Rumer Willis Shares How Bruce Willis Becoming a Grandfather Has Unlocked His 'Girl Dad' Ways

Rumer Willis' daughter, Louetta, just celebrated her first birthday in April.

Rumer Willis Shares How Bruce Willis Becoming a Grandfather Has Unlocked His 'Girl Dad' Ways

Published:

8:00 AM PDT, May 29, 2024

Being a grandfather is special for Bruce Willis!

On Wednesday, the Die Hard actor's oldest daughter, 35-year-old Rumer Willis, gave an update on the superstar amid his frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis -- and his latest role as a grandpa to her 1-year-old daughter, Louetta.

"He's so good," Rumer told Hoda Kotb during an interview with Today. "I actually got to see him right before I came out [to New York]. And Lou is just starting to walk a little bit, and she was walking over to him, and it was so sweet."

Rumer Willis says her daughter Louetta unlocks a sweet girl dad spot in father Bruce Willis. - Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Rumer shared that interacting with her daughter brings out a sweet spot in Bruce.

"It's so nice because I feel like my dad is just like -- he's a girl dad, through and through. It almost unlocks that kind of little-kid, girl-dad thing. He's so sweet with her."

In addition to Rumer, Bruce and ex-wife Demi Moore are parents to Scout, 32, and Tallulah, 30. The Pulp Fiction star also shares daughters, Mabel, 12, and Evelyn, 9, with his wife, Emma Heming. 

Rumer took to social media in April to celebrate her baby girl's first birthday and gave her followers a look at her relationship with her dad. Along with photos of Louetta with other members of the family was a sweet photo of her being held by her grandfather while he smiled. 

Louetta's name (Louetta Isley Thomas Willis), according to her mother, is inspired by some of Bruce's favorite things

"Her name is a mix of things I love," Rumer shared during an Instagram Q&A last year. "I have always loved the name Lou so was thinking of that for both a boy and a girl but then when we found out she was a girl we came up with Louetta." 

She added of her and Derek Richard Thomas' baby girls name, "We wanted to give her options and me and my dad's favorite singers are Lou= Louis Armstrong, Etta= Etta James, Isley= Isley Brother[s]." 

In 2023, Bruce's family revealed that he had been diagnosed with FTD, which is a condition connected to dementia that primarily affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain and impacts a person's personality, behavior and language, according to Mayo Clinic. The announcement came a year after the family shared he was diagnosed with aphasia. 

Rumer talked openly about her family's decision to continue to speak publicly about Bruce's life with the condition. 

She said on Today, "Our vulnerability and transparency as a family about what he's going through to me is so important because if it can have any impact on another family that is struggling in any way with something like this, or bring more attention to the disease in hopes of finding a cure or anything that can be of service to anybody else, I think is really important."

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