Bruce Willis’s wife, Emma Heming Willis, has announced the launch of a new charity as part of her advocacy for dementia patients and caregivers.
The 70-year-old actor’s family announced in 2023 that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia (FTD), only a year after they said he was “stepping away” from acting because he had aphasia.
Heming Willis, who has been married to Willis since 2009, frequently provides updates on her husband’s health while advocating for dementia research, a passion she has now expanded with the launch of the Emma & Bruce Willis Fund for Dementia Research and Caregiver Support.
She announced the charity organization Thursday while accepting the Susan Newhouse & Si Newhouse Award of Hope at The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration's Hope Rising Benefit in New York City, according to People. She accepted the award on her and the Die Hard star’s behalf, and spoke about the last four years as his primary caregiver.
“This journey has opened my eyes to the realities so many families face when a loved one is living with frontotemporal dementia,” she said. “I believe deeply in the importance of supporting research while also showing up for the caregivers who carry so much every day.”
“Through this fund, my hope is to help deepen understanding of FTD and ensure families facing it feel seen, supported, and less alone. Bruce has always led with generosity and heart, and I know he would be proud to see this effort helping families facing this disease.”
The fund, housed by the Entertainment Industry Foundation, works to “confront frontotemporal dementia by raising awareness, funding promising research, and supporting caregivers,” according to its website.
Heming Willis, who shares two daughters, Mabel Ray, 13, and Evelyn Penn, 11, with Willis, gave an update on his condition in October, telling NewsNation that he’s “doing OK, with a really unkind disease.”
She was then asked about her memoir, The Unexpected Journey: Finding Strength, Hope, and Yourself on the Caregiving Path, in which she wrote that it may be a blessing that Willis doesn’t know he has FTD.
“The person doesn’t realize that they are experiencing a decline in their health. So it’s not denial; this is just a part of the disease,” she said. “So, it’s a blessing and a curse. But I am grateful that Bruce never tapped into the idea that he had FTD.”
“FTD isn’t Alzheimer’s,” she pointed out. “Bruce doesn’t have Alzheimer’s. So he does know who we are.”
In August 2025, Heming Willis faced criticism for moving her husband out of their family home due to the degenerative nature of his condition. Responding in November at End Well 2025, a Los Angeles conference focused on end-of-life care, she said: “F*** em! As Bruce would say.”
She grew emotional while confessing that she was forced to make “impossible decisions” in the wake of her husband’s diagnosis.
“This is not how I envisioned our life,” she said through tears. “So I had to make the best and safest decision for our family. And I knew, by being honest and open about it, that it would be met with a lot of judgment.”
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