by Keyaira Boone, BlackHealthMatters.com
Danny Glover shared that he is one of the 7.2 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease on the Today Show.
The celebrated actor, 79, told Lester Holt that he was diagnosed years earlier. He acknowledged the progressive nature of the condition from his home, where the interview was taped. “I’m sure as it advances, things are going to be different and changing,” he told Holt. “I could live with it, in a sense.”
What Is Alzheimer’s Disease?
Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia. Over 60% of dementia cases include Alzheimer’s disease. “It begins with mild memory loss and can lead to the inability to carry on a conversation, carry out daily activities, or respond to the environment,” according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
“Many people with dementia prefer to continue living in their own homes, despite advancing symptoms and cognitive decline,” and “For many people affected by dementia, the home represents a site of familiarity, comfort, and safety,” according to BMC Geriatrics.
How Common Is Alzheimer’s Disease?
According to Alzheimer’s & Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease is growing quickly. There could be 13.8 million people living with it in the United States by 2060.
How Does Alzheimer’s Disease Impact Black People Differently?
Alzheimer’s disease has serious racial disparities. The Alzheimer’s Association issued a report stating that “African Americans are about two times more likely than white Americans to have Alzheimer’s and other dementias,” in 2020.
Black patients also have more severe symptoms.
According to a 2021 study from the National Institute on Aging, “After accounting for demographic factors and education, Black participants were about twice as likely as white participants to experience delusions and hallucinations” and “Black participants were also more likely to have other symptoms, including agitation/aggression, loss of inhibition, irritability, motor disturbances, and abnormal sleep, behavioral, and appetite/eating changes.” Many Black patients are also diagnosed later, preventing them from getting the support they need sooner.
Alzheimer’s Patients Need Support Systems
Glover’s daughter Mandisa was at his side as he spoke. She added some perspective to the conversation, explaining why she supported her father speaking about his experience. “I think it’s really important for him to have control of his own narrative, of his own life story,” she said to Holt. “That’s really important. And the time is now. What better time, but now, for him to speak for himself?
“Carers, friends and family can help the person with dementia to feel valued and included,” according to the Alzheimer’s Society. Mandisa is part of the village supporting Glover to provide those feelings. That village also includes his brother Martin Glover. “They’ve got my back,” said the actor.
“Nearly 12 million family members and other unpaid caregivers provided an estimated 19.2 billion hours of care to people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias in 2024,” according to a 2025 report from Alzheimer’s & Dementia. They are essential to the care of a person living with Alzheimer’s. Virtual tools and other resources have been developed to support caregivers and streamline access to resources.
Glover’s Story Will Help Raise Awareness of Alzheimer’s
Glover opted to share his story to promote awareness about the condition and the research being done to fight it. People seeing him experience the disease’s symptoms could change hearts and minds.
“We have challenges in the world,” Glover told Holt. “I think art becomes a reframe, a way of looking at that.”
He is one of several celebrities willing to open up about their health to help others through transparency. Muni Long revealed how lupus led her to receive a double lung transplant. Keke Palmer, Victoria Monet, and Lori Harvey publicly spoke about their PCOS symptoms. Octavia Spencer lent her celebrity to flagging awareness of silent kidney issues through the Detect The SOS campaign.
Activism has been baked into Glover’s career since the beginning. The Lethal Weapon star received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2021. The award is presented “to an individual in the motion picture arts and sciences whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the industry.”
He continues to inspire others through speaking engagements remotely as it has become more difficult for him to travel.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Glover and his family as they navigate this journey together.
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