She sacrificed an organ for her famous husband – what she got in return is tragic

Ann Serrano may not be a name that jumps out at you right away, but she certainly shouldn’t be known just as ”the wife of a celebrity.”

Ann’s made a name for herself as both an actress and a producer. Some of you might recognize her from Arrested Development, and she even appeared in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Beyond her career, she’s also a devoted mom to a daughter she shares with a well-known and groundbreaking actor. The couple met during a casting for a movie, it was Ann’s first casting job. They clicked and married in September 1993. Three years later, they welcomed a beautiful daughter, Mayan.

For a long time, their high-profile marriage seemed solid, but everything changed in the early 2000s when her famous husband received a devastating diagnosis.

Doctors told him his kidneys were failing due to a genetic condition, and he needed a transplant to survive. Timing was critical, but he delayed the surgery for a year, consumed with fear that the truth about his condition would leak to the press. He didn’t want their then 9-year-old daughter reading about it in the tabloids.

Despite being a public figure, he managed to keep the illness a secret for quite some time. But eventually, it was clear he needed help. That’s when Ann stepped in, offering something extraordinary — her own kidney.

For her, it was an easy decision, as she once said in an interview.

”It’s amazing to be able to help another human being in this way. You’re giving the gift of life,” she said.

The surgery was a success, and the iconic actor was lucky that his body accepted the new organ. To top it off, he even lost 45 pounds as his health improved. Thanks to Ann’s generosity, they looked forward to more happy years together. But that wasn’t how things turned out.