Read the original article on Best Life. In the black-and-white photo, an 8-year-old McConaughey, wearing a straw cowboy hat, button-up shirt, and a contestant badge, holds up a trophy reading “Little Mr. Texas Runner-Up 1977.” McConaughey captioned the photo, “For 43 years I was Little Mr Texas…until i wasn’t,” adding a close-up photo highlighting the words “runner-up” on his trophy. And for more news about your favorite A-listers, check out these Celebrities You Had No Idea Were Related. During an Oct. 2020 interview on The Kelly Clarkson Show, McConaughey explained that he believed he won the contest until just under three years ago. “Let’s cut to about 2018…Something caught my eye. I looked on the nameplate that was engraved and I zoomed in on it and it said runner-up,” McConaughey said. And for more on McConaughey’s family, check out Matthew McConaughey’s Son Looks Just Like Him in Rare Instagram Photo. In the interview with Clarkson, McConaughey alluded to the fact that much of his confidence—and the success he’s had in life—may have come from his childhood belief that he had actually won the pageant. “I go, ‘You know what? Would I even be sitting here with the life I had if I was raised thinking I was runner-up?’” And for more celebrity news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter. McConaughey went on to explain that, when he questioned his mom about the lie, she brushed it off, assuring him that he was the rightful winner of the title.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb McConaughey said that his mother told him that the pageant’s actual winner came from a family with “a whole bunch of money.” “They were too rich. They were able to buy their kids really nice suits,” she said, suggesting the “winner” hadn’t earned the title through merit. And for more insight into your favorite celebrity families, Paul Walker’s Daughter Just Landed Her First Major Modeling Gig.
