Sterling K. Brown has opened up about his mother Aralean's battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), revealing she has been unable to speak since October 2018.
The 50-year-old actor discussed his mother's illness on the latest episode of That Was Us, a rewatch podcast built around his hit NBC drama This Is Us, alongside co-hosts Chris Sullivan and Mandy Moore, and guest Lydia Stori, a caregiving advocate.
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, gradually taking away a person's ability to move and speak.
Brown pointed out the parallels between his own life and that of his character, Randall Pearson, whose television mother, Rebecca Pearson, played by Moore, suffered from Alzheimer's disease on the show.
"My mom has ALS, and there was a point in time while we were shooting the show, and I remember going into the writers' room and saying, 'I don't know which of my moms will pass away first,' between my mom versus my TV mom," he said.
Losing the ability to speak
Brown said he and his siblings have had to choose the best way to "honor" their mother's wishes ever since she lost her ability to speak just months after her diagnosis.
He said his mother's "mind is still present," but that she hasn't been able to communicate verbally since October 2018.
Brown explained there are "computer programs she could use," which let her spell out words with her eyes, but that his mother found the technology "too exhausting."
Instead, he said he and his brother use a reading chart to communicate with her. "If it takes us a bit longer to get the information, then it takes us a little bit longer. But making sure each step of the journey, we [ask ourselves], are we honoring what she wants," he said.
'Radiant' in the face of illness
Brown has spoken about his mother's illness before, telling NPR in 2024 that she is an "extraordinary human being."
"I think she has far exceeded the expectations of most doctors in terms of lifespan, because she's still with us," he said at the time. "But the joy that my mom is able to hold on to, in the midst of this incredibly debilitating disease, the smile that she still has for the people who walk into her sphere is radiant."
He continued: "It shows you, shows me, that first of all, I don't have to allow circumstances to dictate how I am in the world, that I still have choice. I may not have choice over what the circumstances are, but [I have a choice in] how I respond to them. And my mom has been a shining example of how to maintain radiance in the midst of a very difficult situation."
Mother's Day tribute
On Mother's Day in 2020, Brown shared a photo on Instagram of himself kissing his mother's forehead, along with a tribute to her.
"Your name is Aralean, but you exemplify Grace," he wrote. "Thank you for your openness. Thank you for your support. Thank you for all the good laughs. Thank you for loving me so fully that no matter how the world tried to make me feel less than, the strength of your love allowed me to see myself through the eyes of God, and know that I was more than enough. Today, I celebrate you. Happy Mother's Day, Sistah! SKB."
This Is Us, the family drama in which Brown starred alongside Moore, Sullivan, Justin Hartley and Chrissy Metz, aired its final episode in May 2022 after six seasons.
