How is Bruce Willis’ health? What to know about his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis

Bruce Willis’ family revealed a little over a year ago that he’d been diagnosed with a condition called frontotemporal dementia. The symptoms of the illness prompted him to retire from acting in 2022.

Willis’ illness, also known as FTD, is a type of degenerative condition that primarily affects communication and behavior rather than memory, like other types of dementia. One of the actor’s early symptoms of the illness was aphasia, when a person struggles to speak, write and understand other people.

The Willis family first shared in March 2022 that the action star was struggling to communicate and he needed to leave Hollywood. In February 2023, they confirmed that his condition had progressed to an official diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia.

Since then, Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, and the rest of the family, including his daughters with ex Demi Moore, have continued to share updates.

Frontotemporal dementia is the most common type of dementia in people under 60. Here’s what to know about Bruce Willis’ health.

Bruce Willis health update

Willis recently celebrated his 15th wedding anniversary and 69th birthday, which members of his family marked by sharing photos of the “Die Hard” star on Instagram.

Heming Willis, 45, posted sweet pics in honor of both days and shared a powerful message about celebrating milestones with a loved one with dementia.

“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! “

Willis’ daughters Scout and Rumer Willis and his ex-wife, Demi Moore, also shared new pictures celebrating his life.

In one picture posted by Moore, Willis reclines in a chair while sitting next to Moore and holding her arm. “Happy birthday, BW! We love you and are so grateful for you,” she captioned it.

Rumer Willis also shared some snapshots with her dad. 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.

Heming Willis also shared a picture of her husband’s birthday cake on her Instagram story, joking that 69 candles would’ve “set the house on fire.”

She last gave an update on how Bruce Willis is doing in a video posted to Instagram on March 3, where she slammed headlines reporting incorrect information about his condition.

She started the clip by saying how claims that her husband had “no more joy” due to his condition “triggered” her.

“I can just tell you, that is far from the truth,” Heming Willis explained. “I need society and whoever’s writing these stupid headlines to stop scaring people. Stop scaring people to think that once they get a diagnosis of some kind of neurocognitive disease that that’s it, it’s over.”

“No, it is the complete opposite of that, OK? 100% there is grief and sadness, there is all of that. But you start a new chapter … filled with love … connection … joy … happiness. That’s where we are,” she added.

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.

Around the same time, Heming Willis shared a series of snapshots of the couple, writing, “My love and adoration for him only grows.”

In January 2024, Willis’ ex-wife, Moore, spoke to Andy Cohen on his SiriusXM show, Radio Andy, and gave advice to others caring for a loved one with dementia.

“When you let go of who they’ve been, or who you think they (are), or who even you would like them to be, you can then really stay in the present and take in the joy and the love that is present and there for all that they are, not all that they’re not,” she said.

Another update on Willis’ health came in November 2023 after he spent Thanksgiving with his family. 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 round-up celebrating 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.

Earlier in November, Tallulah Willis, Bruce Willis’ youngest daughter with ex Demi Moore, shared an update on her dad’s condition during an appearance on “The Drew Barrymore Show.” She described Bruce Willis’ dementia as “really aggressive” and reflected on spending time with him as of late.

“He is the same, which, I think, in this regard, I’ve learned is the best thing you can ask for,” Tallulah Willis told Barrymore. “I see love when I’m with him, and it’s my dad and he loves me.”