Matt Damon has revealed that his wife, Luciana Barroso, suffered a brain aneurysm two years ago.
Luciana, 50, became seriously ill in 2024. Just one week after undergoing surgery, however, she joined her husband at the Oscars afterparties to celebrate the success of his film Oppenheimer.
Matt, 55, said he had been prepared to skip the Academy Awards and remain at home with his film-producer wife before she surprised him by saying she felt well enough to go out.
In an interview with GQ, Matt explained that he has attended most Oscar ceremonies throughout his career. He still regrets missing the 2007 event, when The Departed won several awards. “And then the next time that that happened was on Oppenheimer, and we had this whole scary thing happen where my wife had a brain aneurysm,” he said.
“She’s totally fine, thank God, but [she] had this brain surgery the week before the Oscars. But it was the first night she felt good enough to get up and had her energy back.”
The actor said his “heroic” wife reminded him that he had missed The Departed celebrations and did not want him to miss the chance to celebrate Oppenheimer.
Matt Damon revealed that his wife, Luciana Barroso, suffered a brain aneurysm in 2024. She attended an Oscars afterparty just one week after surgery, pictured here at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party
Speaking to GQ UK, Matt said he has rarely missed the Oscars, but the celebrations for Oppenheimer coincided with “this whole scary thing” involving Luciana’s brain aneurysm
“She surprised me and got a dress and we went out to the after-party, because she remembered that the last time it happened, I didn’t do it. And she was like, ‘This time we’re going out.’”
“And it was pretty f**king heroic of her to do that and really meaningful.”
Matt and Luciana have been married for nearly 21 years. They have four daughters: Alexia, 27, Isabella, 20, Gia, 18, and Stella, 15.
The couple are now preparing for another potentially significant awards season, with Matt’s summer blockbuster The Odyssey expected to receive several major nominations.
Matt also told GQ that he and Luciana made an exception to their longstanding two-week rule while he was filming Christopher Nolan’s epic.
“This was the biggest one that we’ve ever done, and we’ve always had a two-week rule. I think the first stretch [on The Odyssey], I was away for three and a half weeks,” he said.
“But that first stretch—luckily they’re huge Chris Nolan fans and they knew that it was this incredible role, so they were really supportive, and it was a sacrifice for them, and they were awesome about it.”
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Matt also praised his longtime friend Ben Affleck for the way he balances work and family life, noting that Affleck has “turned down a lot of work.”
“She’s totally fine, thank God,” Matt said, explaining that Luciana underwent brain surgery the week before the Oscars but had regained enough energy to attend the celebrations
Luciana surprised Matt by getting dressed for the afterparty, which he described as “pretty f**king heroic” and deeply meaningful
Matt and Luciana have been married for nearly 21 years and have four daughters: Alexia, 27, Isabella, 20, Gia, 18, and Stella, 15
Matt’s summer film The Odyssey could bring another major awards campaign for the actor, with the movie tipped for several high-profile nominations
For the first time, Matt said he and Luciana set aside their two-week rule while he worked on Christopher Nolan’s epic
Read Frazier Tharpe’s full cover interview, “Matt Damon on the Oscars, Tarantino, and the Roles that Got Away,” in GQ’s Men of the Year issue and on GQ.com
“And in fact, he really wanted to take on the CEO role at [Damon and Affleck’s production company] Artists Equity because it would keep him home,” Matt said.
“He said to me when we started the company—he’s got joint custody, which means he gets to be with the kids half the time.”
“And he said, ‘If I go to Estonia and do a movie, it’s not like I get that time back.’ So that for him means he’s got to stay in LA.”
Following a packed year that has also included beginning work on Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s new movie Everything Everywhere All at Once, Matt is ready to take “a long time off.”
He said he had been looking forward to an extended break after the demanding shoot for The Odyssey, but he “couldn’t pass up” the opportunity to work with the Daniels.
Once filming is complete, he intends to take that break, while continuing to explore future projects with Ben.
“I just want to make good stuff and definitely keep working with Ben, because we’re at that point in our life where we’re like, ‘F**k it, why not?’ This was our dream as kids, as boys. We got to honor those boys and keep working together if we can.”
Read Frazier Tharpe’s full cover interview, “Matt Damon on the Oscars, Tarantino, and the Roles that Got Away,” in GQ’s Men of the Year issue and on GQ.com