Marina Pearl: Matt LeBlanc's daughter calls 'Friends' the 'Joey Tribbiani Show'
During the two-hour special of 'Friends: The Reunion' which began streaming on HBO Max on Thursday, May 27, fans of the cult sitcom hung on to every word spoken by their favorite iconic cast, including Matt LeBlanc mentioning his teenage daughter in passing.
The 53-year-old actor talked briefly about his daughter, Marina Pearl LeBlanc, during the special but it was enough for people to start searching for whatever they could find about her. However, they would have to be disappointed as Matt's 17-year-old daughter likes to keep her life private, unlike many other celebrity kids. She is the daughter of Matt and his ex-wife Melissa McKnight, who was born on February 8, 2004, just months before the series finale of 'Friends.'
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Health complications during childhood
Marina did not have the easiest of childhoods as she was reportedly diagnosed with cortical dysplasia before she turned one, which means she suffered from seizures as a baby. Although the dysplasia was corrected when she was a toddler, her medical condition left Matt extremely concerned for his daughter's health.
The actor who played Joey Tribbiani on the sitcom took a break from acting while caring for his daughter in her younger years. He previously told The Telegraph, “I didn’t feel like being funny. I had a lot going on in my personal life. I knew I wasn’t missing out on anything. I had dabbled with the celebrity world. I’d partied a bit. But there wasn’t anything there that could fulfill me. I mean, I have beers in the fridge at home.”
Daddy's girl who loves Rihanna and 'Friends'
Back in 2014, Matt said that his daughter was "a daddy’s girl. She can wrap me around her little finger. I’m powerless." When she turned 12, Matt told People magazine that Marina's interests were “horses and Rihanna… So that’s what I’m into. This year for her birthday, [Marina] said, ‘I want you to get Rihanna to come.’ And, I was like, ‘I’ll get right on that, sure.’”
And those are not the only interests of Marina. In 2018, Matt talked about watching 'Friends' with Marina. According to Yahoo, Marina's preferred title for Friends was, 'The Joey Tribbiani Show'. “It’s still on all the time, so we’ll stop and watch it if we’re channel surfing and it pops up,” he told Express. “She loves to ask me questions about it. She’ll say: ‘Was that real? Did you really eat that? What did that taste like? Ooh, you ate that off the floor? That’s gross! You’re so funny, Dad.’”
Matt loves spending time with his daughter
When Marina started going to school, she remained unfazed by the fact that many of her pals were fangirling over her dad as they were all fans of the show. Speaking to New York Daily News, Matt said that Marina's disinterest could be due to the fact she could not get rid of her father just by turning off the television. He said, "She's seen it, yeah, yeah, but it's her dad. She sees me enough, She's like, 'Overdose on my dad, I don't want that.'"
According to Fabiosa, Matt was extremely proud of his daughter. He shared, "Spending time with her is the best thing I’ve ever done. We have a great bond and it’s the best thing in my life."