Bruce Willis biography, net worth, wife, age, condition, daughter, kids, height 2025

Biography of Bruce Willis

Bruce Willis (full name Walter Bruce Willis) is a famous American actor, producer, and musician. He gained fame for his role as police officer John McClane in the "Die Hard" series, and also appeared in "Death Becomes Her" (1992), "Pulp Fiction" (1994), "12 Monkeys" (1995), "The Fifth Element" (1997), "Armageddon" (1998), "Sin City" (2005), "Looper" (2012), and more. He has acted in over 100 films, mostly in leading roles, and is one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood.

Childhood and Youth

Walter Bruce Willis was born on March 19, 1955, in Idar-Oberstein, West Germany. His mother Marlene, a native of Kassel, was a German, and his father David Willis (1929–2009) was an American soldier stationed in West Germany. In 1957, after his service ended, the family moved to his hometown in New Jersey. Bruce became the oldest of four children: he has a sister, Florence, and a brother, David. His brother Robert died in 2001 from pancreatic cancer.

In America, Marlene worked part-time as a bank clerk, while David Sr. worked various jobs, including welder, mechanic, and factory worker. As the actor liked to say, he came from "a long line of blue-collar workers."

Bruce had a great sense of humor from childhood. One of his friends said about him: "When there are many children in a family, they constantly joke with each other, and that's probably where his sense of humor came from. Bruce loved to have fun, but he also respected adults."

He did well in school but suffered from severe stuttering until he was 9. Bruce found a remedy by accident: he auditioned for a role in the school play "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" and discovered that his stutter disappeared on stage.

As soon as I stepped off the stage, I started stuttering again. And I thought: this was some kind of miracle, I need to understand it properly.

He began performing regularly and soon overcame his speech defect, gaining self-confidence. Gradually, he earned the respect of his peers and became the president of the student council in high school. Classmates spoke warmly of him: "Bruce was one of the smartest. He could have easily been a straight-A student, but he believed that the main thing in school was fun, not studying. We all knew he was destined for something extraordinary, but we just didn't know yet how he would become famous."

A very young Bruce Willis – still with hair!

In 1973, he graduated from Penns Grove High School and worked as a security guard at Salem Nuclear Power Plant. He then worked as a bus driver for DuPont, where his father was employed, and even tried his hand as a private investigator. However, none of these jobs satisfied him, so Bruce decided to become a professional actor.

He enrolled at Montclair State University but dropped out in 1977 after his first year to move to New York (he completed his education years later). In New York, Bruce attended numerous auditions but faced constant rejection, working as a bartender or waiter to make ends meet.

1973: Graduation from Penns Grove. Willis – The King of Graduates

One day, during a shift, a casting director noticed him and invited him to play a bit part in the film "The First Deadly Sin." When Frank Sinatra leaves the bar, a man in a cap enters – that's Willis. The film, by the way, wasn't particularly great.

Bruce Willis's Very First Role (1980)

After that, he appeared in several TV shows in minor roles that didn't even make the credits, but his career didn't progress further.

Acting Career

The breakthrough happened in 1984 when Bruce auditioned for the lead role in the TV series "Moonlighting" (1985–1989). A network representative wanted to reject him immediately because he didn't fit the private detective type and looked quite ridiculous: "punk hairstyle, military field uniform, and an earring." However, director Glenn Gordon Caron saw "audacity and charisma" in the aspiring actor and allowed him to audition with the already confirmed partner Cybill Shepherd.

Moonlighting: Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd

Thus, Bruce Willis got his first leading role, beating nearly three thousand other contenders, and this work later brought him Emmy and Golden Globe awards. Over five seasons of the series, he gained substantial professional experience: according to colleagues, at the beginning he was just grateful for the opportunity, but by the end, he was firmly determined to move on and become a true movie star.

Bruce Willis in Moonlight

Continuing his work as a comedic artist, Willis starred in his first leading role in Blake Edwards' romantic comedy "Blind Date" (1987), where his partner was the brilliant Kim Basinger.

Soon after, he changed his image and played his most famous role – police officer John McClane in John McTiernan's action film "Die Hard" (1988). This role came to Willis almost by chance, as it was initially offered to stars like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford, and Richard Gere, but they all turned it down for various reasons.

Die Hard made Bruce Willis famous worldwide

When Willis was finally approved, they had to adapt the script to his character: instead of a lone hero with strong fists who occasionally shows his feelings, the main character became a brilliant joker who sometimes uses his fists. This image was loved by the audience, and the film was so successful that it resulted in four sequels: "Die Hard 2" (1990), "Die Hard with a Vengeance" (1995), "Live Free or Die Hard" (2007), and "A Good Day to Die Hard" (2013).

