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Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience.

Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what’s in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways

Gabrielle Union opens up about life with an 80-year-old father who has been in a memory care facility since 2023.

There’s an extremely real reason why actors and actresses like Gabrielle Union may take on multiple side hustles: family.

The 52-year-old actress recently revealed what it takes to help support her father’s health journey with dementia and how she’s been balancing his care with her demanding career and family life.

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“More recently, my father is in memory care,” Union said of her 80-year-old father during the 2025 American Black Film Festival, per People magazine. “You know, nursing homes, what’s covered by insurance, what’s not, home health aids — like that all adds up, and having to really be cognizant of an additional output, I have to go where the money goes.”

She noted that to help support her family, she’s even had to be selective about the types of roles she goes for.

“I don’t have the luxury of taking all the independent films that I want because I can’t afford to pay for my extended family in the way that they have grown accustomed to,” she explained. “I have to factor in endorsements and brands and brand building. When you see celebrities have fifty ‘leven jobs, there’s a reason.”

“We don’t get paid what y’all think that we get paid, and that check is split so many ways,” she continued. “You have to have multiple revenue streams to do the job that you really love. So it kind of depends on what I’ve made that year on how creative I can be — and that’s a damn shame, but that’s reality.”

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The “Perfect Find” star opened up about her family life during the panel “Sisterhood & Savings: A Conversation with Gabrielle Union.”

“Thank you [Ally] and [American Black Film Festival 2025] for the opportunity to speak on a topic that matters deeply—money mindfulness. Conversations around financial wellness, intentional choices, and generational impact are essential to how we move forward as a community,” she wrote in a post on Instagram that included pictures from the panel.

The admission comes as more of her peers, including fellow actress Taraji P. Henson, have begun to shed light on the realities of a Hollywood paycheck. The greater insight into her family dynamics also arrives when conversations around the evolving roles of middle-aged adults in their families are growing.

Union falls under what has been dubbed the “sandwich generation,” or the generation in a family caught between supporting aging parents and raising young children. As Union and many can attest, it can be a challenging and complex dynamic.

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In October, to celebrate her father’s 80th birthday, she shared on Instagram that they threw him an epic bash in Hawaii. The post included pictures from the sentimental trip and a lengthy update on his health since being placed in a memory care facility in 2023.

In addition to his love of Crown Royal, his friends, neighbors, and the good times in Hawaii, she said her father also remembered her, her sisters, and all of their friends. When it comes to what the disease has “robbed” him of, she described a slightly positive shift in his demeanor.

“​​What dementia has robbed him of, his heart and soul have recovered,” she said.

Of the entire experience, she said, “It all just reminds me to be a good, loyal friend, a great neighbor, prioritize your family, have a spirit of adventure and don’t take no sh-t. And always show up and show love.”

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