Bruce Willis Thanks Los Angeles First Responders In First Public Appearance Since Dementia Diagnosis
on Jan 16, 2025
Table of Contents
- Three years after retiring from acting due to health issues, actor Bruce Willis was seen in public for the first time.
- Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in 2023, one year after he retired from acting.
- Bruce Willis enjoyed a decades-long acting career prior to his retirement.
Three years after retiring from acting due to health issues, actor Bruce Willis was seen in public for the first time.
On Thursday, January 16, Bruce Willis’s wife, Emma Heming Willis, shared a video of Bruce shaking hands with Los Angeles first responders and posing for photos.
“Spotting a first responder, Bruce never missed a chance to show his gratitude with a heartfelt handshake and a ‘thank you for your service.’ Yesterday was no different ❤️🤍💙,” Heming Willis captioned the black and white clip.
Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in 2023, one year after he retired from acting.
An aphasia diagnosis, a language condition that makes it “difficult to understand or express language,” forced the “Die Hard” actor to step away from his career in 2022. Willis’s family issued a statement after learning of his FTD diagnosis and called it a “cruel disease” with no treatment options.
“As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research,” his family wrote.
“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.”
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In the months since his condition was made public, his family, including wife Emma, ex-wife Demi, and daughters Rumer, Scout, and Tallulah, have shared photos and updates of Bruce and kept fans informed of his progress.
In late December, Emma, his wife of nearly 16 years, celebrated the anniversary of their relationship. She shared a photo and a heartfelt message about her unconditional love for Bruce and explained that anniversaries feel different now.
“Anniversaries used to bring excitement — now, if I’m honest, they stir up all the feelings, leaving a heaviness in my heart and a pit in my stomach,” Emma wrote. “I give myself 30 minutes to sit in the ‘why him, why us,’ to feel the anger and grief. Then I shake it off and return to what is. And what is… is unconditional love. I feel blessed to know it, and it’s because of him. I’d do it all over again and again in a heartbeat 💞”
Bruce Willis enjoyed a decades-long acting career prior to his retirement.
Bruce Willis rose to fame in 1985, starring alongside Cybil Shepherd in “Moonlighting.” The show ran for four seasons, ending just after Willis found success with the lead role in the big-screen hit Die Hard.
Willis went on to star in four more Die Hard movies between 1990 and 2013. While the franchise is perhaps what he is best known for, Willis filmed more than 100 movies over the course of his career.
