Bruce Willis’ daughter on how her father is dealing with dementia: ‘He still knows who I am’

Hollywood star Bruce Willis’ daughter Tallulah Willis talked about how her father is dealing with dementia in a recent article published in Vogue. She recalled the first signs of her father’s illness and wrote that ‘it started out with a kind of vague unresponsiveness, which the family chalked up to Hollywood hearing loss: ‘Speak up! “Die Hard” messed with Dad’s ears.’’

She mentioned that later that unresponsiveness broadened, and sometimes she took it personally. ‘He had had two babies with my stepmother, Emma Heming Willis, and I thought he’d lost interest in me,’ explained Tallulah.

‘Though this couldn’t have been further from the truth, my adolescent brain tortured itself with some faulty math: I’m not beautiful enough for my mother, I’m not interesting enough for my father,’ she wrote.

‘I admit that I have met Bruce’s decline in recent years with a share of avoidance and denial that I’m not proud of. The truth is that I was too sick myself to handle it. I had managed to give my central dad-feeling canal an epidural; the good feelings weren’t really there, the bad feelings weren’t really there.

But I remember a moment when it hit me painfully: I was at a wedding in the summer of 2021 on Martha’s Vineyard, and the bride’s father made a moving speech. Suddenly I realized that I would never get that moment, my dad speaking about me in adulthood at my wedding. It was devastating. I left the dinner table, stepped outside, and wept in the bushes,’ she wrote.
Willis' daughter informed that the Hollywood star spends most of his time in the house and his mobility is fine.

She shared how she started acting as a support to her dad who recognises her amid his health issues.
‘He still knows who I am and lights up when I enter the room,’ shared Tallulah.

‘I can bring him an energy that’s bright and sunny, no matter where I’ve been. In the past I was so afraid of being destroyed by sadness, but finally I feel that I can show up and be relied upon. I can savor that time, hold my dad’s hand, and feel that it’s wonderful,’ she wrote.

‘Die Hard’ star Bruce Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. He has been out of the limelight since 2022.

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