Valeria Wasserman is a Brazilian translator and Noam Chomsky’s second wife. They married in 2014, six years after the death of Chomsky’s first wife, Carol Schatz, whom he’d been married to since 1949. Beyond that, there isn’t much solid, checkable information about her, and that’s worth being honest about upfront.

If you’ve searched “Valeria Wasserman” and landed on pages listing her exact age, a detailed career history, and specific past jobs, treat those with real caution. We looked closely at what’s actually out there, and most of it doesn’t hold up.

What’s Actually Confirmed

Chomsky’s own Wikipedia page lists Valeria Wasserman as his spouse since 2014. That’s the one fact that’s well documented and consistent across sources.

A few other details are reasonably well supported. She’s Brazilian, works as a translator, and the couple have generally kept a low public profile together. In a 2015 Democracy Now interview, Chomsky described himself as “a very private person” who rarely discusses his own life, and spoke warmly but briefly about Valeria’s arrival in his life after Carol’s death. That interview is one of the few times either of them has been quoted directly on the relationship.

In 2023, Chomsky suffered a stroke, and reports (including comments from Brazilian president Lula, who visited him) described Valeria as closely involved in his care and recovery. In June 2024, false rumours of Chomsky’s death circulated online, which several outlets debunked. Beyond these points, verifiable public detail is thin, and that appears to be by choice rather than accident.

Why Her Age and Career History Aren’t Reliable Online

Several sites list a detailed employment history for Valeria Wasserman: specific jobs, named employers, exact start dates going back to the 1990s. We couldn’t find any of this corroborated by an independent source, an interview, or a named publication. The same claims appear worded almost identically across different “biography” sites, which usually means they’ve been copied or generated rather than researched.

Her birth year gets the same treatment. Some pages state 1963 as settled fact. Others hedge with “1963 or 1964.” Given Chomsky was born in December 1928, most sources agree there’s roughly a 35-year age gap between them, but nobody has published a confirmed date of birth for Valeria herself. We’re not going to invent one, and any site that states her exact age with total confidence is likely guessing.

This pattern (contradictory specifics, no named sources, identical phrasing across “different” articles) is common with low-effort or AI-generated content built to rank for a name that gets searched but has little real reporting behind it. It’s worth knowing that before treating any of those pages as fact.

FAQ

Who is Valeria Wasserman?

She’s a Brazilian translator and the second wife of linguist and political commentator Noam Chomsky. They married in 2014. Little else about her background is independently confirmed.

How old is Valeria Wasserman?

There’s no confirmed date of birth publicly available. Some sources estimate she was born around 1963, which would put roughly 35 years between her and Chomsky, but no exact age has been reliably reported.

Is Valeria Wasserman the same as Valeria Wasserman Chomsky?

Yes. Wasserman is her name before marriage, and she’s sometimes referred to with “Chomsky” attached after it, in the way a spouse’s surname is sometimes added informally. Both refer to the same person.

When did Valeria Wasserman marry Noam Chomsky?

They married in 2014. It was Chomsky’s second marriage, following the death of his first wife, Carol Schatz, in 2008 after nearly 60 years together.

What does Valeria Wasserman do for a living?

Public sources describe her as a translator, working between Portuguese and English. Detailed job history beyond that isn’t reliably documented anywhere we could verify.

Is Noam Chomsky still alive?

Rumours of his death circulated online in June 2024 and were false. He suffered a stroke in 2023 and has had health challenges since, but reports at the time described him as recovering, with Valeria closely involved in his care.

Where do Valeria Wasserman and Noam Chomsky live?

Reports have placed them in both the United States and Brazil at different points, reflecting Chomsky’s long academic career in the US and Valeria’s Brazilian background. There’s no single confirmed current address, nor should there be.