UnTouchableBruce Willis's family on his frontotemporal dementia diagnosis
Bruce Willis shared this about their own health, publicly. Everything below is written in our own words, from the sources listed at the end.
Before you read this
Bruce Willis has not spoken about this himself, and frontotemporal dementia is the kind of illness that takes that ability away. This story is drawn from a statement his family published in their own words on 16 February 2023, to raise awareness of the disease. It says nothing about him beyond what they said, and nothing about how he is now.
On 16 February 2023 Bruce Willis's family published a statement through the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, a charity whose work is supporting people affected by the disease and funding research into it. This story is written from that statement.
They wrote that they had announced a diagnosis of aphasia in the spring of 2022, that his condition had progressed since then, and that there was now a more specific diagnosis: frontotemporal dementia. Difficulty with communication, they said, is only one of the symptoms he faces. They described the new diagnosis as painful, and at the same time as a relief, because it was finally a clear one.
Much of the statement is about the disease rather than about him. They called it a cruel illness that many people have never heard of and that can happen to anyone. They noted that it is the most common form of dementia in people under 60, that reaching a diagnosis can take years, and that it is therefore probably far more common than the figures show. They wrote that there are no treatments for it today, and said they hope that changes.
They were explicit about why they were making it public. They asked that any attention go towards awareness and research rather than towards him, and wrote that he had always used his voice to help other people and to raise awareness of things that mattered. If he could respond himself, they said, they believe he would want to bring attention to the disease and to connect with other people living with it. They pointed readers towards the charity for information and support.
They ended by asking for compassion, understanding and respect, so that they can help him live as full a life as possible.
Nothing here is medical advice, and nothing here is an update. The statement is from February 2023, and we have added nothing to it.
“FTD is a cruel disease that many of us have never heard of and can strike anyone.”
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Key moments
A diagnosis of aphasia
Spring 2022
The family announced that he had been diagnosed with aphasia. They referred back to that announcement in the statement this story is written from.
A more specific diagnosis
16 February 2023
They wrote that his condition had progressed and that the diagnosis was now frontotemporal dementia. They called it painful, and also a relief to have something clear.
Why they said it out loud
In the same statement
They asked for attention to go to awareness and research, and said they believed he would have wanted to use the moment to help other people facing the same illness.
What they asked of everyone else
At the end
Compassion, understanding and respect — so that they could help him live as full a life as possible.
What this story is about
Where this came from
Every story here is built only from what the person said publicly themselves. These are the sources we used.
A Statement from the Willis Family
The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration · Official statement · 16 February 2023
Bruce Willis is not affiliated with and has not endorsed UnTouchable.
Published 20 September 2026. Something wrong here? Ask us to correct or remove this story.