Since March 2022, the Willis family has been giving updates on Bruce Willis’ health after the “Die Hard” star stepped away acting due to health issues, specifically a disorder called aphasia, which leads to difficulties writing and speaking.
The following year, in February 2023, they confirmed that Bruce Willis’ condition had progressed and that they had a definitive diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, aka FTD, a degenerative disease that primarily affects communication and behavior, as opposed to memory, like other types of dementia.
In an October 2024 interview with Town & Country, Bruce Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, revealed the first signs that something had changed about the “Die Hard” star’s health. His language changed, she said. But Bruce Willis had a childhood stutter and she assumed the sudden changes in his speech were connected to that.
“As his language started changing, it (seemed like it) was just a part of a stutter, it was just Bruce. Never in a million years would I think it would be a form of dementia for someone so young,” she said.
It would take a few years before doctors discovered the true reason.
“I say that FTD whispers, it doesn’t shout. It’s hard for me to say, ‘This is where Bruce ended, and this is where his disease started to take over,’” she added.
Frontotemporal dementia is the most common type of dementia in people under 60. Ahead, discover what the Willis family has shared about the actor’s health.
Bruce Willis health update
Bruce Willis’ health is “stable” since being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, his family has shared in recent updates.
Appearing on CNN Dec. 5, the actor’s ex-wife Demi Moore shared an update on his health.
“He’s in a very stable place at the moment,” she said. “I’ve shared this before, but I really mean this so sincerely — it’s so important for anybody who’s dealing with this to really meet them where they’re at.”
Tallulah Willis, his youngest daughter with Moore, stopped by TODAY on Sept. 18, 2024, and reflected on some of the more difficult aspects of her father’s condition.
“He’s doing stable, which, in this situation is good and is hard,” the 30-year-old said. “There’s painful days, but there’s so much love.”
“It’s really shown me to not take any moment for granted, and I really do think that we’d be best friends,” Tallulah Willis continued. “I think he’s very proud of me. You have to be in the moment. You have to be present.”
In November 2023, Tallulah Willis shared an update on her dad’s condition on “The Drew Barrymore Show.” She described Bruce Willis’ dementia as “really aggressive,” adding, “He is the same, which, I think, in this regard, I’ve learned is the best thing you can ask for.”
During a September 2023 appearance on TODAY, Heming Willis spoke about caregiving and how Willis was doing for World FTD Awareness Week. It was her first interview since his diagnosis was made public.
“Dementia is hard,” Heming Willis said. “It’s hard on the person diagnosed, it’s also hard on the family. And that is no different for Bruce, or myself, or our girls. When they say this is a family disease, it really is.” (She and Bruce Willis share two daughters, Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 10.)
Asked if her husband was aware of what’s going on with his health, Heming Willis replied, “It’s hard to know.”
She added that accepting his diagnosis has been “painful, but … just being in the know of what is happening to Bruce makes it a little easier.”
Bruce Willis’ family also occasionally shares photos of him to mark special occasions.
For his 69th birthday in March, Moore, posted a picture of Bruce Willis reclining in a chair sitting next to her and holding her arm. “Happy birthday, BW! We love you and are so grateful for you,” she captioned it.
Rumer Willis, Bruce daughter, also shared some snapshots with her dad for his birthday. In the last photo in the carousel, which appears to be the most recent, she wraps her arm around her father as he points at something in the distance.
“Oh Daddio, to be loved by you is such a gift. You are the funniest, most tender, charming, out of this world silly talented and magical papa,” she wrote in part.
Around Thanksgiving November 2023, Bruce Willis’ second-oldest daughter, Scout Willis, posted a brief clip of the actor holding her hand with the caption, “My guy.”
Scout Willis also shared another intimate moment with her father in a photo roundup celebrating the end of 2023. In the picture, she rests her head on her dad’s chest as he holds her head in his hands and they smile at each other.
The Willis family previously marked his birthday on March 19, 2023, with a video of Bruce Willis shared to Moore’s X account — the first of him since his diagnosis was announced publicly. In the sweet clip, his daughters and wife sing “Happy Birthday” to him as he jokes about their vocal range in the background.
Recommended
What has Bruce Willis’ family said about his dementia?
In February 2023, the Willis family shared in a statement that they finally had a “clear diagnosis” of frontotemporal dementia, adding that “challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces.”
Since then, his family has shared at times how they’re coping with his condition.
During a May 29, 2024, TODAY appearance, Rumer Willis reflected on the support she and her family have received.
“What’s lovely is people will stop me on the street or at the airport, wherever it is, and are so effusive about how much they love him, how much of an impact he’s had on them, or just that they’re sending love to our family,” she said. “It really makes me a proud daughter, honestly, to just see how much love he’s getting.
“It’s such a testament to who he is. He’s so beloved,” she added.
In March, Heming Willis also shared a message about celebrating milestones with a loved one with dementia and posted sweet pics in honor of her 15th wedding anniversary.
