Julianne Moore shares heartbreaking reality behind her Alzheimer’s advocacy

Julianne Moore’s connection to Alzheimer’s advocacy goes far beyond her Oscar-winning performance in Still Alice.

For those unaware, the 65-year-old American actress played the role of Dr. Alice Howland, a linguistic professor diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease, in the 2014 American tragedy film written and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland and based on Lisa Genova’s 2007 novel.

Moore, who secured an Academy Award for her role, collaborated with Eli Lilly for its Brain Health Matters campaign to raise awareness about brain health and care options.

While conversing with PEOPLE magazine, she opened up about how her partnership connects her back to the cause she has been working on.

The Chloe star said, “I think, honestly, since I made the movie, with a lot of people it’ll come up very casually in conversation.”

“Sometimes there’ll be a girlfriend who will say, like, ‘Wow, I feel like I’m a little fuzzy about remembering things,’ or, ‘I’m tired all the time — what is that? Should I talk to my doctor?’”

“Or often people will talk to me about family members. They’ll disclose that they lost a family member to Alzheimer’s, or they’re seeing memory issues in someone and ask what they should do,” Moore explained.

She went on to state that one should never forget that “you are your biggest advocate.”

“You are the one who’s going to know most about how your body feels, about how your brain feels,” Julianne Moore quipped.