Shaw), a personnel manager and former elementary school teacher, and Joseph Lawrence Mignogna Jr., an insurance broker.[2] His family's stage surname was changed to Lawrence from Mignogna when he was a toddler. The middle-born of three boys, he has two brothers, Joey and Andrew, both of whom are also actors.[3][4] Lawrence attended classes at Abington Friends School.

Career

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Lawrence began acting in the mid-1980s, playing Danny Carrington in Dynasty. He studied acting at HB Studio[5] in New York City. He continued as a child actor through the early 1990s, appearing in many television and feature film roles, including the Robin Williams comedy Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and the mid-1990s television series Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad. In addition, he maintained starring roles in Brotherly Love, which starred his real life brothers, and in Boy Meets World in which he played Jack Hunter. Lawrence also appeared alongside Christopher Lloyd in Angels in the Endzone and starred in the Disney English dub version of Kiki's Delivery Service with Kirsten Dunst and Phil Hartman in 1998.

Lawrence's singing debut was in 1986, when he and his brother Joey performed at the 1986 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He sang at the 1991 Macy's Parade as well. Other musical performances can be found on two Gimme a Break! episodes, "Nell's Secret Admirer" and "The Window; Part 1"; two Brotherly Love episodes, "A Roman Holiday" and "Art Attack"; and on Boy Meets World. In the 2021 film Mistletoe Mixup, he performed "O Holy Night" with his brothers Joey and Andrew. Lawrence also played guitar on several of his earlier performances.

In 2011, Lawrence guest-starred on his brother's sitcom, ABC Family's Melissa & Joey.[6]

In 2015, he reprised his role as Jack Hunter in the series Girl Meets World, a spin-off/sequel of Boy Meets World.[7]

Lawrence competed on the twenty-fourth season of Worst Cooks in America, the show's seventh celebrity edition titled That's So '90s, which aired in April and May 2022.[8]

In February 2023, the three Lawrence brothers launched a podcast, titled Brotherly Love, centered around rewatches of the sitcom. It was launched through PodCo, a podcast studio launched by actress Christy Carlson Romano and focused on rewatches of completed television series by their former actors.[9]

Music career

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In 2017, Matt started a band with Joey and Andy called Still Three. That February, they released their debut single "Lose Myself".[10]

Personal life

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Lawrence briefly dated his Boy Meets World co-star Danielle Fishel.[11] He was engaged to Heidi Mueller from 2004 to 2006.[12] He began dating professional dancer Cheryl Burke in February 2007 and remained in a relationship with her until their breakup in 2008. The pair reunited in 2017 and became engaged on May 3, 2018.[13] On May 23, 2019, they wed in San Diego, California.[14] On February 23, 2022, after a prolonged estrangement exacerbated by COVID-19, it was reported that Burke filed for divorce.[15] On September 19, 2022, the divorce was finalized.[16] In late 2022, Lawrence began dating Chilli of the R&B group TLC.[17][18]

In April 2023, Lawrence revealed in a Brotherly Love podcast episode that he was sexually harassed by a director involved in a Marvel production and was fired by his agency when he walked out of the hotel room they were in.[19]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1987 Planes, Trains and Automobiles Neal Jr.
1988 Pulse Stevie
1990 Tales from the Darkside: The Movie Timmy
1993 Mrs. Doubtfire Christopher "Chris" Hillard
1998 The Hairy Bird Dennis AKA, All I Wanna Do
Rusty: A Dog's Tale Rusty the Dog (voice)
Kiki's Delivery Service Tombo (voice) Disney English dub
1999 Family Tree Mark Musser
2000 Glow Jeremy
Boltneck Frank Stein
2002 Cheats Victor
The Hot Chick Billy
2006 Monster Night Brock Video
2007 The Comebacks Lance Truman
2008 Trucker Scott
2009 Creature of Darkness Lance
2011 Fort McCoy Dan Griffin
2013 My Santa Chris
2020 The Office Mix-Up Greg
2020 Money Plane The Cowboy
2022 Double Threat Jimmy