The evolution of John McClane (Die Hard and Die Hard 5)

After the first "Die Hard," Willis starred in Norman Jewison's drama "In Country" (1989), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe, and in Amy Heckerling's romantic comedy "Look Who's Talking" (1989) with Kirstie Alley and John Travolta, followed by its sequel "Look Who's Talking Too" (1990). Many also remember him in Michael Lehmann's comedy-action film "Hudson Hawk" (1991). Another successful comedy with his participation was Robert Zemeckis' "Death Becomes Her" (1992), where Willis starred in a sparkling trio with Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn.

Death Becomes Her: Bruce Willis in an unexpected role

Following this, after working on several smaller projects, the actor starred in one of his most notable roles – in Quentin Tarantino's cult black comedy "Pulp Fiction" (1994). The success of this outstanding film was due to its original script and an excellent cast: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis, Christopher Walken, Steve Buscemi, Quentin Tarantino, and others. Critics later called this film "one of the most influential movies of the 1990s."

Bruce Willis Pulp Fiction 9/27/94 - Bobbie Wygant Archive

In 1995, the actor starred in Terry Gilliam's dystopia "12 Monkeys" with Madeleine Stowe and Brad Pitt, and in 1997 in another cult film, Luc Besson's sci-fi thriller "The Fifth Element," where he starred alongside Milla Jovovich.

Bruce Willis won over viewers of The Fifth Element, including with an orange suit

Besson was initially afraid to invite such an "expensive" actor for the lead role, thinking he couldn't pay his fee, but surprisingly, Bruce agreed to relatively modest terms by Hollywood standards. He later explained: "Sometimes I can do something just because it's fun and interesting." The crew of "The Fifth Element" recalled: "Bruce had a reputation for being difficult, but with us, he behaved like a real sweetheart. The reason is that he completely trusted Luc, as did all of us."

A frame from the movie The Fifth Element

After this, Willis starred in several less successful films, including Fred Zinnemann's thriller "The Jackal" (1997, partnered with Richard Gere) and Harold Becker's action drama "Mercury Rising" (1998, with Alec Baldwin).

Bruce Willis Speaks to Charlie Rose (2002 Interview)

His career began to stall again but soared to new heights with the release of Michael Bay's sci-fi film "Armageddon," which became the box office champion of 1998. Willis's partners in this magnificent film were Liv Tyler, Ben Affleck, and Steve Buscemi. When the movie topped the box office in its first week, Bruce jokingly commented: "I'm happy that the end of the world amuses people so much."

In Armageddon, Bruce Willis saved the world

After the noisy success, Willis's acting career experienced a slight decline, but soon he regained his lost positions with the release of M. Night Shyamalan's mystical drama "The Sixth Sense" (1999). For this work, Willis received two MTV Movie Award nominations – for Best Male Performance and Best On-Screen Duo (with Haley Joel Osment), and the film received six Oscar nominations. This role brought Willis not only another dose of audience love and critical respect but also a grand earning of $100 million.

Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone

In 2000, the actor returned to television and played a small role in the cult series "Friends," for which he received an Emmy award in the category "Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series."

Bruce Willis in Friends

That same year, the film "The Whole Nine Yards" was released, where Willis starred alongside his "Friends" co-star Matthew Perry, and in 2004, its sequel "The Whole Ten Yards" was released. In both films, Willis played a charming and cunning hitman nicknamed "Tulip," whose services were employed by the shrewish wife of a wimpy dentist named Oz. But everything turned out quite differently than expected.

Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry on the set of The Whole Ten Yards

After this, Willis starred in the crime drama "Sin City" (2005) directed by Robert Rodriguez, co-directed by Quentin Tarantino – the film was styled as a black-and-white comic. During filming, Willis found himself in the excellent company of actors like Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Benicio del Toro, and Jessica Alba. The film won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 2005. In 2014, a sequel to this film, "Sin City: A Dame to Kill For," was released, but the second part was less successful than the first.

A shot from the movie Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Among other significant works of the actor are the crime thriller "Lucky Number Slevin" (2006, with Morgan Freeman), James Foley's thriller "Perfect Stranger" (2007, with Halle Berry), Jonathan Mostow's sci-fi action film "Surrogates" (2009), Kevin Smith's comedy-action film "Cop Out" (2010), Robert Schwentke's comedy-action film "RED" (2010) and its sequel "RED 2" (2013).

Additionally, Bruce Willis starred in Sylvester Stallone's action film "The Expendables" (2010) and its sequel "The Expendables 2" (2012) alongside action genre titans like Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Chuck Norris – critics jokingly called this franchise "an encyclopedia of 'Who's Who' of classic action stars that lit up the screen with a truly explosive entertaining spectacle."

