Matthew McConaughey's 2 Brothers: All About Rooster and Pat

Matthew McConaughey grew up with two older brothers in West Texas

Most people know Matthew McConaughey as a rom-com heartthrob and Oscar-winning actor, but to Rooster and Pat McConaughey, he’s just a baby brother.

The Dallas Buyers Club star is the youngest of three boys. Matthew was born in Texas to Mary Kathleen "Kay" and James McConaughey on Nov. 4, 1969 — 15 years after they first welcomed his eldest brother, Michael (who goes by “Rooster”). In the years between, Kay and James adopted their son Pat.

The brothers grew up in a tumultuous but loving home, with their parents marrying three times and divorcing twice, a subject Matthew opened up about in his 2020 memoir Greenlights. While the award-winning actor and his brother Rooster have each gone on to pursue careers in entertainment, Pat has kept his life entirely out of the spotlight.

Related: All About Matthew McConaughey's Parents, Kay and James McConaughey

From their Texas upbringing to the current bond, here’s everything to know about Matthew McConaughey’s older brothers.

All three boys were born and raised in West Texas

Rooster was born in Houston, Texas, on Aug. 2, 1954. He moved with his parents to Uvalde in the third grade, where he grew up and later attended Uvalde High School, according to The Dallas Morning News. After they moved, the family adopted Pat in 1964. Five years later, Kay and James expanded their family once again when they welcomed their son Matthew on Nov. 4, 1969.

Related: Matthew McConaughey's 3 Kids: All About Levi, Vida and Livingston

In his memoir, Greenlights, Matthew described himself as “an accident,” revealing that his parents weren’t planning on having another child after Pat.

“Mom and Dad had been trying to make a baby for years to no avail, so Mom thought I was a tumor until the fifth month of pregnancy. Dad went to the bar instead of the hospital the day I was born, because he suspected I wasn’t his anyway. But I was," he wrote.

Their family life was occasionally contentious

The Interstellar star delved deep into some of the more difficult aspects of his childhood in his memoir, revealing that his parents — who divorced each other twice — had an extremely tumultuous relationship.

“This is why Mom handed Dad an invite to their own wedding and said, ‘You got twenty-four hours to decide, lemme know.’ This is why my Mom and Dad were married three times and divorced twice — to each other,” Matthew wrote, adding that at times things turn physical. “This is why my Dad broke Mom’s middle finger to get it out of his face four separate times. This is how my Mom and Dad loved each other.”

Speaking to Willie Geist on Today in 2020, the actor explained that despite the difficult moments, he never doubted the love his family had for him and for each other.

"I was scared at the moment, but even then and immediately after that, I didn't ever question the love that Mom and Dad had or the love that they gave us,” Matthew said.

"I tell these stories that are bloody and ugly and sometimes violent," he added of the book, explaining that sharing those memories helps remind him about the unbreakable bonds his family shares. "And I think the reason I tell them is that those were times where the love that we had — that was never in question — was most challenged, but never had a chance of being beat."

Their dad died in 1992

James died exactly how he’d always said he would — in bed with his wife, according to the Magic Mike actor.

“I got a call from my Mom. ‘Your dad died,’ ” Matthew wrote in his memoir, as excerpted exclusively in a PEOPLE cover story. “My knees buckled. I couldn’t believe it. He was my dad. Nobody or nothing could kill him. Except for mom,” he explained.

“He’d always told me and my brothers, ‘Boys, when I go, I’m gonna be makin’ love to your mother.’ And that’s what happened,” Matthew wrote.

Rooster is an entrepreneur

Rooster made — and promptly lost — his first million dollars by age 30. The eldest McConaughey brother founded his own oil pipe business, DGM Supply, and launched an investment company called West Texas Ltd. with his close friend Wayne “Butch” Gilliam.

“I was always good at making money — I wasn’t too good at holding onto it,” Rooster joked on PEOPLE Now in 2018. “It taught me more about, don’t forget who you are,” he said, explaining that he didn’t “have anywhere to go but up” as a kid, and strives to always keep that spirit in mind. “It’s more important to be who you are than it is to have money,” Rooster reflected.

