ince 2022, Bruce Willis has been grappling with his health, including an aphasia diagnosis and frontotemporal dementia.
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 is “stable” since being diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, his family has shared in recent updates.
Appearing on CNN Dec. 5, 2024, ex-wife, Demi Moore, shared an update on his health.