What is the "Bruce Willis effect" and how it is raising awareness around Alzheimer's and dementia

The revelation that Hollywood movie star Bruce Willis is suffering from a rare form of dementia has caused a surge of interest in the illness, according to a UK charity.

Alzheimer’s Society said information on frontotemporal dementia was viewed more than 126,000 times in 2023, a rise of nearly 63 per cent from 2022. The charity has named the phenomenon the “Bruce Willis effect” after the family of the Hollywood star announced in February that he had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia after a previous diagnosis of aphasia, a condition affecting his cognitive abilities.

The first symptoms of the rarer form of dementia are often changes to personality and behaviour and difficulties with language, the charity said. Willis’s family has described the illness as a “cruel disease that many of us have never heard of” that “can strike anyone”.

A statement from his family including his wife Emma Heming, ex-wife Demi Moore and his daughters said: “As Bruce’s condition advances, we hope that any media attention can be focused on shining a light on this disease that needs far more awareness and research. Bruce always believed in using his voice in the world to help others, and to raise awareness about important issues both publicly and privately.

“We know in our hearts that – if he could today – he would want to respond by bringing global attention and a connectedness with those who are also dealing with this debilitating disease and how it impacts so many individuals and their families.”

The most visited page of the charity’s website in 2023 was for people who want to know how to recognise and support people with dementia who are reaching the end of their lives, with more than 661,000 views. Interactive and printable online versions of the charity’s free symptoms checklist, endorsed by the Royal College of GPs, were viewed nearly 200,000 times in 2023.

Willis has five daughters, sharing his three eldest – Rumer, Scout and Tallulah – with Moore, whom he married in 1987. Despite separating in 2000, the pair remain on amicable terms. Willis married actress Heming in 2009.

The pair share two daughters, Mabel and Evelyn.