Danny Glover reveals that he’s living with Alzheimer’s disease: ‘I don’t feel like it’s the end of my life’
TheGrio...
The legendary actor and activist Danny Glover reveals he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2023 and opens up about life now.
Danny Glover has revealed he has been living with Alzheimer’s disease for the past three years.
On Wednesday, July 1, the 79-year-old actor, who turns 80 later this month, joined his daughter, Mandisa, and younger brother, Marty, in opening up about life with the disease in interviews with “Today” and People magazine, sharing how he and his family have come to terms with the diagnosis.
“I don’t feel like it’s the end of my life,” Glover told People. “There’s work to do.”
The legendary, award-winning actor and activist from San Francisco, who first emerged in Hollywood in the late 1970s before becoming a household name through classics like “The Color Purple” and “Lethal Weapon,” is speaking publicly after three years with the disease that disproportionately affects Black Americans, in part to raise awareness.
“It’s a change in the core of who you think you are or don’t think you are,” Mandisa, his only child whom he shares with his firsr wife, told People. “It’s very hard. You just have to live the day for what it is.”
Glover was diagnosed in 2023 after Mandisa said she began noticing changes in his memory and cognitive function.
According to the Mayo Clinic, Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, irreversible brain disorder caused by the buildup of proteins in the form of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The disease gradually destroys memory, thinking skills, and eventually the ability to carry out everyday tasks. It affects about 6.9 million people in the United States age 65 and older.
Older Black Americans are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia as older White Americans. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, approximately 21.3% of Black Americans age 70 and older are living with Alzheimer’s.
Since receiving his diagnosis, the actor’s movement, speech, and memory have declined. Still, he remains active by attending events and engaging with his community in his hometown of San Francisco. His daughter, younger brother, and a team of healthcare professionals now help care for him, a support he told People he deeply appreciates.
“I still have my daughter, I have friends. I want to just say, your life continues,” Glover told the magazine.
Speaking with “Today,” Mandisa explained why the family decided to share his diagnosis now.
“I think it’s really important for him to have control of his own narrative, of his own life story,” she said. “What better time but now for him to speak for himself?”
The journey ahead will include managing symptoms, keeping his mind sharp, leaning on his support system, and remaining optimistic.
“I’m still not accepting in my mind all parts of it,” Glover told People of his diagnosis.
“There are the moments that you keep remembering that validate the fact that you can remember stuff,” said the actor, whose career includes starring alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest names and activism that brought him into close contact with the likes of Nelson Mandela.
“And there are moments I’ll never forget.”