Matthew David McConaughey (/məˈkɒnəheɪ/; born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. He first gained notice for his breakout role in the coming of age comedy Dazed and Confused (1993), and went on to appear in films such as the slasherTexas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994), the legal thriller A Time to Kill (1996), Steven Spielberg's historical drama Amistad (1997), the science fiction drama Contact (1997), the comedy EDtv (1999) and the war film U-571 (2000).

In the 2000s, he became best known for starring in romantic comedies, including The Wedding Planner (2001), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Failure to Launch (2006) and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009). Since 2010 he has moved away from romantic comedies and has had roles in the films The Lincoln Lawyer (2011), Bernie (2011), Killer Joe (2011), The Paperboy (2012), Mud (2012), Magic Mike (2012) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). He achieved further success in 2013 for portraying a cowboy diagnosed with AIDS in the biographical filmDallas Buyers Club, which earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor and Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Drama, among other awards and nominations. He also starred in the acclaimed 2014 HBO crime anthology series True Detective. In April 2014, Time magazine included McConaughey in its annual TIME 100 as one of the "Most Influential People in the World."

Personal life
McConaughey met Brazilian model and television performer Camila Alves in 2006. The couple became engaged on December 25, 2011 and were married on June 9, 2012 in Austin, Texas, where they reside in a private Catholic ceremony. Together they have three children: son Levi AlvesMcConaughey (born July 7, 2008), daughter Vida AlvesMcConaughey (born January 3, 2010), and son Livingston AlvesMcConaughey (born December 28, 2012).

McConaughey started the just keep livin foundation, which is "dedicated to helping teenage kids lead active lives and make healthy choices to become great men and women". He also rescued various pets stranded after the flooding of New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, he rescued a cat from two youths in Sherman Oaks, California; the youths had doused the cat in hairspray and were attempting to set it on fire.