--- description: Less than three month's before Muhammad Ali's death, his daughter Laila opened up about his strength despite his dwindling health. title: Laila Ali Opened Up About Dad's Illness: 'He's Such a Fighter' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt569727ebe4b66209/6988966a524fc0ab30df844d/mohammad-ali-laila-ali-parkinsons.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [remembrance](/tag/remembrance/) ## remembrance Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Muhammad Ali: Laila Ali Opened Up About Dad's Illness Before His Death by [Andrea Park and Rose Minutaglio/People](/author/people/) ## Andrea Park and Rose Minutaglio/People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 4, 2016 4:58 PM CUT  Laila Ali and Muhammad Ali appear at HBO Films and the Muhammad Ali Center to co-host the U.S. Premiere of "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight" in Louisville, Kentucky, on Oct. 2, 2013. Laila Ali and Muhammad Ali appear at HBO Films and the Muhammad Ali Center to co-host the U.S. Premiere of "Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight" in Louisville, Kentucky, on Oct. 2, 2013.Michael Hickey—HBO/Getty Images by [Andrea Park and Rose Minutaglio/People](/author/people/) ## Andrea Park and Rose Minutaglio/People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 4, 2016 4:58 PM CUT Less than three month’s before [Muhammad Ali](http://www.people.com/people/news/category/0,,personsTax:MuhammadAli,00.html "undefined")‘s death, his daughter Laila opened up about his strength despite his dwindling health. In an [interview with PEOPLE](http://www.people.com/article/muhammad-ali-parkinsons-health-daughter-laila "undefined") in early March, Laila said that her father was in good spirits and “knows what’s going on around him,” despite the Parkinson’s disease he had been fighting for more than 30 years. “That man continues to put me in awe. He’s such a fighter, still, when at times he seems weak and not able to handle it,” she said. “He comes through stronger than ever. He’s still fighting regardless and I love my dad for that.” _Read more at_ [_People.com_](http://www.people.com/article/muhammad-ali-dies-laila-opened-up-about-parkinsons-before-dads-death "undefined")_._ _For much more on Muhammad Ali, see TIME’s_ ALI: The Greatest_, a 112-page, fully illustrated commemorative edition. Available at retailers and at_ [_AMAZON.COM_](http://amzn.to/1rbALvP "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4357599/muhammad-ali-laila-death/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4357599/muhammad-ali-laila-death/"},"headline":"Muhammad Ali: Laila Ali Opened Up About Dad's Illness Before His Death","datePublished":"2016-06-04T16:58:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:23:36.044Z","description":"\"He's such a fighter\"","url":"https://time.com/4357599/muhammad-ali-laila-death/","keywords":["remembrance"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt569727ebe4b66209/6988966a524fc0ab30df844d/mohammad-ali-laila-ali-parkinsons.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Andrea Park and Rose Minutaglio/People"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt569727ebe4b66209/6988966a524fc0ab30df844d/mohammad-ali-laila-ali-parkinsons.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"HBO Films And The Muhammad Ali Center Co-Host The U.S. Premiere Of \"Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight\"","caption":"Laila Ali and Muhammad Ali appear at HBO Films and the Muhammad Ali Center to co-host the U.S. Premiere of \"Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight\" in Louisville, Kentucky, on Oct. 2, 2013.","creditText":"Michael Hickey—HBO/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/remembrance/","name":"remembrance"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4357599/muhammad-ali-laila-death/","name":"Muhammad Ali: Laila Ali Opened Up About Dad's Illness Before His Death"}}]}] ```