Happy birthday, Bruce Willis! Birthday video gives fans rare glimpse of actor since frontotemporal dementia diagnosis

Bruce Willis just turned 68, and footage from the actor’s birthday party gave fans a rare glimpse of the “Die Hard” star since his family announced his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis in February.

Willis’ ex-wife, Demi Moore, shared a video that showed Willis in good spirits as his family serenaded him with “Happy Birthday.” The actor joined in for a few seconds and then playfully blew out the candles.

The video showed several people gathered to celebrate the actor’s big day, including Moore, Willis’ wife, Emma Heming Willis, and all five of his children.

“Happy birthday, BW!” Moore shared on Twitter. “So glad we could celebrate you today. Love you and love our family. Thank you everyone for the love and warm wishes — we all feel them.”

The upbeat birthday video has more than 7 million views on Twitter, and offers fans a recent update on the actor. Many commented on Willis’ visible happiness and the love and support provided by his family during this time.

What did Bruce Willis’ wife say about his condition?

Emma Hemming Willis expressed how emotional her husband’s birthday was for her in an Instagram video.

“I have started the morning by crying. I do have times of sadness every day. Grief every day,” she said, noting that she needs to stay strong for her children.

She also posted a video reel highlighting moments from her husband’s life.

“My birthday wish for Bruce is that you continue to keep him in your prayers and highest vibrations because his sensitive Pisces soul will feel it,” she captioned the Instagram video. “Thank you so much for loving and caring for him too.”

What is frontotemporal dementia?

Bruce Willis stepped away from acting in March 2022 due to an aphasia diagnosis. In February, his family released a joint statement announcing his diagnosis with frontotemporal dementia, calling it a “cruel disease,” the Deseret News reported. The joint statement said “challenges with communication are just one symptom of the disease Bruce faces.”

Frontotemporal dementia, also known as FTD, is the most common form of dementia in people under 60, but it affects people older than 60 as well, per The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration.

It typically begins earlier than Alzheimer’s disease — the most common form of dementia — and has different symptoms. It is also less common than Alzheimer’s.

Progression varies case to case. Some see steep decline after two years, while for others, decline takes place over decades, according to the Mayo Clinic.

According to the Mayo Clinic, typical symptoms of frontotemporal dementia include:

• Behavioral changes such as loss of inhibitions, inappropriate social behavior, repetitive compulsive behavior and changes in eating habits.
• Speech and language problems such as trouble naming things, difficulty understanding written and spoken language, hesitant speech and difficulty with sentence construction.
• Motor disorders such as muscle spasms, poor coordination, tremors, muscle weakness and trouble walking.