The premiere of the first The Expendables

Another notable work of the actor was the dystopian sci-fi thriller "Looper" (2012) directed by Rian Johnson, where his partners were Joseph Gordon-Levitt (playing the young version of Willis's character) and Emily Blunt. The film was received with great enthusiasm as it "combines deep philosophical content, an extraordinarily logical plot, and a bold combination of futuristic sci-fi and good old action."

Most of the films starring Bruce Willis since 2015 were received rather coldly by audiences. Such was the fate of movies like "The Prince" (2014), "Vice" (2015), "Extraction" (2015), "Precious Cargo" (2016), "Marauders" (2016), "Once Upon a Time in Venice" (2017), and "First Kill" (2017).

In 2017, the actor also worked on Alexander Payne's comedy "Downsizing" (alternative title "Small"), where he collaborated with Matt Damon and Alec Baldwin.

In 2019, M. Night Shyamalan's film "Glass" – a thriller featuring Samuel L. Jackson – was released. It is a continuation of the movies "Unbreakable" and "Split".

Bruce Willis is no longer young but still holds the brand

The highest-rated film starring Bruce Willis was Edward Norton's "Motherless Brooklyn," in which the actor starred alongside Alec Baldwin and Willem Dafoe. The plot follows a detective with Tourette's syndrome who begins investigating his murdered partner.

Bruce Willis snubbed for his performance in Motherless Brooklyn

In 2020, several more films featuring Willis were released, including "Survive the Night," "Hard Kill," and "Breach," but none of them received high marks from critics.

Music

Willis's second major passion after movies has always been music. He recorded and released his debut album "The Return of Bruno" in 1987. It consists of 10 blues and soul tracks with Willis performing the lead vocals. The album reached number 14 on the Billboard 200, the song "Respect Yourself" peaked at number 5 on the U.S. charts, and "Under the Boardwalk" climbed to number 2 on the UK national chart.

In 1989, his second album in the same style, "If It Don't Kill You, It Just Makes You Stronger," was released, but it failed to repeat the success of the first one despite Willis's growing popularity as an actor. His third album, "Classic Bruce Willis: The Universal Masters Collection," was released in 2001 but remained relatively unknown.

Devil Woman - Bruce Willis

Despite modest achievements in album releases, Willis successfully performed soundtracks for some of the films he starred in. Along with his co-star Cybill Shepherd from the TV series "Moonlighting," he sang "Good Lovin" and also performed "Swinging on a Star" and "Side by Side" for the movie "Hudson Hawk." Additionally, he recorded songs for the movies "The Whole Nine Yards" and the animated film "Rugrats Go Wild. "

Political Views and Public Activities

Bruce Willis supports the Republican Party of the USA. He has repeatedly stated that the USA should conduct a large-scale military campaign in Colombia to stop drug trafficking. He also actively supports the right to bear arms: "Everyone should have the right to carry a gun. If you take away guns from law-abiding citizens, then only the criminals will have them."

Bruce Willis Has Donald Trump Hair

At one time, the actor strongly supported the Iraq War. In 2003, he visited the war zone and performed songs for the soldiers. The trip made a lasting impression on him, and he decided to join the army and physically participate in military operations, but his application was rejected due to his age.

In Iraq, I saw how the soldiers, mostly very young, help people: they help restore governance, help open hospitals, help restore water supply systems – but we don't hear about this in the news. We're only told that 'this many people were killed today,' but that's like spitting in the face of these young men and women who are fighting to help this country.

In 2007, Willis announced that he would give one million dollars to any civilian who helps find and neutralize "terrorist number one" Osama bin Laden or his top associates.

Personal Life of Bruce Willis

On August 5, 1987, at the premiere of the movie "Stakeout," Bruce Willis met actress Demi Moore, and they married on November 21 of the same year. Shortly before their meeting, Demi Moore had broken up with her previous fiancé, and Bruce had a reputation as a hopeless womanizer and drunk. This did not discourage the actress; she saw that Bruce was "completely ready to open his arms and give her love." Indeed, Willis immediately quit drinking and started a family with her. The wedding took place in Las Vegas with only their closest friends and family, and later they repeated the ceremony at a lavish reception in Los Angeles.

Bruce Willis and Demi Moore in their youth

For a long time, Moore and Willis were considered a model couple, especially with the birth of their three daughters: Rumer Glenn Willis (1988), Scout LaRue Willis (1991), and Tallulah Belle Willis (1994). In August 1991, while expecting Scout, Demi Moore posed completely nude for Vanity Fair magazine, which sparked a wave of criticism as a pregnant body was considered "grotesque and obscene" at the time.

Both spouses cherished their family and children, but each had a thriving film career, making it difficult to balance both. Moore and Willis agreed to arrange their schedules so that they could take turns being away for filming, ensuring that at least one parent was always there for the children. However, this led to them spending very little time together.

