On October 28, Matthew Perry was found dead at his LA home at the age of 54.
The actor, who died of an apparent drowning in his hot tub, was found by his assistant.
It has been reported that no illicit drugs were found on the scene, though police found numerous prescription drugs.
Matthew was reportedly on anti-depressants, anti-anxiety drugs and COPD medication.
The LA County Medical Examiner’s Office explained that although an autopsy had already been completed, the results are pending a toxicology report, which can take weeks to come through.
In the wake of the actor’s death, we’ve taken a look back at his life and his impressive career before his untimely death.
Early Life
Matthew Perry has dual American-Canadian citizenship, having been born in Massachusetts on August 19, 1969 and raised between Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal.
The late 54-year-old’s mother, journalist Suzanne Marie Morrison, and father, actor and former model John Bennett Perry, separated when he was just one year old.
His mother later married Canadian broadcast journalist Keith Morrison, while his father married his wife Debbie that same year.
The actor has five half-siblings from his parents’ new marriages – Caitlin, Emily, Will and Madeline Morrison, and Maria Perry.
Career
Matthew’s first-ever credited acting roll was a minor part in 240-Robert (1979) as a child actor.
The actor landed his breakthrough role as Chandler Bing in Friends at 24 years old, making him the youngest member of the main cast – which included Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer.
By 2002, the six main cast members were earning an eye-watering $1 million per episode of Friends.
The hit sitcom earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.
The late 54-year-old also notably appeared in Fools Rush In alongside Salma Hayek, 17 Again with Zac Efron, and hit Netflix film Don’t Look Up – featuring a stellar cast, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Meryl Streep.
In May 2021, Matthew participated in Friends: The Reunion alongside Jennifer, Courteney, Lisa, Matt and David.
In October 2022, the late 54-year-old opened up about his rise to fame and his lengthy battle with addiction in his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing.
Love Life
Matthew had quite the star-studded dating history, having been linked to some of Hollywood’s biggest names.
In his memoir, the actor revealed he had a fling with Gwyneth Paltrow, describing their brief “make-out session in a closet” before Friends was first broadcast in 1994.
The late 54-year-old’s first high-profile relationship was with Julia Roberts, after the pair struck up a romance while filming an episode of Friends.
The former couple dated for a few months before he called it quits.
Matthew tragically died on Julia’s birthday – October 28.
Matthew dated former fashion student Rachel Dunn for two years before they split in 2005.
In his memoir, he described her as “the ex-girlfriend of his dream”.
The actor was “set up” with Cameron Diaz shortly after her split from Justin Timberlake in 2007.
Matthew’s lengthiest relationship was with Mean Girls’ Lizzy Caplan.
The former couple split in 2012 after six years together, and almost getting engaged.
Why Matthew Perry Reportedly Backed Out Of Proposing To Lizzy Caplan At The Last Second https://t.co/39QjPVx1f1
— The List (@TheListDaily) October 31, 2023
Matthew’s final public relationship was with literary manager Molly Hurwitz.
The former couple began dating in 2018, and the Friends actor popped the question in November 2020.
Unfortunately, the pair parted ways in 2021.
The late 54-year-old also enjoyed brief flings with Tricia Fisher – the half-sister of Carrie Fisher, Natasha Wagner – daughter of Natalie Wood and Richard Gregson, and Baywatch’s Yasmine Bleeth.
In his memoir, Matthew opened up about his lengthy crush on one of his best friends and Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston.
Struggle With Addiction
In his memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing, Matthew opened up about his lengthy battle with addiction and revealed he almost died when he was 49 years old.
The Friends star spent weeks in a hospital fighting for his life after his colon burst from opioid overuse.
The actor revealed he spent two weeks in a coma and five months in the hospital and had to use a colostomy bag for nine months.
He said that when he was first admitted to the hospital, “the doctors told my family that I had a 2 percent chance to live. I was put on a thing called an ECMO machine, which does all the breathing for your heart and your lungs. And that’s called a Hail Mary. No one survives that.”
Matthew, who was just 24 when he was cast as Chandler Bing in Friends, recalled a terrifying time in his career that he was taking 55 pills a day.
He told PEOPLE: “I didn’t know how to stop. If the police came over to my house and said, ‘If you drink tonight, we’re going to take you to jail,’ I’d start packing. I couldn’t stop because the disease and the addiction is progressive. So it gets worse and worse as you grow older.”
The late 54-year-old had been to rehab 15 times, and had 14 surgeries on his stomach so far.
Matthew said fans who read his book will “be surprised at how bad it got at certain times and how close to dying I came”.
He continued: “I say in the book that if I did die, it would shock people, but it wouldn’t surprise anybody. And that’s a very scary thing to be living with. So my hope is that people will relate to it, and know that this disease attacks everybody. It doesn’t matter if you’re successful or not successful, the disease doesn’t care.”
“I’m an extremely grateful guy. I’m grateful to be alive, that’s for sure. And that gives me the possibility to do anything.”
“What I’m most surprised with is my resilience. The way that I can bounce back from all of this torture and awfulness. Wanting to tell the story, even though it’s a little scary to tell all your secrets in a book, I didn’t leave anything out. Everything’s in there.”
At the time, Matthew added that his story is one “that’s filled with hope. Because here I am.”
