Carey Mulligan opens up about grandma's Alzheimer's

Carey Mulligan has opened up about her grandmother's long battle with Alzheimer's disease.

The British actress, 26, is an ambassador for the Alzheimer's Society, and first became aware of her beloved grandmother's condition when she was a teenager.

She tells the BBC, "When I was about 15 years old, I was studying for my GCSEs (exams) and choosing my A Level (course) subjects. Just small things, she couldn't remember what subjects I was doing for my A Levels. She would go for walks around our house in Buckinghamshire that she had done hundreds of times and she couldn't find her way home, and we would get a phone call. Just simple things... things like that kept coming up.

"Initially there was so much fear and so much sadness about it. It's terribly sad that she doesn't recognize you. I was very, very close to my grandmother growing up."

However, the Drive star reveals her grandmother still has a huge love for music and often responds positively to her favorite bands. She adds, "It's always so wonderful to see a glimpse of her, and have a moment where she responds or where you can see her really at peace or happy."