Hollywood actor Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, his family said on Thursday.
The 67-year-old Hollywood star Willis was diagnosed in March 2022 with aphasia, a condition affecting the brain which causes difficulty with language and speech.
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.
In a heartfelt statement, The family of Star issued a new statement on Thursday about the actor’s health, confirming that his condition has worsened.
The news comes nearly a year after his family confirmed that Willis would be stepping away from acting due to an initial diagnosis of aphasia.
Willis acting career began in the early 1980s with roles in films like “The Verdict,” “Blind Date” and “Sunset.” In 1985, his career boomed with his starring role opposite Cybill Shepherd in the ABC series “Moonlighting” and his iconic performance as action star John McClane in 1988’s “Die Hard” and had memorable turns in “Pulp Fiction,” “12 Monkeys,” “The Fifth Element,” “The Sixth Sense,” “Armageddon” and more.
During his years of acting, Willis’ movies have grossed more than $5 billion around the world. He’s been nominated for five Golden Globes (winning one for “Moonlighting”) and three Emmys (winning one for “Moonlighting” and another for his “Friends” guest role).
However, 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.”
