Bruce Willis announces he has been diagnosed with brain condition and will step away from acting
Bruce Willis, 67, is diagnosed with degenerative brain condition aphasia and will step away from acting: Family announces ‘challenging’ diagnosis on Instagram weeks after reports he was suffering memory loss
Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with the degenerative brain condition aphasia He will be ‘stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him’Condition affects one’s ability to understand both verbal and written languageThe family’s announcement comes after years of speculation on the Die Hard star’s mental condition after he was seen allegedly forgetting a maskIn recent weeks, his family, including ex-wife Demi Moore, has apparently been spending more time with the famed actor
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Bruce Willis, 67, has been diagnosed with a brain condition that affects his ability to understand language and will be stepping away from acting, his family has announced.
In a statement posted to social media, his family said: ‘To Bruce’s amazing supporters, as a family we wanted to share that our beloved Bruce has been experiencing some health issues and has recently been diagnosed with aphasia, which is impacting his cognitive abilities.
‘As a result of this and with much consideration Bruce is stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him.’
The statement added: ‘This is a really challenging time for our family and we are so appreciative of your continued love, compassion and support. We are moving through this as a strong family unit, and wanted to bring his fans in because we know how much he means to you, as you do to him.
‘As Bruce always says, “Live it up” and together we plan to do just that,’ the statement, which was signed by his wife, model Emma Heming Willis, his ex-wife Demi Moore and all of his children, concluded.
According to the National Aphasia Association, the condition is an impairment of language, affecting the production or comprehension of speech and the ability to read or write.
The association reports the condition is always due to injury to the brain, most commonly from a stroke, particularly in older individuals.
Head trauma, brain tumors or from infections can also cause aphasia.
It is currently unclear what lead to Willis’ diagnosis.
DailyMail.com has reached out to Willis’ publicist for comment.
Bruce Willis, 67, has has been diagnosed with a brain condition called aphasia, which affects one’s ability to comprehend both verbal and written language
His family shared a statement on their social media pages announcing his diagnosis on Wednesday and saying he will be be ‘stepping away from the career that has meant so much to him’
The statement was signed by his wife, Emma (pictured) and his ex-wife Demi Moore as well as all of his children
The family has reportedly known his mental state has been deteriorating before issuing the statement on Wednesday
Willis is perhaps best known for his role in the Die Hard series as John McClane
The announcement comes more than one year after OK Magazine first speculated on Willis’ declining mental health, after he was seen leaving a California pharmacy without a facemask. The actor later apologized saying it was an ‘error in judgment,’ but unnamed sources told the magazine Willis ‘simply forgot’ to bring the bandana hanging from his neck up to his face.
The source said that, although Willis had not been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, ‘he’s been waging a personal war for a number of years.’
He said Willis had sold his New York property to spend more time with his wife and children in Los Angeles, and said that his wife, as well as ex-wife Demi Moore, were working together to take care of the famed actor
‘His wife Emma has helped Demi Moore and the children Bruce shares with his ex-wife to make truces because they know he’s fading,’ the unnamed source told the magazine in January 2021.
‘Between Demi and Emma, the family has always ensured Bruce has the support and care he might need at any given time,’ the insider said. ‘It’s sad that people are making fun of him.’
According to the magazine, Willis had previously been seen using an earpiece to feed him lines in his Broadway debut in Misery in 2015, and the unnamed insider also said he was struggling during the filming of M. Night Shyamalan’s2019 film Glass.
‘While filming Glass, staffers worked around him by cutting and editing and having him overdub lines because he struggled to remember and/or deliver them,’ they told the publication, according to the New Zealand Herald.
‘In most scenes on Glass he’s hooded, and they used stand-in and body doubles to replace him. On set, he wouldn’t smile and was always chaperoned by an assistant to guide him while walking.’
They added, ‘The good news is that although there is the real concern of dementia fears, it largely has not impacted his ability to work in Hollywood – and in true super hero form – he won’t slow down because new technology like earpieces allows actors of his caliber not to skip a beat.’
Demi Moore recently posted a picture to Instagram on March 19 thanking Willis for their blended family as she wished him a happy birthday
Willis, second from left, recently celebrated his 67th birthday with all of his family
Willis shares his youngest two children, Evelyn and Mabel, with his wife Emma. He has been seen in more posts with the family in recent weeks
But in recent weeks, the New Zealand Herald reports, die hard fans of the actor have noticed he was taking more roles in straight-to-video releases.
He has also been pictured more often with his family, with Moore, 59, wishing him a happy birthday in an Instagram post earlier this month, sharing a photo of the two of them standing in the kitchen and writing: ‘Happy birthday Bruce! Thankful for our blended family.’
That same weekend, Emma posted a tribute to her husband of 13 years in honor of their anniversary, sharing a photo of them at their 2009 wedding.
’13 years ago, those wedding speeches really sent us over the edge,’ she wrote.
Emma also posted her own birthday tribute to Bruce – a photo montage she created, writing: ‘I don’t just love him, I really, really like him.’
Willis shares three children – Rumer, 33, Scout, 30 and Tallulah, 28, with Moore, to whom he was married from 1987 to 2000. He also has two daughters, Mabel, 9, and Evelyn, 7, with his wife Emma, 43.
Bruce Willis was a hit in the 1994 Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction
The announcement marks an end to Willis’ decades-long career, during which he has earned a Golden Globe award and two Emmys.
Willis’ acting career began with small just roles in television shows like Miami Vice and The Twilight Zone in the early 1980s, according to IMDB.
He started gaining attention thanks to his starring role opposite Cybill Shepherd int he ABC series Moonlighting, which ran from 1985 to 1989, but his breakout role was really as John McClane in the hit film Die Hard, which premiered in 1988 and led to six sequels.
‘I think it was his first big film and he wanted to make it right, he wanted to make it work,’ co-star Reginald VelJohnson told People at a 2018 30th anniversary screening of the film. ‘He was more concerned with how to do the role rather than anything else.’
‘This was his first movie, and he was the star of a huge blockbuster and it was very well advertised that he was making $5 million, which at the time was unbelievable,’ Bonnie Bedelia, who played his wife Holly Gennaro McClane in the film.
‘And everybody was like, “Why would you pay $5 million to an untried movie star?” But boy, someone was really smart.’
Willis went on to star in films like Pulp Fiction, 12 Monkeys and the superhero film, Unbreakable, for which he reprised his role over a decade later in the 2016 film Split and the 2019 film Glass.
Over the course of his four-decade career, Variety reports, his movies have grossed over $5 billion worldwide.
He has also appeared in a number of television shows, including the beloved classic Friends, for which he won an Emmy, and as the main voice actor in Bruno the Kid.
Willis has also recently completed multiple projects that are in post-production, including Vendetta, Fortress: Sniper’s Eye and White Elephant.
It’s unclear what will happen with Fortress 3, which is currently in pre-production.
