18 Celebrities Who Were Touched by Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive disease that impairs memory and other mental functions. It's most commonly seen as some form of dementia, not only causing memory loss but also the loss of the ability to do other cognitive functions. We still don't know what causes Alzheimer's, though age is a big and rather obvious risk factor. There is, as of yet, no cure.

More than 5 million people in the U.S. have the disease. It touches the lives of the millions of loved ones and caretakers for the people suffering some form of dementia, including these celebrities who either suffered from Alzheimer's or watched it diminish the memory and abilities of a member of their family.

More than any other celebrity, Maria Shriver has put her face, money, influence and time toward raising awareness, not only about the disease, but about it's impact globally, especially on women, and what research tells us can be done to lower our risk for developing it. Her organization, The Women's Alzheimer's Movement, her My Brain partnership with the Alzheimer's Association and the annual Move for Minds day with Equinox sports clubs all stem from her experience watching her father, Sargent Shriver, slowly forget who she was as his Alzheimer's disease progressed.

"Wedding Crashers" star Owen Wilson announced a few years ago that his father had the disease. Robert Wilson, who headed the PBS affiliate in Dallas, Texas, died in 2017.

After Laura Miller Rogan's mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's more than a decade ago, she and her famously funny husband, Seth Rogan, become fundraising machines, pouring time and money into raising funds and interest in the disease.

British actress Carey Mulligan dedicates much of her time to raising awareness about Alzheimer's and its challenges, especially as it relates to women and global health concerns. Mulligan's passion for bringing attention to the challenges of caregivers and communities who are responsible for the often slow progressing disease comes from watching her own grandmother, who she called "Nans," live with Alzheimer's for many years.

American Civil Rights activist and pioneer Rosa Parks suffered from Alzheimer's, according to her lawyer, who argued she should not have to answer questions in a lawsuit she brought against the music group OutKast for using her name in a song in 1998. In 2001, she canceled a planned meeting with then President Bush and is thought to have already been suffering the effects of dementia even then. Parks died in 2005 at 93 years old.

In 1994, years after he was out of office, President Ronald Reagan was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. His announcement to the public and openness early on about it was the first time Alzheimer's became a household word and to shift the stigma of dementia, emphasizing that he—and others—could live good lives while the disease progressed. Reagan, and his wife Nancy who cared for him, lived with the disease for years. He died from Alzheimer's in 2004, 10 years after his announcement.

Perhaps the most famous of America's painters and illustrators, Norman Rockwell died in 1978 when he was 84 years old. Though he suffered depression most of his life, he showed severe signs of dementia and Alzheimer's only in the last six years. His cause of death, however, was emphysema.

Country music legend Glenn Campbell's struggles with dementia and Alzheimer's first became public when he could no longer remember all the lyrics to the songs he'd performed for decades. Campbell, who died a year ago, continued to perform for several years after he went public with his diagnosis. He used a teleprompter in later performances and, incredibly, never forgot how to play the guitar.

Celebrity chef and "Chopped" champion Scott Conant frequently lends his image and skills to raising money for charities that support caregivers of those with Alzheimer's. Conant's grandmother suffered from the disease throughout his childhood.

"Alias" star Victor Garber lost both of his parents to Alzheimer's disease and knows the pain, sacrifice and day-to-day difficulties for caregivers. He uses his money, and his connections to people with money and a large platform, to keep pressure on funding sources and advocates working to raise awareness of Alzheimer's, search for cures and support those watching their loved ones slowly decline.

Retired CNN correspondent Candy Crowley, who had been the first woman in decades to host a presidential debate in the 2012 election, is using her deep knowledge of politics and government to take on the challenges of Alzheimer's, which her mother suffered from for years. "This is a huge problem," she told Preserving Your Memory magazine a few years ago, "and what it needs is a whole lot of researchers. It is political because the federal government funds so much of this research. Obviously, you have different organizations to help, but it needs federal funding."

Actor Peter Gallagher's mother suffered from Alzheimer's for much of Gallagher's life. She was diagnosed in 1984 and lived until 2004. His intimate and long acquaintance with Alzheimer's, and the impact it has on loved ones and caregivers, is behind his steady advocacy for awareness of the disease, treatments for patients and support for family and friends.

AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young, who died nearly a year ago, suffered dementia and was being treated for Alzheimer's at the end of his life. He'd retired from the rock band in 2014 due to increased effects of dementia.

Singer Perry Como, whose songs "Catch a Falling Star" and "Hot Diggity" were total chart toppers back in the day, died from Alzheimer's disease in 2001, when the world was just beginning to wake up and recognize the huge impact dementia would soon have on a quickly aging population. Como was 89 when he died, but suffered from the effects of Alzheimer's for years.

Renowned basketball coach Pat Summitt, who won the most Division I titles of any coach, died from Alzheimer's two years ago at 64. She'd only been diagnosed with the disease five years before her death. Early onset Alzheimer's, like Summitt's, make up 5 percent of the 5 million cases in the U.S.

Country music singer Jay Allen wrote the song "Blank Stares" after his mother and father visited him in Nashville. She'd been diagnosed with early onset dementia and the visit was the first time she looked at him without full recognition. Allen performed the song recently, inviting his mother on stage at the Dubuque County Fair in Iowa, where Allen is from, and sang the song to her.

Stone Phillips, a former television news anchor and war correspondent, made a film about his mother in the late early stages of Alzheimer's called "Moving With Grace."

TV host and travel book author Rick Steves lost his first and favorite travel partner, his mother, to Alzheimer's many years ago. He advocates on behalf of patients, quality care and improving quality of life for those suffering Alzheimer's, saying at a 2014 forum on the disease, "When you are in a situation where you're dealing with a loved one with Alzheimer's, which is my story, take them out in public with no apologies and let the public see how you're enjoying your life together."