Key Takeaways

• Danny Glover said he has been living with Alzheimer’s disease since receiving his diagnosis in 2023 and hopes speaking publicly helps others facing it.
• His daughter and brother described early memory changes and how the family responded as they adjusted to the diagnosis.
• The 79-year-old actor emphasized that he still finds meaning in daily life, saying, “Your life continues.”

Danny Glover is sharing one of the most personal chapters of his life yet.

In a new interview with PEOPLE, the legendary actor, producer and activist revealed he has been living with Alzheimer's disease since receiving his diagnosis in 2023. Rather than keeping his journey private, Danny said he hopes speaking publicly will remind others facing the disease that a diagnosis does not mean life is over. “I'm still not accepting in my mind all parts of it,” he admitted. “There are the moments that you keep remembering that validate the fact that you can remember stuff. And there are moments I'll never forget.”

His daughter, Mandisa Glover, recalled first noticing subtle changes in her father's memory. “The history of my dad is that he remembers every single thing back to 1970, what corner he was standing on, who he spoke to, what they spoke about, what color they were wearing, everything,” she said. But over time, she began noticing pieces of familiar stories missing. “He'd tell you so much about his parents — and I've heard those stories over and over — and there would be pieces of the story missing. I said, ‘I wonder what's going on.'”

According to PEOPLE, coming to terms with Alzheimer's has been a journey Danny and his family have navigated together. Reconciling the diagnosis has meant “in some sense acknowledging that it's happening to you and at the same time that there are millions of people suffering from it,” he said. Even with the uncertainty Alzheimer's brings, the 79-year-old refuses to let it define him. “I don't feel like it's the end of my life,” he said. “There's work to do.”

As Danny reflected on his life, many of his memories centered around family. “There's a picture in my living room with my mother and father. I have it to remind me, looking at it, how much I loved them both,” he said.

The San Francisco native also spoke about his late mother, who died in a car accident the same day he learned he had landed his breakthrough role in Places in the Heart. “Guess what my mother wanted to be? An actress,” he recalled. He smiled while remembering the first time she recognized his talent after seeing him perform. “She says, ‘Son, the people said you can act,'” he said with a smile. “My girl, man. We argued like girlfriend and boyfriend.” Mandisa laughed about that memory, adding, “We argue a lot. I mean, I'm the representative of his mother. I've taken on that role. He needs to argue with somebody, and it's got to be me. But it's all love.”

Danny Glover's work on screen and beyond left a lasting impact

Over the course of his career, Danny became one of Hollywood's most respected actors through acclaimed performances in The Color Purple, the Lethal Weapon franchise, Beloved, Angels in the Outfield and The Last Black Man in San Francisco. His work as an activist has been just as impactful, earning him the Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 2022 for his decades of service.

More than any individual role, Danny said acting became an extension of the values he already carried. “I've had the opportunity to talk about how I see the world and what relationship I played in the world. I began acting because I was a citizen. Acting is what gave me a voice,” he added.

Longtime friend Delroy Lindo also reflected on their decades-long bond, saying their “kinship” began “from virtually my initial introduction to him. I think this is true basically due to Danny's ability to genuinely connect in very authentic ways with the vast majority of people he meets.”

For his younger brother, Martin "Marty" Glover, witnessing the effects of Alzheimer's firsthand has been heartbreaking. “You see the deterioration, and you think, ‘Wow,'” Marty told PEOPLE. “Sometimes you get emotional about it. It's tough, because you don't want to see nobody go through this.”

Despite the diagnosis, Danny continues searching for joy in everyday life. “When I wake up, I try to figure out something. Reading something, looking at something. 'Democracy Now!' is a show that I love,” he said. Mandisa acknowledged the emotional weight of the disease, saying she's “sure it's depressing” for her father because “it's a change in the core of who you think you are or don't think you are.” Still, she said her family is taking things one day at a time.

For the veteran actor, that's exactly the message he hopes others take away: “I still have my daughter, I have friends. I want to just say, your life continues.”