Hardy was born in Cameron, North Carolina, the son of Gilbert and Ruby Moore Hardy. He is the older brother of Jeff Hardy. Their mother died of brain cancer in 1986. Hardy played baseball as a child and throughout high school, but had stopped by his senior year.

In 1999, Matt, along with his brother Jeff, appeared as an uncredited wrestler on That '70s Show episode "That Wrestling Show". Matt and Jeff also appeared on Tough Enough in early 2001, talking to and wrestling the contestants. He appeared in the February 25, 2002 episode of Fear Factor competing against five other World Wrestling Federation wrestlers. He won $50,000 for the American Cancer Society. Hardy also appeared on the October 13, 2009 episode of Scare Tactics, as a mental patient who threatens to attack the prank's victim.  In 2001, Matt, Jeff, and Lita appeared in Rolling Stone magazine's 2001 Sports Hall of Fame issue. In 2003, Matt and Jeff, with the help of Michael Krugman, wrote and published their autobiography The Hardy Boyz: Exist 2 Inspire. As part of WWE, Matt appeared in their DVD, The Hardy Boyz: Leap of Faith in 2001. On April 29, 2008, WWE released Twist of Fate: The Matt and Jeff Hardy Story. The DVD featured footage of the brothers in OMEGA and WWE. Hardy also appears on The Hardy Show, an Internet web show which features the Hardys, Shannon Moore, and many of their friends.  Hardy plays himself in the 2013 film Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies in which he and his real-life wife Reby Sky battle the undead.  Hardy's first WWE video game was WWF Wrestlemania 2000 in 1999 on the Nintendo 64 shortly followed by WWF SmackDown! in early 2000 on the Playstation. He made several appearances later in WWF SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role, WWF SmackDown! Just Bring It, WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth, WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain, and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw. He later returned to the series in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, and WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011, which was his last WWE video game before his departure to TNA. Following his return to WWE in 2017, he was revealed as a DLC character in WWE 2K18 on September 25 that year alongside tag team partner and brother, Jeff Hardy.

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