Let's just address the elephant in the room immediately: No, they aren't related. Not even a little bit.
It’s one of those Hollywood urban legends that just won’t die, kinda like the idea that Walt Disney is frozen in a basement somewhere or that Jamie Lee Curtis is a hermaphrodite. People see the last name "Glover," they see two immensely talented Black men who have both shaped pop culture in massive ways, and the brain just goes, "Oh, clearly father and son."
📖 Related: Bobby Brown in the 90s: Why the King of R\&B Was a Lot More Than Just a Tabloid Target
Honestly, I get it. We love a good dynasty. We want the guy from Lethal Weapon to have passed the torch to the guy who gave us Atlanta and "This Is America." It feels poetic. But if you actually look at the family trees, the branch for Danny Glover and Donald Glover doesn't even touch.
The Father-Son Myth That Won't Quit
You’ve probably seen the Google searches. "Is Donald Glover Danny Glover's son?" pops up so often it might as well be a permanent fixture of the search bar. This rumor has been circulating since Donald first showed up on 30 Rock and Community.
Here’s the reality: Donald Glover was born at Edwards Air Force Base in California and raised in Stone Mountain, Georgia. His dad’s name actually is Donald Glover—Donald Glover Sr.—and he was a postal worker who passed away in 2018. Danny Glover, meanwhile, is a San Francisco native through and through. He was also the son of postal workers (which is a weird coincidence, I’ll give you that), but his only child is a daughter named Mandisa.
Donald has been making fun of this for years. He even rapped about it in his song "Sunrise," where he literally says: "Donald Glover, no relation." You can’t get much more direct than that. Yet, people still show up to his shows or see him in Mr. & Mrs. Smith and think, "Man, Roger Murtaugh must be so proud."
👉 See also: Pamela Anderson on Tommy Lee: What Most People Get Wrong
Why the confusion persists
It isn't just the name. It's the vibe. Both men have this specific type of gravity. Danny Glover brought a soulful, weary integrity to the screen in the '80s and '90s. Whether he was playing a cop "too old for this sh*t" or a terrifying villain in The Color Purple, there was a weight to him.
Donald has that same weight, though it’s packaged in a very different, postmodern way. He’s a shapeshifter—comedy, rap, high-concept drama, directing. When people see that level of genius, they look for a source. "He must have gotten it from somewhere," they think. And Danny is the easiest target for that assumption.
Danny Glover: More Than Just an Action Hero
If you only know Danny Glover from the Lethal Weapon movies, you’re missing about 80% of what makes the man a legend. Born in 1946, Danny didn't even start acting until he was in his late 20s. Before that? He was working in city government in San Francisco and getting deeply involved in civil rights activism.
That activism isn't a side hobby. It’s the core of who he is.
- The Actor: He broke out in Places in the Heart (1984) and Witness (1985).
- The Legend: The Color Purple proved he could be genuinely scary, a far cry from the lovable Murtaugh.
- The Activist: He’s been a UN Goodwill Ambassador and has spent decades fighting for labor rights and social justice.
He’s 79 now, and while he’s still working—shoutout to his hilarious role in Sorry to Bother You—his legacy is more about the doors he kicked open for Black actors who wanted to be seen as more than just a "type."
Donald Glover: The Renaissance Man of the 2020s
Then you have Donald. Born in 1983. He belongs to a generation that doesn’t believe in staying in one lane. He was a writer for Tina Fey at 23. He was a sketch comedy star with Derrick Comedy. He was Troy Barnes on Community, the heart of the show.
And then he decided to become a rapper. And people laughed! At first.
Then Because the Internet happened. Then "Redbone" happened. Then "This Is America" happened, which basically stopped the internet for a week in 2018. He didn’t just change the music; he changed the visual language of music videos.
The Atlanta Effect
If Danny’s masterpiece is arguably his body of work in the '80s, Donald’s is Atlanta. It’s a show that is impossible to categorize. Is it a comedy? A horror show? A surrealist fever dream? It’s all of them. By creating, writing, and starring in it, Donald proved he wasn't just following in the footsteps of the greats—he was building a whole new road.
The Meta-Jokes and the "Community" Connection
The "related" rumor actually became a bit of a meta-joke on the set of Community. In the episode "Advanced Criminal Law," Donald’s character, Troy, tries to mess with his friend Abed by claiming he’s related to Danny Glover. It was a direct nod to the fact that fans were constantly asking Donald about it in real life.
It’s the kind of self-aware humor that Donald excels at. He knows what we’re saying about him. He knows the memes. He just uses them as fuel.
📖 Related: Is Ben Abbott Married? What Most People Get Wrong About the Forged in Fire Star
Fact-Checking the "Glover" Legacy
Let’s lay it out clearly so there’s no room for "well, maybe..."
- Hometowns: Danny is from San Francisco, CA. Donald is from Stone Mountain, GA.
- Parents: Danny’s parents were James and Carrie Glover. Donald’s parents were Donald Sr. and Beverly Glover.
- Siblings: Danny has four siblings. Donald has a brother (Stephen Glover, who writes for Atlanta) and a sister, plus foster siblings.
- Children: Danny has one daughter. Donald has three sons with his partner Michelle White.
The only real "connection" they have is a brief professional one. They finally appeared in a project together in the 2019 film The Last Black Man in San Francisco, which Danny starred in and Donald’s longtime collaborator Joe Talbot directed. It was a nice "full circle" moment for fans, even if it didn't involve them sharing much screen time.
Why We Still Care in 2026
The reason we’re still talking about Danny Glover and Donald Glover is that they both represent a specific kind of Black excellence that feels rare. Danny represents the classic, stoic, hard-won success of the post-Civil Rights era. Donald represents the boundary-breaking, weird, "bando stone" energy of the modern era.
Even if they don't share DNA, they share a lineage of storytelling. They both use their platforms to talk about things that matter—race, class, the absurdity of the American dream—while still being incredibly entertaining.
What to do with this information
If you're a fan of either (or both), the best way to appreciate them isn't by looking for a family connection that doesn't exist, but by diving into the work they've actually done.
- Watch The Color Purple (1985): To see Danny Glover at his most intense.
- Binge Atlanta: If you want to see Donald Glover redefine what television can look like.
- *Listen to Awaken, My Love!:* It’s Donald’s pivot from rap to funk, and it’s a masterpiece.
- Check out To Sleep with Anger: A lesser-known Danny Glover film that shows off his incredible range as a character actor.
Stop asking if they’re related and start asking why we don’t have more actors like them. That’s the real story.