Bruce Willis can’t speak, read, and walk. Here’s what happened to the ‘Die Hard’ actor
Synopsis
Bruce Willis, the celebrated actor of ‘Die Hard’ fame, is reportedly battling a severe decline due to frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The 70-year-old star, who retired in 2022 following an aphasia diagnosis, has now lost the ability to speak, read, and walk. This heartbreaking progression of FTD requires him to have full-time care, and he no longer remembers his illustrious career.
Legendary actor Bruce Willis, known for iconic roles in Die Hard, The Sixth Sense, and Pulp Fiction, is facing a severe health decline. Recent reports reveal that the 70-year-old star can no longer speak, read, or walk due to the rapid progression of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a degenerative brain disease.
Legendary actor Bruce Willis, known for iconic roles in Die Hard, The Sixth Sense, and Pulp Fiction, is facing a severe health decline. Recent reports reveal that the 70-year-old star can no longer speak, read, or walk due to the rapid progression of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a degenerative brain disease.
Willis retired from acting in 2022 after being diagnosed with aphasia, a condition that affects communication. In early 2023, his family confirmed that his condition had progressed into FTD, a more serious neurological disorder that gradually erodes speech, motor functions, and behavior.
FTD affects the brain’s frontal and temporal lobes — areas responsible for language, movement, and emotional regulation. As the disease worsens, individuals lose their ability to communicate, recognize words, or perform simple physical tasks.
Once known for his sharp wit and physicality on screen, Willis now requires full-time care. He can no longer hold conversations, walk unaided, or recall his past — including his own successful film career. His family, who has remained by his side throughout, has asked for privacy as they navigate this challenging time.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) typically develops between the ages of 45 and 64 and is often misdiagnosed, either as a psychiatric disorder or as Alzheimer’s disease. Unlike Alzheimer’s, which primarily affects memory in the early stages, FTD begins with noticeable changes in personality, behavior, or language skills.
Early signs may include difficulty finding the right words, changes in mood, or impulsive and socially inappropriate behavior. As the condition progresses, individuals may lose the ability to speak, read, or write. Muscle control also deteriorates, eventually making basic movement and swallowing difficult. In the advanced stages, patients often require constant, round-the-clock care.
Bruce Willis’s diagnosis has brought global attention to this lesser-known form of dementia. Medical experts emphasize the value of early detection, speech and physical therapy, and strong emotional and caregiving support networks to help manage the disease’s progression.
According to the Mayo Clinic, FTD occurs when parts of the brain’s frontal and temporal lobes shrink — a process known as atrophy. The symptoms vary depending on which region is most affected. Some people may become emotionally detached, impulsive, or socially inappropriate, while others struggle to form coherent sentences or lose the ability to speak entirely.
FTD accounts for roughly 10% to 20% of all dementia cases and often goes unrecognized due to its early onset and atypical symptoms. While memory problems usually appear much later, initial symptoms can include:
- Behavioral and personality changes – acting impulsively, losing empathy, neglecting hygiene, overeating, or showing lack of motivation
- Language difficulties – speaking slowly, using words incorrectly, or struggling with sentence structure
- Cognitive challenges – issues with focus, planning, or organizing tasks
- Physical symptoms (in later stages) – stiff or slowed movement, difficulty swallowing, loss of bladder or bowel control, and muscle weakness
Bruce Willis Is Living in a Separate Home Away From Family as Part of His Dementia Care
Emma Heming Willis said moving her husband to a safer, quieter environment with round-the-clock help was “one of the hardest decisions” she’s had to make
Bruce Willis is now living in a separate one-story home, away from his family but with round-the-clock care, as part of his dementia treatment, the actor’s wife, Emma Heming Willis, revealed in a new ABC special, Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey.
Heming Willis said moving her husband into his own place was “one of the hardest decisions” she’s had to make as a caregiver. But, she added, she felt it was necessary to give Willis a home that was safe, quiet, and easy for him to get around.
“I knew, first and foremost, Bruce would want that for our daughters,” she said. “You know, he would want them to be in a home that was more tailored to their needs, not his needs.”
Another factor in moving Willis to a second home had to do with how his dementia had forced Heming Willis and the couple’s two daughters, who are 13 and 11, to overhaul their own lives. For instance, Heming Willis worried that loud noises and chaotic scenes could trigger agitation in her husband, leading her to cut down on playdates and sleepovers for their daughters.
