Gaten Matarazzo's biography
Gaten Matarazzo plays fan-favorite Dustin on Stranger Things. The young actor has millions of fans worldwide, not only because he's found a way to deal with his disability, but also because he helps people with similar diagnoses. His net worth: $5 million.
Childhood and first roles
Gaten Matarazzo was born on September 8, 2002 in Connecticut, but he grew up in Little Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey. He was blessed with loving parents, a brother Carmen, and a sister named Sabrina, along with natural light-heartedness and talent. Unfortunately, this came with a challenge – his cleidocranial dysplasia diagnosis, a birth defect that primarily affects bone structure and teeth.
Despite ongoing therapy and medical procedures, Gaten never felt his peers held his differences against him. The curly-haired, fun-loving boy with unique speech patterns and a wide, toothless smile was always easygoing.What you see is nothing but an imitation of teeth, I still have to undergo many surgeries. Fortunately, I have a light form of the disease, there are people with the same diagnosis who are doing far worse than I am.

Thanks to the theater, Gaten met Caleb McLaughlin, and later on, fate would bring them together once again on the set of the project that would turn both of their lives around.
Quite the Stranger Things
Things were definitely getting strange for him compared to his peers. Gaten managed to turn what could have been sources of discomfort and insecurity into real assets, which Ross and Matt Duffer didn't take long to notice when they were holding auditions for their new series at the end of 2015.



Gaten Matarazzo's personal life
Every single episode brought the series and the actors more and more fame. Some media outlets bluntly claimed that Gaten was being exploited because of his condition, which upset his parents but didn't faze him. Raising awareness and supporting other kids with the same condition became a huge part of his mission. Gaten says he wants to set an example for kids who are different and encourage them to embrace who they are.
Gaten Matarazzo now
Filming wrapped on Stranger Things' third season back in fall 2018, but fans had to wait until July 2019 for the episodes to drop. Gaten's set to slip back into his character alongside his castmates. Beyond the returning cast, viewers will meet some new faces, including Francesca Reale, Maya Thurman Hawke (Uma Thurman's and Ethan Hawke's daughter).