The children of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore are already adults

Their relationship also suffered because Bruce became disillusioned with monogamy. During the filming of "Armageddon," rumors linked him to co-star Liv Tyler, and before that, to "Hudson Hawk" co-star Maruschka Detmers and several other women. The couple split in June 1998 after 11 years of marriage.

The actor was credited with an affair with Liv Tyler

Bruce justified his behavior as an inherent part of male nature: "No woman can satisfy the natural male desire to procreate, procreate, and procreate. This impulse won't disappear, whether you have three, ten, or a hundred children... Expecting one partner to provide everything you need now and for the rest of your life is a myth!"

After the divorce, Willis did not hide his joy: "The bachelor life is incredible! I love women." For 10 years, the actor changed girlfriends, but on March 21, 2009, he married model Emma Heming (born June 18, 1978), with whom he "fell madly in love" on the first day they met.

Bruce Willis is now married to Emma Heming

In this marriage, he had two more daughters: Mabel Ray Willis (April 1, 2012) and Evelyn Penn Willis (May 5, 2014). As he aged, his attitude towards marriage and love changed: "I've come a long way from 'oh, this damn love!' to 'love is the only thing that matters.'" He admits that with Emma in his life, he has become much happier.

Rumer Willis looks more like her father than her mother

The actor's eldest daughter, Rumer Willis, followed in her parents' footsteps and became an actress. The middle daughter, Scout, engaged in social activism. In 2014, she walked topless through downtown New York protesting against social media policies banning photos with exposed female nipples.

Bruce Willis owns several businesses in the city of Hailey, Idaho, including "The Mint Bar" and "The Liberty Theater."

He is also a co-founder and co-owner of the themed restaurant "Planet Hollywood" with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone.

Bruce Willis Now. Illness

In March 2022, just before his 67th birthday, rumors spread that Bruce was retiring from acting due to dementia. The YouTube channel "Half in the Bag" posted a video titled "The Bruce Willis Fake Movie Factor," suggesting that he couldn't act or memorize lines properly due to illness, relying only on prompters. This was allegedly why he had appeared in mediocre films in recent years, with his speech sounding like he was reading words from a phone screen. It was also mentioned that Willis didn't refuse current projects, which had accumulated to about ten at the time, because he needed a lot of money to ensure a comfortable old age and fight the illness.

Later, Willis's family clarified the situation: he was diagnosed with aphasia, a speech disorder. However, aphasia can be a sign of dementia, and a year later, in February 2023, the actor was indeed diagnosed with dementia. Bruce's family shared details about the diagnosis:

We now have a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia (known as FTD). Unfortunately, communication problems are just one of the symptoms Bruce faces. The relief is that we finally have a clear diagnosis.

His illness has been a challenge for all his loved ones: from his ex-wife to his current wife and five daughters. Everyone tries to give him attention, but only Emma, his current partner, stays by his side around the clock. Together with the medical staff, she makes every effort to slow the progress of the disease through physical exercises and speech therapy.

"This is a challenge for all of us," Emma shares, "when I learned the diagnosis, I felt both pain and relief – now I knew what to do." She wakes up with tears in her eyes every day but finds the strength to move forward. "They call me strong, but it's not a choice, it's a necessity," she admits.

To maintain balance, Emma doesn't focus solely on her husband's problems. She found solace in workouts and gardening, as well as connecting with others facing similar challenges. Her themed YouTube channel and activities with the dementia association have become platforms to help other families.

Anticipating future difficulties, the couple sold most of their property in advance, securing a financial cushion. Now their home is a cozy house in Los Angeles, where Bruce spends all his time surrounded by his favorite things.

Bruce Willis Surrounded by Family for Thanksgiving (2023)

The illness relentlessly erases the actor's memories. He no longer recognizes his mother and ex-wife Demi Moore. "It was a heavy blow," the actress shared. Now, Bruce only remembers those he sees daily.

Bruce Willis: latest news and articles

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Richard Hayes

In my opinion, this actor always has the same face, I mean emotionally :) And at the same time, he is playing in hard movies.

2021-05-16 12:35:49
Gabriel Xavier Green

From the old cast of actors, Bruce is the coolest. I don`t like action movies but Bruce is really good.

2021-04-10 18:43:23
Blake Jack Garcia

As Stallone, Bruce has a series of movies where he is on age already but he still can roll, for example, `RED`.

2021-03-14 08:33:38
David Park

In Hudson Hawk, he has a cool role and it`s even came out a little bit like a comedy role.

2021-02-10 14:25:41
Anthony William Parker

Our favorite Die Hard, I remember from my childhood his action movies.

2021-01-26 13:35:39

Photos: Bruce Willis