Danny Glover, the veteran actor best known for playing Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon films, has lived with Alzheimer’s disease for several years, he has disclosed. The 79-year-old revealed the diagnosis during an interview on NBC’s The Today Show that aired on Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
Glover explained that he was diagnosed “not long” after receiving an honorary Oscar – the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award – from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on March 25, 2022. Since then, he has noticed changes to his everyday abilities. “I could live with it, in a sense. I’m sure as it advances, things are going to be different and changing,” he told the programme, adding that his movements, speech and memory have all slowed.
‘They’ve got my back’ – the family that anchors him
The actor’s daughter, Mandisa, was present during the interview and made clear that the decision to speak publicly was his own. “It was really important for him to speak on his own terms. And the time is now. What better time but now for him to speak for himself? It’s important because people ask questions sometimes, and I don’t want to be a dishonest person and say, ‘Oh, yeah, everything is all right. It’s all great’,” she said.
Glover himself stressed the critical role his family plays in helping him manage the illness. “They’ve got my back,” he said. The support of those closest to him has been a steady anchor. Speaking with People magazine, Glover acknowledged that he is “still not accepting in my mind all parts of it,” yet he refused to let the diagnosis define his outlook. “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,” he said. “I don’t feel like it’s the end of my life. There’s work to do. I still have my daughter, I have friends. I want to just say, your life continues.”
Glover and his family are now working with the Alzheimer’s Association to raise awareness and improve public understanding of the disease. Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia, a progressive and fatal condition that affects memory, thinking and behaviour. Age is the greatest risk factor, with most diagnoses made in people 65 and older. Black Americans are diagnosed at more than double the national average, a disparity that Glover’s advocacy is likely to highlight.
A lifetime of work on screen and in the world
Born Daniel Leburn Glover on July 22, 1946, in San Francisco, California, he was one of two children of Carrie and James Glover, both postal workers and active members of the NAACP. His father was a World War II veteran. Glover experienced epilepsy as an adolescent and young adult but has been seizure-free since age 35.
He made his film acting debut in Escape from Alcatraz in 1979, and a recurring role on Hill Street Blues in 1981 helped build his profile. Widespread fame arrived when he starred opposite Mel Gibson as Sergeant Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon franchise. His long list of credits includes Places in the Heart (1984), The Color Purple (1985), Witness (1985), Predator 2 (1990), To Sleep with Anger (1990), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Saw (2004), Dreamgirls (2006) and Sorry to Bother You (2018). On television, he earned four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his roles in Mandela (1987), Lonesome Dove (1989), Fallen Angels (1995) and Freedom Song (2000), and had recurring parts in ER and Brothers & Sisters.
Over his nearly 40-year career, Glover has been awarded five Emmys and four Grammys. He received the honorary Oscar in 2022 for his advocacy for justice and human rights, and was presented with the Audrey Hepburn Humanitarian Award in 2013. In 2023, he was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame.
Glover’s activism runs as deep as his filmography. He served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme from 1998 to 2004, focusing on poverty, disease and economic development in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. He was later appointed a UNICEF Ambassador in 2004. At home, he co-founded the Robey Theatre Company in Los Angeles in 1994 and, in 2005, founded Louverture Films, which produces socially conscious films. He has been involved with the Black AIDS Institute, TransAfrica Forum and the Center for Economic and Policy Research. He also served as a spokesman for Anemia LifeLine, an educational initiative inspired by his father’s experience with anaemia associated with chronic kidney disease.
Glover was married to Asake Bomani from 1975 to 2000, with whom he has one daughter, Mandisa, born in January 1976 and now a chef. Mandisa has a son, Adesola, born in January 2004. Glover later married Eliane Cavalleiro in 2009, divorcing in 2022.
In recent years, Glover has maintained a public presence despite his diagnosis. In June 2025, at age 78, he made a rare appearance at the San Francisco Black Film Festival. He played Santa Claus in the 2023 Disney Channel film The Naughty Nine and has embraced a meat- and dairy-free lifestyle, appearing in promotional content for the restaurant Vegan Mob. He has not appeared in a film since 2022.