Bruce Willis and Emma Heming Willis share their journey, challenges, and advocacy in the face of frontotemporal dementia diagnosis (FTD).
ABC News
ABC News will present Emma and Bruce Willis: The Unexpected Journey – A Diane Sawyer Special on Tuesday, Aug. 26, at 8 p.m. ET.
Hosted by Diane Sawyer, the program offers an intimate look at Bruce Willis’s life following his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis, and the strength and advocacy of his wife, Emma Heming Willis. Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is described as a group of brain disorders caused by progressive damage to the frontal lobes (behind the forehead) and/or the temporal lobes (behind the ears).
In March 2022, Willis was diagnosed with aphasia, a language disorder that happens when the parts of the brain responsible for speech, comprehension, reading, or writing are damaged. In February 2023, his family announced that the diagnosis had been refined to frontotemporal dementia.
Rising to Early Fame
Bruce Willis rose to stardom opposite Cybill Shepherd in his Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning role as wisecracking detective David Addison on the dramedy Moonlighting, which aired from 1985 to 1989.
UNITED STATES – DECEMBER 10: MOONLIGHTING – Gallery – Season Five – 12/10/1988, Cybill Shepherd (Maddie), Bruce Willis (David) , (Photo by ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
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His big-screen breakthrough came in 1988 with Die Hard, which grew into a franchise spanning five films. Over the next three decades, Willis headlined a string of box office hits, including Pulp Fiction, The Fifth Element, Armageddon, The Sixth Sense, and Unbreakable.
Bruce Willis running with automatic weapon in a scene from the film ‘Die Hard’, 1988. (Photo by 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images)
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1999 Haley Joel Osment And Bruce Willis Star In “The Sixth Sense.” (Photo By Getty Images)
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In addition to his film work, Willis ventured into stage performance, music, and producing.
A Personal and Public Journey
In the special, Emma and Bruce Willis share their emotional journey, the realities of living with FTD, and their mission to raise awareness for dementia research and support. The program also features insights from medical experts, family, and friends, offering both a deeply personal portrait of the couple and a broader conversation about the impact of neurological diseases.