Speaking to Fox News the same year, he elaborated on what it takes to be truly rich. “You can’t just get rich in money,” Rooster said. “You have to get rich in mind, body and soul more than anything else. And do business with a conscience.”

Rooster has hosted two reality TV shows

Building off of his business experience, Rooster has starred in two reality TV shows alongside his friend and business partner Gilliam. Viewers were first introduced to the duo in 2015’s West Texas Investors Club, which ran for two seasons on CNBC. The Shark Tank-inspired series followed the pair as they met with hopeful entrepreneurs about investing in their businesses.

In 2018, he and Gilliam began starring on an eponymous A&E show called Rooster & Butch, which similarly followed their hands-on approach to investing in local businesses.

“We level the playing field,” Rooster told PEOPLE Now. “It’s a condensed version of how we’ve done business our entire lives.”

Despite the popularity of the show, the businessman has said he doesn’t feel at home in Hollywood.

“I definitely don’t fit in, that’s pretty noticeable,” Rooster explained on the Hollywood Life podcast. “Even in the Armani suit you can tell it’s me ... I’m talkative regardless of where I am,” he said, adding that he stays true to himself no matter where he is. “Could be a truck stop or the Academy Awards, so it’s all the same. So I just walk up to them and say, ‘Hey, way to go!' "

Rooster has three children — and two are named after his favorite beers

Rooster has been married three times. During his first marriage, he welcomed a son named Madison Beaumont. Many years later, he welcomed another son, Miller Lyte, and a daughter, Margarita Olympia. For his two younger children, he opted for unique monikers that reminded him of one of his favorite things: beer.

“I named my [3½-year-old] boy Miller Lyte because that’s my favorite beer. And my [11-month-old] little girl is named Margarita Olympia ... I liked that beer, too, even though they don’t even make it anymore,” he told PEOPLE in 2010.

Related: Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves' Relationship Timeline

Rooster dove deeper into the story while talking with Fox News, explaining that he partially did it to get a rise out of his friends.

“What happened was I always drank a lot of Miller Lite,” he explained, adding that when his wife was expecting, his friends began telling him he was going to have to change his lifestyle. “I went, ‘You know if things work out, I’ll be able to take Miller Lite to church.' And I sure as hell did!”

As for his daughter, he managed to sneak in another beer-related name at the very last minute.

“So my wife gets pregnant again and she goes, ‘I’m naming this [one] and you stay out of it.’ Well, her grandmother’s name’s Margarita. And so she names her Margarita.” In the end, she looked to her husband to contribute a middle name after their daughter arrived. “So I threw out Olympia. They jumped all over it. Little did they know that was the name of a beer,” he revealed to the outlet.

Rooster’s favorite of Matthew's movies is Mud

Rooster is a big fan of his brother’s work, and has shown support for him over the years by attending various movie premieres and watching his films — but one in particular always tugs on his heartstrings.

“If I see the commercials about Mud I still get teary-eyed,” Rooster said on PEOPLE Now, revealing his admiration for the 2013 film, in which his brother stars as a fugitive on the run from the law. “That’s my favorite one of all time,” Rooster added.

Matthew’s Dazed and Confused character was inspired by Pat

While Matthew’s middle brother has kept largely out of the spotlight, the actor shared a rare story about him in 2020.

Speaking to longtime friend Kate Hudson on Sibling Revelry, Matthew revealed that Pat largely inspired the character of Wooderson, his first-ever role in the 1993 classic Dazed and Confused.

“Y’all know this as actors,” the True Detective star said. “Sometimes you study details of a character and other times it’s just an impression. That character was based off a specific day when I was about 10 years old,” he said, going on to explain that Pat’s car had broken down at school, so Matthew and his mom were driving to pick him up.

“So as we’re slowly driving through campus, I’m in the backseat looking out the back window,” Matthew explained. “I see this image of a guy in shadow, leaning against the wall in the smoking section with one boot heel kicked up on the wall, the light shining through, the bent knee, leaning back, kind of a lazy longhand. I was like ‘Whoa.’ He was like nine feet tall, the coolest thing in the world and it was my brother Pat,” he said, going on to call him “an icon.”

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