Matthew Perry’s family relationships as Friends star dies aged 54
The much-loved Friends star Matthew Perry died tragically at his home in Los Angeles on October 28.
The 54-year-old actor was survived by his parents and five half-siblings. He never married or had children of his own, but came from a huge Canadian-American family.
The Friends' star was the oldest of six children and his mother was Suzanne Perry. She had four children with her second husband, Keith Morrison, while his father, John Bennett Perry, had one daughter with his second wife.
Writing in his 2022 memoir, "Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing", Matthew called himself a "latchkey kid" who divides his time between Montreal and Los Angeles. The A-lister wrote: “I spent a great deal of time alone."
He recalled how he had relocated from the Great White North to LA with his father, when he was only 15. If you'd been wondering about the late actor's family members, here's everything you need to know.
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Suzanne Perry
Before Matthew's first birthday, his mum Suzanne split from his father. She is a former journalist and communications professional, who served as press secretary to Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau before shifting her focus to political consulting and fundraising.
While in office, Matthew went to school with Pierre's son, the current Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau. In the wake of his death, the politician shared a tribute to his old classmate, tweeting: "Matthew Perry’s passing is shocking and saddening. I’ll never forget the schoolyard games we used to play, and I know people around the world are never going to forget the joy he brought them.”
Suzanne eventually wed Morrison in 1981.
John Bennett Perry
Matthew Perry and father John Bennett Perry during "Fools Rush In" Los Angeles Premiere at Century City in Century City, California, United States (WireImage)In the same way as Matthew, his father John had a successful acting career. First, the 70s TV star was known for his role as Sheriff Floyd Gilmore on Falcon Crest.
Then he starred with his son, who played the father of Matthew's character in the 1997 film Fools Rush in, before making a cameo on Friends. Without a doubt his most infamous role was a decades-long period as a sailor in the commercials for Old Spice through the '70s and '80s.
Having split from Suzanne, in 1981 he remarried wife Debbie Boyle.
Keith Morrison
Ever since 1995, Matthew’s stepfather has worked for the NBC crime programme Dateline. The reporter has known the star of Friends since he was 10, and welcomed four children with Suzanne, but he always spoke kindly of his "remarkable" stepson.
Speaking to People in 2020, Morrison said: "He's one of those people who always is the centre of the room for a reason and it was so as a kid."
He added: "He's an intense, talented, focused character. He's very bright. That was always the case as he was growing up," he went on. "He was the guy."
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Morrison also shared how he was available to support Matthew when he was hospitalised in 2018 following his colon bursting after years of opioid use. He told the outlet: "We were able to be with him a lot of the time through that, which was I think good for everybody."
Morrison also has a son, Michael, from a previous marriage.
Caitlin Morrison
In 1981, Suzanne and Keith welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Caitlin.
In his memoir, Matthew wrote about his eldest sister, explaining how his desire to start a family originated from becoming a big brother as a pre-teen. He wrote: “I think it’s because I was 10 years old when my sister Caitlin was born".
“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.”
Despite “instantly” loving Caitlin, he said there were times when he felt like he didn't fit in.
He wrote: "There was a family growing up around me, a family I didn’t really feel part of … That’s when the bad behavior started".
Alongside her brother, Caitlin seemingly have acting a try and featured in the 2000 film, The Whole Ten Yards. She has no other major credits to her name, and not much is understood about what she went on to do.
Emily Morrison
Matthew Perry with mom Suzanne & sister Emily (WireImage)Matthew's second sister, Emily, was born in 1985. But he shared how his home life became harder after his mother and step father welcomed another child.
In his book he wrote: “Things at home just got worse and worse. 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.”
Emily has made several public appearances alongside her older brother throughout the years, including at the Los Angeles premiere of "The Whole Nine Yards."
Will Morrison
Matthew Perry and brother Will during 'Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone' Los Angeles Premiere at Mann Village Theatre in Westwood, California (Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)In 1987, Suzanne and Keith welcomed their third child together, a son named Will.
Matthew's only brother has had a low profile throughout his life but he walked the red carpet at the premiere of "Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone" with the "17 Again" actor.
Will was also mentioned in Matthew's memoir after reflecting on the presence of his siblings through every season of his life.
He wrote: “My sisters’ faces shadow my parents’, as does my brother’s, each of them beaming at me, not just at a hospital bedside, but also in Canada, and Los Angeles as I tried to crack them up with my patter. They never dropped the ball once, any of them, never turned their backs on me, ever. Imagine such love if you can.”
Madeleine Morrison
The fourth child of Suzanne and Keith, daughter Madeline, was born in 1989. Matthew’s youngest sister took after her dad and became a Dateline producer. She was also mentioned in Matthew's revealing book.
After waking up from a coma following his 2019 health scare, Matthew didn’t want to know what had happened to him because he was “too afraid that it was my fault.”
“So instead of talking about it, I did the one thing I felt I could do—during the days in the hospital I threw myself into family, spending hours with my beautiful sisters Emily, Maria, and Madeline who were funny and caring and there ,” he wrote.
Maria “Mia” Perry
Finally, Maria Perry was born to Matthew’s dad and his second wife, Debbie Boyle, in 1986. The actor described his half-sister as the “hub of the Perry family” in his memoir
Supposedly she was the only person who spoke honestly about the opioid health scare that meant he was in a coma for two weeks. He wrote: “There I was, attached to fifty wires like a robot, bedridden, as Maria filled me in."
“My very fears had been true: I had done this; this was my fault. I cried—oh boy did I cry. Maria did her best to be wonderfully consoling, but there was no consoling this.”
Elsewhere in the book, Matthew referred to Maria’s mom as “a lovely woman” and “the catch of the century.”
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