Barry Watson

Biography: After what Barry Watson has gone through with his health, love life, and career, it wouldn't be hard to imagine him feeling to be one of the most blessed and luckiest people on this Earth. Television and film actor Watson has battled through cancer, was reunited with his life partner after several years, and has starred in three successive television shows from 1996 to 2009, his most popular role playing Matt Camden on the conservative family drama 7th Heaven. He spent his first eight years in Traverse City, Michigan before his family settled in Richardson, a suburb in Dallas, Texas, where he began a career in modeling up until his mid-teens. With the suggestion of his modeling agent, Barry took acting courses. In 1989, Watson moved to Los Angeles and immediately landed the role of Randy on the long-running daytime soap Days of Our Lives. After his six-month stint on the show, Barry went back to Texas and finished his secondary studies at Richardson High School (1992), where he first met his fiancee Tracy Hutson. He then returned to LA determined to continue his acting profession. He made guest appearances on The Nanny (1994), Baywatch (1996), and Nash Bridges (1996) before he met actress Tori Spelling, who introduced her to his first wife Laura Payne Gabriel. He also met Tori's father, TV producer Aaron Spelling, who cast him in a recurring role on the short-lived NBC teen drama Malibu Shores. It was in 1996 when Barry landed the role of his career as he was cast by Spelling to play Matt, oldest son of Rev. Eric Camden (Stephen Collins) on 7th Heaven. During his ten-year stint on the series, Watson also had notable appearances in the films Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999), Sorority Boys (2002), and Boogeyman (2005). In 2002, Watson was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease, a form of lymphatic cancer. While undergoing chemotherapy, he stopped work as an actor but was instead involved as a writer for 7th Heaven. With his cancer going into remission in 2003, Barry continued on with his character on the show until it ended in 2006. He was never out of work after that as he portrayed the title role of Brian O'Hara on the ABC sitcom What About Brian (2006-2007) and played Todd, the ex-boyfriend and roommate of Samantha (Christina Applegate) on another ABC sitcom Samantha Who? (2007-2009).… Expand