“I can make a choice. I can wallow in sorrow or I can celebrate it. I call this the ‘remarkable reframe.’ What I know is there is so much to celebrate,” she wrote on Instagram. “Our union and connection is probably stronger than ever. We have two bright, fun and healthy daughters. We have a family unit that is built on mutual respect and admiration. And simply, I just love and adore the man I married. I’m so proud of what we have and continue to create. So, happy crystal anniversary to us!”
The mother of two previously shared a glimpse of her life caring for her husband in an Instagram post shared in late December.
“Holidays are hard. Anniversaries are hard. But for me this year, it has really been about community,” she said, adding that she’d just had a “good cry” with a close friend of hers.
For Father’s Day 2023, Rumer Willis reflected on what it was like to have her father meet his first grandchild.
“Seeing my father hold my daughter today was something I will treasure for the rest of my life. His sweetness and love for her was so pure and beautiful,” Rumer Willis wrote on Instagram. “Papa I’m so lucky to have you and so is Lou. Thank you for being the silliest, most loving, coolest Daddio a girl could ask for. Best Girl Dad in the game …”
What happened to Bruce Willis?
Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, aka FTD, and had to retire from acting. Before his family publicly shared his diagnosis in 2023, they revealed in March 2022 that he had to step away from Hollywood because he was experiencing a disorder called aphasia. Aphasia occurs when a person struggles with speaking, understanding, reading or writing.
Aphasia can be caused by a head injury or stroke, and the onset will usually be sudden, or it can be caused by a disease such as frontotemporal dementia, in which case the communication difficulties get worse over time, experts previously told TODAY.com.
In an essay for Vogue published in May 2023, Bruce Willis’ daughter Tallulah Willis wrote that his frontotemporal dementia “chips away at his cognition and behavior day by day.”
What were the early signs of Bruce Willis’ dementia?
The early signs of Bruce Willis’ dementia included difficulty communicating, aka aphasia. His wife, Emma Heming Willis, assumed it was connected to Willis’ childhood stutter in an Oct. 2024 Town & Country interview.
Tallulah Willis described his early health changes as “a vague unresponsiveness,” a Vogue essay, “which the family chalked up to Hollywood hearing loss: ‘Speak up! ‘Die Hard’ messed with Dad’s ears.’”
“Later that unresponsiveness broadened, and I sometimes took it personally. He had had two babies with my stepmother, Emma Heming Willis, and I thought he’d lost interest in me,” Tallulah Willis continued, later noting that this “couldn’t have been farther from the truth.”
She finally realized her father’s health was declining when she was at a wedding and the father of the bride gave an emotional speech.
“Suddenly I realized that I would never get that moment, my dad speaking about me in adulthood at my wedding. It was devastating,” she recalled. “I left the dinner table, stepped outside, and wept in the bushes.”
FTD patients sometimes have “difficulty expressing themselves, understanding what’s being spoken and figuring out the meaning of things sometimes,” Dr. Jagan Pillai, neurologist at Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, previously told TODAY.com.
Did Bruce Willis retire?
Yes, it was announced that Bruce Willis was retiring from acting in March 2022, when his family revealed that he’d been experiencing aphasia. Aphasia is a symptom associated with dementia and other illnesses that causes difficulty with communication, both in speaking and understanding written and spoken language.
What is Bruce Willis’ health condition?
Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, which includes a variety of neurodegenerative conditions, his family announced in February 2023.
FTD impacts the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. Its onset begins earlier than other degenerative brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, and symptoms start on average around age 58, according the Cleveland Clinic. Unlike other forms of dementia, memory difficulties aren’t the hallmark symptom of FTD.
“Most people, when they think of the word dementia, they think problems with memory and Alzheimer’s disease, but FTD doesn’t really show up as problems with memory. … It affects how people behave, how they interact with others and how they speak,” Dr. Sami Barmada, director of Michigan Brain Bank and associate professor of neurology at University of Michigan Medicine, previously told TODAY.com.
Primary progressive aphasia is a type of FTD, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Aphasia can also be caused by a stroke, and in these cases the loss of ability to speak is usually sudden. But with progressive aphasia, as Bruce Willis likely has, it usually starts out mild and gets worse as time passes, Barmada said.
Other common symptoms of FTD include apathy or unwillingness to talk, changes in personality and becoming more depressed, lack of social skills and obsessive behavior.
“It doesn’t look like a dementia or something that you can put your finger on. … Very often you’ll hear people say they just started to act really weird, and they’re not the same person,” Barmada said.
What is the life expectancy of someone with frontotemporal dementia?
The average life expectancy for someone with frontotemporal dementia, which Bruce Willis has, is seven to 13 years after diagnosis, per the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration. Cleveland Clinic said the life expectancy is seven and half years, while Barmada told TODAY.com that 10 years or longer is considered a good prognosis.