Actor Bruce Willis has frontotemporal dementia, his family announced on Thursday in a statement on social media.
The 67-year-old was diagnosed with aphasia – which causes difficulties with speech – in spring last year, but this has progressed and he has been given a more specific diagnosis, the family said.
They expressed their “deepest gratitude for the incredible outpouring of love”.
The family went on to say frontotemporal dementia is the most common form of dementia in people under 60.
“Today there are no treatments for the disease, a reality that we hope can change in the years ahead,” the statement said.
Frontotemporal dementia, which is often diagnosed at a younger age than other forms of dementia, can be characterized by personality changes, speech difficulty and motor impairment. It’s the cause of 10% to 20% of all dementia diagnoses, according to the Mayo Clinic.
His family said last year that Willis would give up acting, as his aphasia was affecting his cognitive abilities.
Bruce Willis’s condition to raise awareness of dementia
The new statement on Thursday said they hoped media attention would raise awareness of the actor’s condition.
It said: “Bruce always believed in using his voice in the world to help others, and to raise awareness about important issues both publicly and privately.
“We know in our hearts that – if he could today – he would want to respond by bringing global attention and a connectedness with those who are also dealing with this debilitating disease and how it impacts so many individuals and their families.”
The statement was signed by members of Willis’s family including his wife Emma Heming – with whom he has two daughters – and his former wife Demi Moore and their three daughters.
Willis became a household name in the 1980s and 90s after starring in blockbuster films such as Die Hard, The Sixth Sense, Armageddon and Pulp Fiction.
He has also been nominated for five Golden Globes – winning one for Moonlighting – and also three Emmys, where he won two.
During his 40 years of acting, Willis’ movies have grossed more than $5 billion around the world.
In the last several years, he’s only appeared in an assortment of direct-to-video movies. His last major film role was in 2019’s “Motherless Brooklyn” and the M. Night Shyamalan movie “Glass.”
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