“I didn’t know if parents would feel comfortable leaving their child at our home, so, again, not only was I isolated, I isolated our whole family,” Heming Willis said. “You know, the girls were isolated too, and that was by design; I was doing that. It was a hard time. It was a really hard time.”
Willis’ second home is close to where Heming Willis and their daughters still live, and all three still see Willis frequently, often for breakfast and dinner. “It is a house that is filled with love and warmth and care and laughter,” Heming Willis said.
Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia two years ago. Elsewhere in the interview, Heming Willis said the actor is still in “really great overall,” but acknowledged, “It’s just his brain that is failing him.”
She added, “The language is going, and you know, we’ve learned to adapt. And we have a way of communicating with him, which is just a different, a different way.”
Emma Heming Willis shares the ‘hardest decision’ she made for her family
Emma Heming Willis is opening up about the challenges facing her husband, Bruce Willis, as he lives with frontotemporal dementia.
Three years after Willis stepped away from his career after having been diagnosed, his wife spoke with ABC’s Diane Sawyer for a special titled, “Emma & Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey.”
According to the Mayo Clinic, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is an “umbrella term for a group of brain disorders that primarily affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. These areas of the brain are generally associated with personality, behavior and language.”
Heming Willis told Sawyer that while Willis is mobile and generally in good health, it is “his brain that is failing him.”
“The language is going, and, you know, we’ve learned to adapt,” she said. “And we have a way of communicating with him which is just a different, a different way.”
The couple, who married in 2009, are parents to two daughters, Mabel, 13, and Evelyn, 11. Willis also has three adult daughters, Rumer, 37, Scout, 34, and Tallulah, 31, with his ex-wife, actress Demi Moore.
Heming Willis said she told their daughters early on about their father’s illness. She said she initially kept their family isolated in an effort to avoid anything that would agitate Willis’s condition, but eventually realized she needed more support.
Heming Willis said that led her to “one of the hardest decisions I’ve had to make,” which was to move Willis to a separate, one-story home where he could receive around-the-clock care.
Not that he is disconnected from the family, as Heming Willis said she has breakfast and dinner with him daily and he still maintains a loving relationship with them all.
“He’s holding our hands,” she said. “We’re kissing him. We’re hugging him.”
Heming Willis said she misses being able to talk with Willis like she used to, but knows what she would discuss with him if she could.
“Just how he’s doing, [if] he’s okay, he feels okay. If there’s anything that we could do to support him better. I would really love to know that,” she said. “If he’s scared. If he’s ever worried. You know, I just would love to be able to, just to have a conversation with him.”
The special is streaming on Hulu and Disney+. Heming Willis’s book about their family experience with FTD, titled “The Unexpected Journey,” comes out September 9.
Who Is Bruce Willis’ Wife, Emma Heming Willis? All About the Former Model’s Relationship with the Actor
The new ABC special, ‘Emma and Bruce: The Unexpected Journey,’ shares insight into their marriage
Since Bruce Willis‘ dementia diagnosis, his wife, Emma Heming Willis, has been by his side.
Now, she’s telling the couple’s story in the ABC special, Emma and Bruce: The Unexpected Journey, which airs on Aug. 26. In a preview, Emma told Diane Sawyer there are still “moments” when she sees her husband’s personality shining through.
“It’s his laugh … He has such a hearty laugh,” she said. “Sometimes you’ll see that twinkle in his eye, or that smirk. I just get transported.”
Bruce and Emma married in March 2009 and welcomed their first child, Mabel Ray Willis, in April 2012. Their second daughter, Evelyn Penn Willis, was born in May 2014. The actor also shares three daughters with his ex-wife Demi Moore, with whom he was married to until October 2000.
Over a decade into their marriage, Emma revealed Bruce’s aphasia diagnosis in 2022. Later that year, he was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a group of brain disorders that can lead to speech issues, loss of motor skills and personality changes.
Since then, Emma has been a vocal advocate for FTD research to find a cure, raising awareness about FTD and other dementias and supporting those in caregiving roles. She also founded Make Time Wellness to promote brain health for women.
So who is Bruce Willis’ wife? Here’s everything to know about Emma Heming Willis and her relationship with the actor.
