Valeria Wasserman is a Brazilian translator born in Brazil in 1963. She is best known as the wife of American linguist and philosopher Noam Chomsky.
Wasserman has built her own career translating between Portuguese and English.
Who is Valeria Wasserman?
Valeria Wasserman is a Brazilian translator known for her work moving texts between Portuguese and English. She has gained wider public attention through her marriage to Noam Chomsky, the linguist and political commentator.
Wasserman keeps a notably private profile.
Unlike her husband, she rarely gives interviews or appears at public events tied to his academic and political work.
Much of what is publicly known about her centers on her education, her translation career, and her marriage to Chomsky in 2014.
Early Life of Valeria Wasserman
Valeria Wasserman was born in Brazil in 1963. Multiple sources describe her as having spent part of her early life in the Poços de Caldas area of Brazil.
Little detail about her parents or childhood has been made public.
She pursued a law degree at Universidade Federal Fluminense before shifting her academic focus toward languages.
Wasserman also studied Portuguese and English at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, and later completed a specialization course in capital market analysis at Universidade de São Paulo in 1995.
Valeria Wasserman Age
Valeria Wasserman is 63 years old as of 2026, based on her widely reported birth year of 1963.
She was in her early fifties when she married Chomsky in 2014.
Wasserman is 5 feet 2 inches taller or 162 centimeters and carries a weight of around 65 kg or 138 lbs.
She has brownish to blonde hair and is of fair complexion.
Valeria Wasserman Ethnicity and Nationality
Valeria Wasserman holds Brazilian nationality and was born and raised in Brazil. Her cultural background is closely tied to her home country, where she completed both her legal and linguistic studies.
She has spent significant time dividing her life between Brazil and the United States since marrying Chomsky.
Valeria Wasserman Education
Wasserman studied law at Universidade Federal Fluminense in the 1980s before pursuing further education in linguistics. She also studied Portuguese and English at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro.
In 1995, she completed a specialization in capital market analysis at Universidade de São Paulo.
This academic path, combining legal training with language study, later supported her transition into professional translation work.
Valeria Wasserman Career
Early Career
Wasserman’s early professional background included work in finance and legal support roles in Brazil and the United States before she moved into translation. Her legal studies and language training gave her a foundation for interpreting complex texts across both fields.
She later shifted her focus fully toward translation work.
Translation Work
Wasserman has worked as a translator at ArtVentures Cultural Projects and Translations, a company that supports artists and academics with cross-language projects. Through this work, she has translated academic and cultural material between Portuguese and English.
Her translation work reflects her academic background in both law and linguistics.
Current Focus
As of 2026, Wasserman continues to divide her time between Brazil and the United States alongside Chomsky. She has largely stepped back from visible public engagements tied to translation work in recent years, focusing instead on supporting her husband as he recovers from a stroke he suffered in June 2023.
Wasserman has spoken to Brazilian media about his condition, describing his continued engagement with current events despite his health challenges.
Valeria Wasserman Husband
Valeria Wasserman married Noam Chomsky in 2014, six years after the death of his first wife, Carol Doris Schatz, in 2008. Chomsky, widely known as one of the most influential figures in modern linguistics, was in his mid-eighties at the time of their marriage.
The couple has maintained residences in both Brazil and the United States since 2015.
In June 2023, Chomsky suffered a major stroke in the United States that affected his speech and the right side of his body. Wasserman arranged for him to be transferred to a hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, her home country, to continue his treatment.
He was discharged from that hospital in June 2026 and has continued his recovery at home, according to Democracy Now and the Associated Press.
Wasserman has told Brazilian media that Chomsky still follows the news closely, including coverage of the war in Gaza.
False reports claiming Chomsky had died circulated online in 2024, which Wasserman and colleagues publicly denied.
Valeria Wasserman Children
Valeria Wasserman and Noam Chomsky do not have children together. She is the stepmother to Chomsky’s three children from his first marriage to Carol Doris Schatz: daughters Aviva and Diane, and son Harry.
Valeria Wasserman Net Worth
Valeria Wasserman’s estimated net worth is $1.5 million as of 2026. Her income has come primarily from her translation work and earlier roles in finance and legal support.
Because Wasserman maintains a private lifestyle, exact figures tied to her finances have not been independently disclosed.
The Bottom Line
Valeria Wasserman built a career translating academic and cultural texts between Portuguese and English, following studies in law and linguistics in Brazil. She has worked with ArtVentures Cultural Projects and Translations over the course of her career.
Wasserman married Noam Chomsky in 2014 and has kept a private, low-profile life despite her husband’s global recognition. She is Brazilian by birth and has spent much of her adult life dividing time between Brazil and the United States.
As of 2026, Wasserman continues to support Chomsky through his recovery from a 2023 stroke while maintaining her own quiet presence away from public attention. She has occasionally spoken to Brazilian outlets about his condition and continued interest in world events.
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