Matt Damon revealed that his wife, Luciana Barroso, had a brain aneurysm and underwent surgery a week before the 2024 Academy Awards.
Damon shared the health scare in a cover interview with GQ, stating that Barroso was still recovering when she made the surprise decision to accompany him to an Oscars after-party. "We had this whole scary thing happen where my wife had a brain aneurysm," Damon told GQ. "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."
Despite the recent surgery, Barroso chose to attend the event with Damon, recalling a past Oscars night that he regretted missing. In 2007, Damon was filming on location and did not attend the Oscars ceremony when Martin Scorsese's "The Departed," starring Damon, won Best Picture. He later expressed regret for not being present for that significant career moment.
"She was like, ‘This time we’re going out,’" Damon said of his wife's determination. "And it was pretty f---ing heroic of her to do that and really meaningful."
"Oppenheimer," which featured Damon, went on to win Best Picture at the 2024 Oscars. The actor has historically maintained a two-week limit on his absences from family for work, a rule tested during the filming of Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" when he spent over three weeks away. Damon and Barroso married in 2005 and have four daughters. Damon also praised Ben Affleck for prioritizing family commitments when choosing work.