She was discovered during a TV model competition
Emma was born in Malta, an island country south of Italy, which she once described as “small but beautiful” on her now-closed blog. After her parents divorced, she moved to London with her mother, where she launched her modeling career on the show The British Elle Supermodel in the ‘90s.
Emma won the competition show and started walking the runway for major fashion houses like Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, Valentino and Giorgio Armani. She also had a few acting roles in movies like Perfect Stranger and The Comebacks, as well as on the TV series Entourage.
She’s appeared on magazine covers and walked the runway
During her decades-long modeling career, Emma has been featured in magazines like Vogue, Marie Claire and Elle — and on at least one cover with her husband, Bruce.
The couple were famously photographed for W Magazine‘s July 2009 issue in a risqué photo shoot to which Emma later paid tribute.
“Happy 50th anniversary @wmag,” the former model captioned the series of images in a September 2022 Instagram post. “Usually we are a pretty wholesome couple till we aren’t 😉.”
Emma has also been the face of Dior cosmetics campaigns and has modeled in commercials for brands like Redken, per her literary bio.
She and Bruce met in 2007
Emma wrote on her now-defunct website that she and her future husband met at their mutual trainer’s gym in 2007.
In a joint interview with Bruce in 2016, the mom of two told PEOPLE that she was surprised at “how charming and how funny” the actor was. His response? “I was already in love with her.”
They married in 2009
Bruce and Emma wed on March 21, 2009, at their home in Turks and Caicos. The following week, they made their marriage official in a private ceremony at a friend’s Beverly Hills home.
“Today marks our 15th wedding anniversary!” Emma captioned a touching Instagram post in March 2024. “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.”
She and Bruce share two daughters
In addition to the three children he has with Moore, Bruce has two with Emma. Mabel was born on April 1, 2012, and Evelyn arrived a few years later on May 5, 2014.
Both of their daughters have made appearances on Emma’s Instagram, including videos of them exploring Paris and being silly at home with their dad.
“Father’s Day is a time I get to reflect on my deep appreciation and respect I have for Bruce as I watch him father our little ones,” Emma captioned a sweet photo of the Pulp Fiction actor kissing Mabel on the forehead in June 2023. “Where it might not be ‘conventional,’ what he’s teaching them will span generations. Unconditional love, kindness, strength, compassion, patience, generosity, resilience.”
Emma told Town & Country in October 2024 that she’s “never tried to sugarcoat anything” about Bruce’s condition to Mabel and Evelyn.
“What I learned from our therapist was that if children ask questions, they’re ready to know the answer,” she said. “If we could see that Bruce was struggling, I would address it with the kids so they could understand, but this disease is chronic, progressive and terminal.”
She supported him after his aphasia and dementia diagnoses
On March 30, 2022, the family announced on Instagram that Bruce was retiring from his decades-long acting career after he was diagnosed with aphasia. He was later diagnosed more specifically with FTD — an update Emma described as “devastating” but also helpful in figuring out how to support her husband best.
“After our family shared the news, I felt like I could breathe,” she wrote in a November 2023 op-ed for Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper. “Suddenly, I wasn’t alone anymore and I could seek the support Bruce, myself, and our family so desperately needed.”
Emma revealed that being able to put Bruce’s condition into a medical context not only gave her clarity but also community.
She wrote, “I wouldn’t wish an FTD diagnosis on anyone, but our journey has changed how I perceive the world … There is power in becoming an advocate for this community. It’s something that I want our kids to see me face out loud, working with others, fighting through the stigma and isolation that a disease like this can bring.”
She’s become an advocate for people with FTD and their caretakers
Since Bruce’s FTD diagnosis, Emma has become an advocate for families living with the disease.
She launched the supplements company Make Time Wellness in 2023 to advocate for brain health and she is now the business’ chief impact officer. The following year, Emma and her co-founder, Helen Christoni, launched the Make Time Podcast to share advice and tips on women’s health.
Emma has also partnered with The Association for Frontotemporal Dementia (AFTD) to bring awareness to FTD and find a cure.
In February 2024, Emma announced that she was writing a book about her caregiving journey. The book, titled The Unexpected Journey, will be released on Sept. 9, 2025.
“Identifying the right resources to educate and enlighten myself has been powerful and has allowed me the space to continue to move forward in the most positive way so that I can be the best mother, wife, daughter, friend and care partner,” she said in a statement. “I want to be able to share that with the next person who finds themselves here.”
