Matthew Perry Came From a Large Canadian-American Family With Five Half-Siblings

The Gist:

• Matthew Perry was the oldest of six children, but he was the only child that his parents had together.
• Matthew's mother Suzanne had four children with her second husband, and Matthew's father had one daughter with his second wife.
• Matthew loved his large family, but often felt like he was on the outside looking in, according to his memoir.

On Oct. 28, 2023, the news of Matthew Perry's death sent shockwaves across the country, in part because he was such a huge part of the success of Friends. Now, as people look back at Matthew's career and personal life, some are also curious about his family.

As it turns out, Matthew was part of a fairly big family, and although he never had any children of his own, he had five half-siblings. Because of his parents' divorce, though, he had a more unusual childhood than any of those siblings.

Matthew had five siblings, but he was the only child his parents shared. Suzanne Langford, his mother, welcomed four kids with her second husband, Keith Morrison, while his father John Bennett Perry had one daughter with his second wife.

Because he was a child of divorce, and because both of his parents remarried, Matthew explained in his 2022 memoir that he spent a lot of time alone as a kid.

Matthew described himself as a "latchkey kid" in the book, explaining that he split his time between Montreal, where his mom lived, and Los Angeles, where his dad lived.

Matthew also said that he spent a lot of time alone growing up, and that he moved to Montreal for good when he was 15.

However, despite the fact that Matthew wasn't a father, he had a love for children that stemmed from becoming a big brother when he was 10 years old.

“I think it’s because I was 10 years old when my sister Caitlin was born,” he writes in the book. “Then came Emily, then Will, and then finally Madeline. I loved playing with them all, babysitting them, playing dumb games with them. There is no greater sound on the face of the planet than a child’s laughter.”

Matthew said that, while he loved his mom's new family, he didn't feel like was a part of it, and started acting out.

“Things at home just got worse and worse," he explained. "My mom had a wonderful new family with Keith. Emily arrived, and she was blond and cute as a button. And just like Caitlin, I loved her instantly. However, I was so often on the outside looking in, still that kid up in the clouds on a flight to somewhere else, unaccompanied.”

Matthew's father's daughter, Maria, was born in 1987, and became what Matthew described as a "hub" for the family.

While none of Matthew's siblings achieved the same level of fame as he did, they were sometimes pictured with him on the red carpet, especially at premieres in which he had invited them as a plus one.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Matthew's family as they mourn his passing.