Matt Damon reveals his wife Luciana underwent surgery for a brain aneurysm

Leigh BlickleyThu, November 5, 2026 at 3:00 PM UTC

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Matt Damon and Luciana Barroso at Netflix’s ‘Animals’ Los Angeles Premiere in Oct. 2026Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety via GettyKey Points -

Matt Damon shared that his wife underwent brain surgery in 2024.

Luciana Barroso had a brain aneurysm at the time, but is “totally fine” now.

Damon mentioned her health scare while discussing the Oscars.

Matt Damon opened up about a “scary” situation in his life — revealing his wife, Luciana Barroso, suffered a brain aneurysm.

The Odyssey star shared Barroso’s health scare during an interview with GQ published on Thursday, Nov. 5, explaining that she was “pretty f---ing heroic” amid his film Oppenheimer’s award season success in 2024.

Damon spoke about his wife of over 20 years while discussing how disappointed he was to miss Martin Scorsese win the Oscar for Best Director for The Departed in 2007.

“I remember I was shooting second unit for The Bourne Ultimatum during that Oscars, so I didn’t go,” he explained of that time. “I was living in Miami at the time, and I had an infant. Lucy and I were laying in bed watching it and so nervous for Marty. And then when he won, I was jumping up and down in the bedroom and I remember being really excited. And then the next category was Best Picture, and The Departed won. And I realized in that moment I hadn’t even considered that that could happen. And I turned to Lucy and I was like, ‘S---, we should be there!’”

Damon said he ended up getting calls from cast members and the studio heads about why he wasn’t there for the big moment, and considers missing it a big life regret.

“I totally blew it,” he admitted, before adding of Barroso, “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.”

The actor went on to say that Barroso is “totally fine, thank God,” but underwent brain surgery the week before the 2024 Oscars, which was predicted to be, and was, a huge night for the Cillian Murphy-led film and director Christopher Nolan.

“It was the first night she felt good enough to get up and had her energy back. And 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,” Damon shared of his wife, who knew how he felt about not being able to celebrate The Departed’s big night.

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“And she was like, ‘This time we’re going out.’ And it was pretty f---ing heroic of her to do that and really meaningful,” he noted.

Matt Damon and Luciana Damon at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar PartyCredit: Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty

Also in the GQ interview, Damon shared how much his wife and their four daughters — Alexia, 27, Isabella, 20, Gia, 17, and Stella, 16 —mean to him and how he’s appreciated their support amid his Oscar-buzzy role in Nolan’s recent film, The Odyssey.

“This was the biggest one that we’ve ever done, and we’ve always had a two-week rule,” Damon shared of the movie’s requirements and being away from his family. “I think the first stretch [on The Odyssey], I was away for three and a half weeks. The first half of the movie was the hardest because the kids were still in school. And then once the summer hit, they could come to set and we could be together. 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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As for Oscars, in general, Damon isn’t so keen on a statue signaling greatness.

“It’s not something you can control. You got to just do the work, and that’s got to be the reward. Because it’s like, then if you don’t win, do you feel bad about something that was really positive? Don’t turn this into something bad,” he told GQ.

So, will he hit “the campaign trail” for The Odyssey?

“I don’t know what that means,” Damon quipped. “I live in Brooklyn. If the trail is in that area, yeah. I don’t know what that entails.”

on Entertainment Weekly

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