Why Bruce Willis’ family talk about his dementia publicly

Rumer Willis (from left), Demi Moore, Bruce Willis, Scout Willis, Emma Heming Willis and Tallulah Willis in September 2019. Photo / Getty Images

Actor Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2023. His daughter explains why his family have chosen to share their private struggles with the world.

Tallulah Willis wants to use her family’s struggles to “help other people”.

The 30-year-old actress – who is the daughter of Die Hard star Willis and his ex-wife Demi Moore – said after her father was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) just over two years ago, she and her family have found it “really special” to use their public platforms to “spread awareness” of the degenerative condition.

Speaking on The Drew Barrymore Show, she said: “What’s going on with my dad is that he has a really aggressive cognitive disease, a form of dementia that is very rare.

“I think [being open] is twofold. On one hand, it’s who we are as a family but also it’s really important to spread awareness about FTD because we had no idea. And to advance and use, again, it’s like the bigger version of what I’m trying to do.

“If we can take something that we’re struggling with as a family and individually to help other people, to turn it around, to make something really beautiful out of it, then that’s really special for us.

“Part of what’s been a really beautiful way for me to heal through this is becoming like an archaeologist to my dad’s stuff, his world and his little trinkets.”

In 2022, Willis’ family – including his other daughters Rumer, 35, and Scout, 32, as well as the Pulp Fiction star’s wife Emma Heming and their kids Mabel, 12, and 9-year-old Evelyn, announced he was retiring from acting after being diagnosed with speech and language disorder aphasia, with his dementia diagnosis then confirmed the following year.

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Just weeks ago, Heming – who married Willis in 2009 – insisted that she still had “so much” to be grateful for as she cared for her husband.

She told E! News: “I’m doing something that I’m super passionate about that gets me up out of bed.

“I get to be a mother to two incredible young girls. There’s really so much to be grateful for and so many things that I’m happy about.”