Bruce Willis at 70, the film legend whose memory is fading and who is supported by seven women

A couple of years ago, reviewing and rethinking Bruce Willis on his 70th birthday would have been like taking his extensive list of films and series — almost 150 in total, some good, some bad, many average — and recalling his long and astronomical career. From the success of Moonlighting back in 1985, to having Razzies to his name; from being a star supporting actor in Pulp Fiction to taking to the stage. However, today, a more down-to-earth, low-key reality prevails. For the past three years, Willis has suffered from aphasia; for the past two, from frontotemporal dementia, which has no cure. As a result, he has retired from the screen and from public life in general. His life, far from red carpets and spotlights, involves other, no less important luxuries: being cared for by his family, his daughters, his ex-wife, Demi Moore, and above all his current wife, Emma Heming Willis.

On March 19, Willis, born in Germany to a classic post-war love affair, that of a German woman and an American soldier, turns 70 with simple, homey celebrations. This is his life since the illness struck him, like any other person. His last paparazzi photos date from September 2024. They are now of a man who is not himself: as a passenger in a car, dressed in sportswear, with a blank stare. His wife, who acknowledged a year and a half ago that she doesn’t know whether he is aware of what is happening or not, even asked the paparazzi not to chase him or yell at him, because he didn’t understand what was happening and they were putting him in danger. She herself photographed him this January, greeting police officers, in very short videos, where it’s impossible to determine how he is. The hero of Die Hard is no longer the same, but now he gives visibility to another kind of hero: those who take care of others.

Heming, Willis’s wife of 16 years, has also undergone her own process of transformation, from a model who walked the catwalk for the finest Parisian fashion houses to caregiver for a man in constant need of attention. She knows that their wealth and media presence grant them a privilege that many don’t enjoy, but precisely because of this, they are also observed, for better or worse. She tries to take advantage of the spotlight as much as she can. Hence, she has announced that in 2025 she will release a book, a guide on how to care for dependent people.

During the two years since Willis’ dementia diagnosis, Heming has learned to position herself not only as a caregiver, but also as a family spokesperson and a respected voice for dementia in the United States. Every year, during World Frontotemporal Dementia Awareness Week, she speaks candidly about how it has affected her family and talks with sufferers, experts, therapists, and caregivers to put her husband’s condition on the map. During the rest of the year, she participates in panels, podcasts, and talks to generate conversation.

Last spring, she even went to the New York State Capitol to promote a registry of clinical diagnoses of the disease, to support research into treatments and the creation of new policies, something she also demands of the state government in California, where they reside. A few days ago, following news of the death of Gene Hackman (who suffered from Alzheimer’s) and his wife and caregiver, Betsy Arakawa, Heming issued a plea: “I do really believe that there is some learning in this story, in regards to this tragic passing of Mr. and Mrs. Hackman,” she said. “It’s just made me think of this broader story, and that is that caregivers need care too and that they are vital [...] I think that there’s this common misconception that caregivers have got it figured out, they’ve got it covered. They’re good. I don’t subscribe to that. I think we need to be showing up for them so that they can continue to show up for their person.”

There are seven women who provide life support to Bruce Willis. Seven signed the statement three years ago announcing that his diagnosis of aphasia meant the end of his career, and seven continue to support him. Heming is the main one, but she is largely accompanied by Moore, who is also the mother of Willis’s three adult daughters, who also care for their father.

In recent months, Moore has been immersed in promoting her film The Substance and her unstoppable run at film industry awards, even winning a Golden Globe, but she hasn’t forgotten her former high-profile husband. She dedicates photographs and affectionate phrases to him on her social media, and after publishing her raw memoirs in 2019, she stated that their relationship was healthier and stronger than when they were married, between the end of 1987 (just four months after they met, when she was engaged to Emilio Estevez) and the summer of 1998.

A year after the wedding, their first daughter, Rumer, arrived; in 1991, Scout; and in 1994, Tallulah. All three are great allies of Heming and their father. For example, Tallulah recounted a couple of years ago in a column in Vogue how difficult it was for her to understand her father’s cognitive decline, thinking that he had “lost interest” in her because of his new family, and that there was also a degree of “denial” within her: “The truth is that I was too sick myself to handle it,” she wrote. “While I was wrapped up in my body dysmorphia, flaunting it on Instagram, my dad was quietly struggling. All kinds of cognitive testing was being conducted, but we didn’t have an acronym yet.” Tallulah Willis suffered from depression, anorexia, and ADHD, as well as — like her sisters — addiction issues.

Tallulah is the one who talks most about her father. At the end of 2023, she said that he’s still “himself”: “And, in that sense, I’ve learned that’s the best thing you can ask for,” she acknowledged. “I see love when I’m with him, and he’s my father and he loves me, which is really special.” The three sisters maintain a close relationship with their two stepsisters, Willis and Heming’s daughters: Mabel, about to turn 13, and Evelyn, 10. As Heming recounted in an interview with E! News, the two girls are the reason she gets out of bed every day.

The girls, despite their young age, are understandably aware of what their father is going through. “Not too long ago, Mabel looked at my nightstand and said, ‘Mom, maybe you should try reading books other than dementia ones for a change,’” Heming told her nearly one million Instagram followers. Willis himself may be lost in the ocean of his memory, but those who accompany him are very clear that they will not let him sink.

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