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1984–1985 Dynasty Danny Carrington 3 episodes
1985 Sara Jesse Webber Recurring role (13 episodes)
ABC Afterschool Special Matt Episode: "Don't Touch"
1986–1987 Gimme a Break! Matthew Donovan 18 episodes
1988 David David Rothenberg TV film
1989 Wilfrid's Special Christmas Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge
1990 Joshua's Heart Joshua
Lifestories: Families in Crisis Episode: "The Hawkins Family"
1991 The Summer My Father Grew Up Timmy TV film
Daddy Sam Watson
1991–1994 Blossom Young Joey 3 episodes
1991–1992 Drexell's Class Walker 14 episodes
Walter & Emily Zach Collins 13 episodes
1992 With a Vengeance Phillip Barcetti TV film
1994–1995 Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad Sam Collins / Servo Main role (53 episodes)
1995 Bringing up Jack Ryan McMahon 6 episodes
1995–1997 Brotherly Love Matt Roman Main role (40 episodes)
1996 Brothers of the Frontier Aaron Frye TV film
Adventures from the Book of Virtues Tom Sawyer (voice) Episode: "Work"
1997 Angels in the Endzone Jesse Harper TV film
1997–2000 Boy Meets World Jack Hunter Main role (68 episodes)
1999 H-E Double Hockey Sticks Dave Heinrich TV film
Horse Sense Cowboy at Airport (uncredited)
2000 Girl Band Mike
2001 Jumping Ship Jake Hunter
2003 CSI: Miami Chuck Shaw Episode: "Hard Time"
2004 Boston Public Billy Deegan Episode: "Chapter 80"
2011–2014 Melissa & Joey Tony Longo 4 episodes
2011 Inside Carly Jim Unknown episodes
2014 The Dog Who Saved Easter Will TV movie
2015 Workaholics Coast Guard Guy Episode: "Dorm Daze"
Girl Meets World Jack Hunter Episode: "Girl Meets Semi-Formal"
2019 Hawaii Five-0 Josh Baker Episode: "Hapai ke kuko, hanau ka hewa"
2021 Mistletoe Mixup Austin Wright TV film
2022 Worst Cooks in America Himself Contestant (season 24)

References

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  1. ^ "Today's birthdays: Monday, February 11".
  2. ^ Gliatto, Tom (March 15, 1993). "A Method to His Doofus". People. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2011.
  3. ^ Weigle, Lauren (March 14, 2016). "Joey, Matthew & Andrew Lawrence on 'Hollywood Medium'".
  4. ^ Mackelden, Amy (February 16, 2016). "Where Are The Lawrence Brothers Now?".
  5. ^ HB Studio Alumni
  6. ^ "Exclusive: Matthew Lawrence Joins Brother Joey on Melissa & Joey". TV Guide. Retrieved October 5, 2010.
  7. ^ "Girl Meets World Spoilers: Matthew Lawrence Returning As Jack Hunter". Inquisitr. June 5, 2015.
  8. ^ Knolle, Sharon; Lash, Jolie (March 16, 2022). "Worst Cooks in America Celebrity Edition: That's So 90s Cast". TheWrap. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  9. ^ Hailu, Selome (February 6, 2023). "'Wizards of Waverly Place,' 'Even Stevens,' 'Ned's Declassified' Rewatch Podcasts to Launch From Christy Carlson Romano's PodCo (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  10. ^ "From 'Brotherly Love' to Growing Up: Where Are the Lawrence Brothers Now?".
  11. ^ Prior to His Romance With Chilli, Matthew Lawrence Dated These Other Stars
  12. ^ "Heidi Mueller". Metacritic. January 25, 1998.
  13. ^ "'DWTS' pro Cheryl Burke is engaged". Entertainment Weekly.
  14. ^ Respers France, Lisa (May 24, 2019). "'DWTS' pro Cheryl Burke marries Matthew Lawrence". CNN. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  15. ^ Jackson, Dory (February 24, 2022), "Cheryl Burke Files for Divorce from Matthew Lawrence After Nearly 3 Years of Marriage", People, retrieved February 24, 2022
  16. ^ "Cheryl Burke, Matthew Lawrence finalize divorce", The LA Times, September 21, 2022, retrieved November 1, 2022
  17. ^ Guy, Zoe (January 3, 2023). "Chilli and Matthew Lawrence Are Matching-Footie-Pajamas Official". Vulture. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  18. ^ DeSantis, Rachel (January 4, 2023). "TLC's Chilli Shares Post About 'Perfect Timing' amid New Matthew Lawrence Romance". People. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  19. ^ Murphy, J. Kim (April 29, 2023). "Matthew Lawrence: 'My Agency Fired Me' After I Refused to 'Take My Clothes Off for an Award-Winning Director'".
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