Bruce Willis’ Daughter, Tallulah, Opens Up On Early Signs Of Star’s Dementia
Bruce Willis’ daughter Tallulah has recalled the initial warning signs ahead of the legendary actor’s frontotemporal dementia diagnosis.
It was revealed last year that Pulp Fiction star Bruce, 68, has aphasia, a degenerative brain condition which affects his cognitive abilities, and that he would be taking a step back from the spotlight to concentrate on his health.
In February, however, his loved ones confirmed that his issues had ‘progressed’, and that he is also living with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), an uncommon type of dementia that causes problems with behaviour and language.
In a candid personal essay for Vogue, Tallulah revealed that she bore witness to Bruce’s mental decline and knew for “a long time” that something wasn’t quite right.
Initially though, she just thought that her dad had “lost interest in her” after he welcomed two daughters with his new wife, Emma Heming Willis.
Tallulah, 29, wrote: “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.’
“Later that unresponsiveness broadened, and I sometimes took it personally. He had had two babies with my stepmother, Emma Heming, and I thought he’d lost interest in me.
“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.”