Biography - Zach Gilford

Who is Zach Gilford?

Zach Gilford is an actor by profession and American by nationality. He is well known for playing Matt Saracen in the NBC drama series Friday Night Lights.

Zach Gilford – Age, Parents, Siblings

Zach Gilford’s birth took place on January 14, 1982, in Evanston, Illinois, USA as Zachary Michael Gilford. His mother’s name is Anne Gilford and his father’s name is Steve Gilford. There are no details of his siblings if he has any.

Education, Ethnicity

For education, Zach Gilford attended Evanston Township High School. Following graduation in 2000, he enrolled at Northwestern University where he majored in theatre.

His ethnicity includes Swedish and Russian-Jewish.

Zach Gilford – Girlfriend, Wife, Children, Divorce

Gilford began dating actress Kiele Sanchez in the spring of 2010 after meeting her on the set of the TV pilot for The Matadors. He proposed to his girlfriend in November 2011 and married her on December 29, 2012. In August 2015, he and his wife announced they were pregnant with their first child, expecting the birth to be in November. But in October 2015 they announced that they had suffered a late-term miscarriage.

The married couple welcomed their daughter Zeppelin Adele in November 2017 via surrogate. They also welcomed a child- a son in November 2015.

In a February 2021 post in which he said goodbye to family dog Pippen, he wrote, “Every moment from meeting my amazing wife #kielesanchez, the loss of our two sons, the birth of our daughter and our newest son.”

The couple seems to be happy in their marriage, and no rumors of divorce have risen.

Zach Gilford – Career

Early Days

Before Gilford started his professional career as an actor, he worked as a trip leader for Adventures Cross-Country and later as a staff member for YMCA Camp Echo. He has led wilderness and adventure trips for teenagers to numerous places like Hawaii, Alaska, British Columbia, California, South Pacific. He had apparently turned to acting as a career after he suffered a broken leg while playing football in high school.

Zach Gilford began working as an actor in 2003. His debut screen role was in the short film Handbook to Casual Stalking. This was followed by breakthrough roles in the 2006 film The Last Winter as Maxwell McKinder and as the main character Matt Saracen in the TV series Friday Night Lights. In the latter, he was the main cast from seasons 1 to 3 and had a recurring role in seasons 4 and 5.

Films, TV Series

Over the years Gilford has appeared in the films Post Grad (2009), Answers to Nothing (2011), In Our Nature (2012), Crazy Kind of Love (2013), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), Emmett (2019), etc. He has had guest appearances in the episode(s) of the TV series Grey's Anatomy (2009), Drunk History (2014, 2019), Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories (2015), Kingdom (2017), This Close (2018-present), Good Girls (2018-present), Midnight Mass.

Moreover, Zach Gilford has been cast in the main role in the TV series which were short-lived- Off the Map (2011), The Mob Doctor (2012-2013), The Family (2016), Lifeline (2017), L.A.'s Finest (2019-2020). He has also appeared in the music video for Taylor Swift’s song Ours where he played Swift’s love interest.

Co-stars

On the set of Good Girls, Zach Gilford has worked with Christina Hendricks, Manny Montana, Mae Whitman, Matthew Lillard, and Retta.

Zach Gilford – Awards, Nominations

Zach Gilford has earned nominations for the Gotham Independent Film Award (2006) and MTV Movie Award (2014).

Zach Gilford – Net Worth, Salary

The net worth of Gilford is estimated to be around $1.5 million while the figure on his annual salary is under review.

Zach Gilford – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

Zach Gilford is active on Instagram and Twitter with thousands of followers but is inactive on Facebook.